The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is the first book in the expansive alternative history children’s book series, The Wolves Chronicles. The series contains 12 books in total and features an alternate history in which the Stuarts retained the throne in England. Both Simon and the sinister Miss Slighcarp continue to appear in several books in the series. Simon befriends Dido Twite, the primary heroine of the series in the second book, and features prominently in the seventh and 11th books. The third book also sees the return of Miss Slighcarp in another villainous role.

Willoughby Chase largely serves to provide an introduction to the imagined history and the existence of wolves in the English countryside. Historically, a combination of hunting and deforestation led to the eradication of wolves in England sometime during the 18th century (Rewilding Britain). However, in The Wolves of Willoughby Chase it is immediately evident that the England of The Wolves Chronicles is not the true historical England, but an altered version created by Aiken where wolves are still common.

The second book, Black Hearts in Battersea, follows Simon to London as he begins studying to be an artist.