2012 First Edition of Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans – Hardcover with Dust Jacket

Title: Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery, & a Very Strange Adventure
Author: Lissa Evans
Illustrator/Artist: Temujin Doran (Illustrations and dust jacket map)
Genre: Children's Fantasy / Mystery / Adventure Fiction
Edition: First American Edition, First Printing (February 2012)
Publisher: Sterling Children's Books

"I have to go away, and I may not be able to get back. If I don't return, then my workshop and all it contains is yours if you can find it - and if you can find it, then you're the right sort of boy to have it.

Affectionately,
Your uncle Tony
P.S. Start in the telephone booth on Main St."

Unlock a world of hidden machinery, stage magic, and old-fashioned puzzle-solving in this mid-century flavored mystery. In Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms, author Lissa Evans presents a charming tale centered on ten-year-old Stuart Horten—affectionately nicknamed "Shorten" due to his remarkably small stature. Stuart's summer takes a turn for the dismal when his brilliant but eccentric parents drag him away from his friends to live in the boring town of Beeton. However, stagnation transforms into a grand treasure hunt when he discovers a cryptic postscript from his long-lost great-uncle Tony, a famous stage magician who mysteriously vanished decades prior. Great-Uncle Tony has left behind a legendary, hidden workshop stuffed with wonderful mechanisms, mechanical illusions, and genuine magic—and it all belongs to Stuart if he can decode the trail of clues.

The high-stakes game begins in a simple telephone booth on Main Street, launching Stuart across Beeton on a whirlwind investigation. To succeed, he must learn to believe the unbelievable while staying one step ahead of the town's prying eyes. Foremost among those eyes are his intensely nosy triplet neighbors, April, May, and June, alongside sinister competitors desperate to seize the magical apparatuses for themselves.

Brimming with visual wit, delightful puzzles, maps, and eccentric personalities, this hardcover first printing is a great adventure for young readers and as a read-aloud story for families.

Author Lissa Evans (a.k.a. Felicity Evans): An award-winning British novelist, children's author, and former television and radio producer. Originally trained in the medical field, she worked as a doctor before her insatiable curiosity led her into the arts. She built an impressive career directing and producing notable British comedies, including the sitcom Father Ted. Her sense of timing, wit, and narrative structure transitioned seamlessly into literature. Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms (published in the UK as Small Change for Stuart) marked her sensational debut in children's fiction, earning shortlists for the prestigious Carnegie Medal and the Costa Children's Book Award. She writes full-time from her home in London, crafting widely acclaimed historical fiction and magical stories.

Illustrator/Artist Temujin Doran: An accomplished British illustrator, artist, and filmmaker whose work is known for its intricate, fine-line ink work and vintage aesthetic. Tasked with bringing Great-Uncle Tony's mechanical world to life, Doran provided the visual landscape for the Stuart Horten series. His charming internal chapter decorations, graphic diagrams, and stylized cover art evoke a nostalgic, mechanical era of stage illusions and brass gears. Beyond children's books, Doran is a creator of short films, animation, and unique multimedia pieces.

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Condition: Fine/Near Fine. There is a faint mark on the front of the dust jacket along the spine.