I’d intended to write a very different book, about a boy called Thomas Catt, but it was DREADFUL.

After a spell as an actor I became a storyteller, so I used to tell folk tales … but I didn’t mean to use them quite so much when I came to write the Robe of Skulls. I’ve always loved fairy and folk tales my dad always read us stories before we went to bed, and later I read my way through all the Andrew Lang collections, together with Grimm and Perrault – anything and everything I could get my hands on. What was the inspiration for this darkly whimsical novel? There’s a variety of fairy tale and folktale elements in The Robe of Skulls – from the traditional evil stepsister, to the royalty into frogs. Read a preview from the second book, The Bag of Bones, and from the third, The Heart of Glass, released this month from Walker Books.Īnd now, an interview with author Vivian French. It’s a really fun read, with laughs, mystery, and just a little bit of evil.Ĭopy for review provided by the publisher.Īnd now, there’s three books in the series of “Tales from the Five Kingdoms”! Visit Vivian’s website to learn more. The Robe of Skulls is a madcap fractured fairy tale of twists and turns that readers of any age can enjoy. But fate comes in the form of an unlikely source – a chattersome bat, some Crones, and a peculiar prince. Gracie Gillypot is pure of heart and overworked and under appreciated, living with her loathsome stepfather and stepsister. Vivian French’s The Robe of Skulls is macabre yet lively adventure of fairy tale proportions. After all, where would Darth Vader be without his breathing suit or Hook without his…hook? Like most villians, Lady Lamorna is concerned about her fashion. Not just any robe, but a robe of the deepest black velvet with tiny skulls cascading down the hem. Vivian French’s Robe of Skulls begins with a robe. Sifting through my posts tonight, fixing up dead links, etc, I saw Blogger had this as a draft.

The robe of skulls by vivian french