A young messenger. A secret mission. A kingdom in peril.
It is the dead of ni
ght. Sixteen-year-old Tiuri must spend hours locked in a chapel in silent contem
plation if he is to be knighted the next day. But, as he waits by the light of a
flickering candle, he hears a knock at the door and a voice desperately asking
for help.
A secret letter must be delivered to King Unauwen across the GreatM
ountains - a letter upon which the fate of the entire kingdom depends. Tiuri has
a vital role to play, one that might cost him his knighthood. Tiuri's journey w
ill take him through dark, menacing forests, across treacherous rivers, to sinis
ter castles and strange cities.
He will encounter evil enemies who would kill
to get the letter, but also the best of friends in the most unexpected places.
He must trust no one. He must keep his true identity secret.
Above all, he mu
st never reveal what is in the letter...The Letter for the King is the thrilling
story of one boy's battle against evil, set in an enchanted world of chivalry,
courage and true friendship. Tonke Dragt was born in Jakarta in 1930 and spent m
ost of her childhood in Indonesia. When she was twelve, she was interned in a ca
mp run by the Japanese occupiers, where she wrote (with a friend) her very first
book using begged and borrowed paper.
Her family moved to the Netherlands af
ter the war and, after studying at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Dragt
became an art teacher. She published her first book in 1961, followed a year lat
er by The Letter for the King, which won the Children's Book of the Year award a
nd has been translated into sixteen languages. Dragt was awarded the State Prize
for Youth Literature in 1976 and was knighted in 2001.
'The story has the qu
ality of a legend, a tale of ancient times. Over a million copies of the book ha
ve been sold worldwide. The Letter for the King has everything.' Nederlands Dagb
lad 'It is fascinating, captivating in the same way as Tolkien's The Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings.
As well as the familiar battle between good and evil,
we are presented with a discovery of true chivalry.' Schager Courant
