The Worst Witch Collection

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a b c Vincent, Alice (31 October 2014). "An oral history of The Worst Witch....The Worst Witch was only published because of a party". The Telegraph. In “The Worst Witch Strikes Again,” Mildred Hubble has been asked to chaperone and befriend Enid Nightshade, a new pupil at the academy. But Enid is the worst pupil anyone could ever wish to be paired up with. Miss Hardbroom the class teacher is not impressed when the new student casts a spell to help Mildred succeed during sports day. However, she does not know that Enid was involved in casting the spell and lays the blame on Mildred who was not even aware of the spell. Mildred is also blamed when her newest friend makes a monkey out of her witch’s cat. When Enid forces her to skip a celebration to honor the headmistress, it seems certain that things will turn out very badly for her until fate unexpectedly and suddenly intervenes. The story comes with several lessons about friendship and peer pressure that are very relevant to the situations and experiences of many school children today. The book is set in the summer term of the fourth year, where Mildred is competing with Ethel for who will be Head Girl in the fifth year. Its writing was delayed when Murphy underwent cancer treatment. [9] Setting [ edit ]

Publication of The Worst Witch finally came about, as Jill Murphy recalled, "thanks to a series of coincidences involving me spending time in Ghana, and a friend meeting Margaret Busby (Ghanaian herself, and considering starting a children's list for her imprint) at a publishers' party in London". [6] [8] [10] The Worst Witch was finally published in 1974, when Murphy was 24, by the small independent company Allison and Busby. For this special edition, Jill Murphy has reproduced her original illustrations entirely in gorgeous full colour, and has written a special letter to her readers.

Murphy began writing The Worst Witch at the age of 15, and based the Worst Witch books on her own experiences of school at Ursuline Convent in Wimbledon, England, [3] with Singing becoming Chanting, Chemistry becoming Potions and so on. The Worst Witch Strikes Again was first published in 1980 by Allison & Busby and features a new character, Enid Nightshade.

The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star (Scholastic UK, ISBN 978-0-141351995; another(?), ISBN 978-0-141383996) was released by Scholastic UK on 3 October 2013. [11]

Books Multibuys

The next day, in a lesson with Miss Hardbroom, the girls are presenting their projects to the class. Ethel goes first, but her project is the same as Mildred's. Mildred shouts to Miss Hardbroom that Ethel had stolen her project. Miss Hardbroom opens Mildred's project folder but finds only many sheets of paper with smiley faces drawn on them in different colours. Miss Hardbroom "transfers" Mildred to her room. Orme, Steve (26 October 2020). "Worst Witch wins Olivier for Northampton theatre" . Retrieved 28 February 2022.

On the way there, Mildred finds her friends Maud Spellbody and Enid Nightshade. When Mildred tells them about Ethel being nice for a change, Enid suggests she may have taken a "niceness course" during the holidays. Maud and Enid become suspicious when they catch Mildred talking to someone or something in her cat basket. The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star by Jill Murphy: For ages 7 to 9". Scholastic Shop. Scholastic UK, 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013. Other characters in the books include Ethel Hallow and Mildred's friends, Maud Moonshine and Enid Nightshade. Maud is a rotund girl and more sensible than Mildred, although usually finds herself caught up in her friend's problems. Enid (introduced in the second book) is a practical joker who is more likely than Mildred to get them all into trouble. The three of them have a strong rivalry with Ethel Hallow, their high-born, snobbish and vindictive classmate. On the morning of departure, unable to bear the thought of a week without Tabby, Mildred sneaks down into the school kitchens, lets Ebony out of his cage, and instead hides Tabby inside. Jill Murphy was born in London in 1949. From a very early age she was drawing and writing stories, and was already putting books together (literally, with a stapler) by the time she was six. She went on to study at Chelsea, Croydon and Camberwell Schools of Art. Jill worked in a children's home for four years and as a nanny for a year, before becoming a freelance writer and illustrator. The Worst Witch stories, of which this is the first, are some of Puffin's most successful titles.

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Steinberg, Brian (31 August 2016). "Netflix Sets Tween Series 'Worst Witch,' 'Horse Mystery Project' For 2017". Variety . Retrieved 9 July 2018. The books have been released as audio books on CD and cassette, with books 1-5 read by Miriam Margolyes, and books 6 and 7 read by Gemma Arterton. The first five books have been re-released read by Gemma Arterton, and Barbara Flynn has also recorded Worst Witch audio books. Miss Hardbroom announces that Mr Rowan-Webb, the frog-magician whom Mildred saved from the lily pond the previous term, has invited all the second-years to spend a week's holiday at his castle, Gloom Castle at Grim Cove.

The Worst Witch was first published in 1974 by Allison & Busby, and proved to be an immediate success, selling out within two months. [9] [10] Plot The author Jill Murphy began writing The Worst Witch at the age of 15, while still at school, and based many points of the stories on her own school experiences at Ursuline Convent in Wimbledon, England, with Singing becoming Chanting, Chemistry becoming Potions and so on. [5] Recalling how the story was initially inspired by her own school experiences, [6] she said in an interview: "My two friends and I used to come home in our dark uniforms, looking very scruffy at the end of the day – my dark plaits sprouting tufts, with lost hair ribbons. My Mum used to say 'Look at you all. You look like the three witches!' and it gave me the idea for a witch's school – so that it was exactly like my school, but with a subtle touch of magic. All the characters are based on my school friends (and enemies) and teachers." [7] When it was no longer realistic that Mildred would still be at school, the series relocated her to a magical university in Cambridge and was retitled Weirdsister College: The Further Adventures of the Worst Witch and saw the return of Felicity Jones as a reinvented Ethel Hallow. A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch ( ISBN 978-0-7226-5763-8) was published in 1982. It features Ethel Hallow's little sister, Sybil Hallow, and her friend Clarice Crow. a b c Flood, Alison (25 January 2017). "Jill Murphy: 'I just wanted to have a book on the shelf' ". The Guardian.

Publication Order of The Worst Witch Books

Murphy concluded the first book at the age of 18, but it was rejected by many publishers (on the grounds that children would find a book about a school for witches too "scary"), [6] [8] so she "put it in a drawer" and concentrated on other things, including working as a nanny and in a children's home, and for a time living in West Africa, where her first husband was studying. [9]