The Silver Blade

With his beloved Sido safely in England and the Reign of Terror at its height, mysterious Yann returns to revolutionary France to smuggle out aristocratic refugees who will otherwise face the guillotine. But while the two are apart, YannÕs Gypsy origins prejudice SidoÕs guardian against their marriage, spoiling their reunion. When Sido is kidnapped under strange circumstances, Yann must use all his strength and courage to outwit the evil count, rescue Sido, and save all of France.-A luscious melodrama, rich in sensuous detail from horrific to sublime, with an iridescent overlay of magic.+ -Kirkus ReviewsSally Gardner grew up and still lives in London. Being dyslexic, she did not learn to read or write until she was fourteen and had been thrown out of several schools, labeled unteachable, and sent to a school for maladjusted children. Despite this, she gained a degree with highest honors at a leading London art college, followed by a scholarship to a theater school, and then went on to become a very successful costume designer, working on some notable productions. After the births of twin daughters and a son, she started first to illustrate and then to write picture books and chapter books, usually with fairytale- or otherwise magical subject matter. She has been called “an idiosyncratic genius” by London’s Sunday Times. I, Coriander is her first book for older readers, and she is currently working on a second.