Saturday 26 March 2011

A Death In The Family | Diana Wynne Jones (1934 - 2011)

More sad news today. The very worst.

Via Neil Gaiman's Twitter, it seems Diana Wynne Jones has died, after a long battle with lung cancer. A children's author held in high regard by anyone with a lick of sense about them, she had a good, long innings, publishing - what? 50-odd books? And every one a delight...

Bad enough Brian Jacques passed on a little while back. He and Diana Wynne Jones were two of the authors I held closest to my heart, both back when I was a sprog and far beyond. Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air in particular were reading experiences I'll never forget.

Feels like my childhood is fading faster every day, damn it.

...

Diana Wynne Jones was a fantastic author and a lovely lady, by all accounts. She was 76 years old when the end came, and I'm sure she'll be sorely missed.

I'm going to celebrate her life the only way I know how. Every other book on the To Be Read tower can take a raincheck; having procrastinated about it for more than a year, I'm putting everything else on hold to read Enchanted Glass this week.

Please, do join in if you're able. You can buy a copy here if you haven't already.


Or else, if you've some fond reminiscence about Diana Wynne Jones, or her work, it'd do all our hearts good if you cared to share in the comments.

5 comments:

  1. I laughed so hard at her TOUGH GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND when it first came out that I nearly injured myself. It should be required reading for anyone even thinking about writing in the epic fantasy subgenre.

    Beyond that, disgracefully, my only contact with her work as watching HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. Time to check out some of her books, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found her books when I was a miserable, lonely adolescant hiding away in the library during lunch hour and have loved her my whole life since. Her characters were some of my best imaginary friends. Absolutely gutted.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have been goggling at Amazon in search of The Tough Guide (after Adam's recommendation) and discovered, to my surprise and utter delight, that there's a third book in the Castle series.

    How could I not have known?

    To every cloud a silver lining, I suppose. But for all the things I'm glad to have found since the news, the skies are still looking pretty grey. Such a sad day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Diana Wynne Jones was a one of a kind, her books are amazing and I've enjoyed every one of them that I have read so far.

    I've been a fan for two years and I just think Diana was wonderful. It's because of her I began writing again and am going after my dream of being an author. I will miss her very much.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Diana Jones was and will always be one of my favourite authors. Her work always inspired me, and I will never forget her. I can't stop crying, to think of how many lives she's touched, and how its come to this.

    R.I.P Diana, we'll always love you.

    ReplyDelete