Jane Johnson (1) (1960–)
Author of The Tenth Gift
For other authors named Jane Johnson, see the disambiguation page.
Jane Johnson (1) has been aliased into Jude Fisher.
Series
Works by Jane Johnson
Works have been aliased into Jude Fisher.
Associated Works
Works have been aliased into Jude Fisher.
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Fisher, Jude
King, Gabriel - Birthdate
- 1960-10-05
- Gender
- female
- Short biography
- Jane Johnson was educated at Liskeard Grammar School. She has a master's degree in Old Icelandic language and literature.
From 1984 to 1992, she was the editor responsible for the J. R. R. Tolkien list at George Allen & Unwin Publishers and commissioned both John Howe and Alan Lee to illustrate Tolkien's work, including Lee's acclaimed illustrated centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings. The publishing house was later bought by HarperCollins, where she remains a Publishing Director working across the Voyager fantasy and science fiction list and crime/thrillers. Her authors there include Raymond E. Feist, Robin Hobb, Dean Koontz, Stuart MacBride, Sam Bourne, Tom Knox, Mark Lawrence and George R. R. Martin.
From around 1985 to 1995, she lived with writer M. John Harrison. Their relationship split amicably in 1995, however their shared love of cats led to the writing of the four-volume "Gabriel King" series.
As Jude Fisher she worked with cast and crew to create the Visual Companions to Peter Jackson's film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings and her companions to the Hobbit films are currently in progress.
In 2005 she travelled to North Africa to investigate a family legend about the abduction of a family in 1625 from a Cornish church by Barbary pirates, and there met the man who was later that year to become her husband, a Berber tribesman. She now splits her time between the UK and a small town in the Anti-Atlas Mountains. Her first adult mainstream novel was The Tenth Gift, based on the Barbary pirate story. This was followed by a desert epic, set in the Sahara among the Tuareg nomads, The Salt Road. The Sultan's Wife (2012) is set in the 17th century court of Sultan Moulay Ismail and tells the story of two slaves - one an African chieftain's son (Nus-Nus), the other an Anglo-Dutch woman called Alys. It also includes an account of the embassy sent from the Moroccan sultan to the court of King Charles II which is documented in John Evelyn's Diary. Her novels are translated and sold in over 20 countries worldwide. Living part of the year in Morocco, Johnson has made good use of her acquired knowledge of Moroccan culture and history as a background for the novels.
Her magical fantasy novels for children include The Eidolon Chronicles (published in the US as Legends of the Shadow World) and in the UK in their separate volumes: The Secret Country, The Shadow World and Dragon's Fire. Two single volume stories followed: Maskmaker in 2010 and Goldseekers in 2011. The latter two books have won and been shortlisted for a number of awards for children's literature.
Wikipedia - Nationality
- UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- UK
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Reviews
Jane Johnson's The Black Crescent offers a read that fascinates both in terms of history and plot. Set in the years before, during, and after the French withdrawal from Morocco, The Black Crescent follows the life of Hamou Badi, who spends his childhood in a village, but relocates to Casablanca as he's responsible for his mother and sister, which means finding the kind of paying work not available in a village.
Hamou decides to become a police officer, a position he believes will allow him a show more chance to stand up for the rights of the victimized and overlooked. He excels in his training program and is welcomed by the Sureté, the French police. Welcomed, not in the sense of "you're one of us now; we are brothers," but in the sense of "we can use you, and of course we'll assign you the most boring and most dangerous work, including furthering our control over your own people." At first Hamou finds satisfaction in his work. He does help the victimized and overlooked when given the opportunity, but such opportunities evaporate as the resistance against French colonial rule grows.
Hamou is trained in weapons use and finds himself assigned to tamp down protests and to ferret out those involved in clandestine independence groups. This is the crux of the novel: Hamou's witnessing of his own compromises and his growing unwillingness to maintain French power.
The promo material for the novel emphasizes the fact that Hamou is born with lines across his palms that mark him as a zhoury—a human who is part Djinn and who has remarkable skills and luck beyond the ordinary. I was expecting a novel heavy on magical realism, but that isn't the case. Readers see a handful of moments of great luck in Hamou's life, but mostly he is an ordinary man trying to live an ordinary life in a time when the meaning of "ordinary" is shifting as colonial society breaks down. This isn't a tale of magical realism; it's a tale of life as occupation crumbles and new norms emerge.
At first, I found the lack of magical realism disappointing, because I enjoy the genre. As I continued to read, however, I appreciated that events in the book aren't driven by magic, but by human inequities, tensions, and aspirations.
If you're interested in the history of French-occupied northern Africa or the struggle against colonialism you'll find this novel engaging, even though—or perhaps because—Hamou isn't a capital-H Hero, but a man who manages moments of small-h heroism during a dangerous time. But even if you're not interested in the historic aspects of the story, you'll find yourself appreciating the way The Black Crescent explores the costs and rewards of right action.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own. show less
Hamou decides to become a police officer, a position he believes will allow him a show more chance to stand up for the rights of the victimized and overlooked. He excels in his training program and is welcomed by the Sureté, the French police. Welcomed, not in the sense of "you're one of us now; we are brothers," but in the sense of "we can use you, and of course we'll assign you the most boring and most dangerous work, including furthering our control over your own people." At first Hamou finds satisfaction in his work. He does help the victimized and overlooked when given the opportunity, but such opportunities evaporate as the resistance against French colonial rule grows.
Hamou is trained in weapons use and finds himself assigned to tamp down protests and to ferret out those involved in clandestine independence groups. This is the crux of the novel: Hamou's witnessing of his own compromises and his growing unwillingness to maintain French power.
The promo material for the novel emphasizes the fact that Hamou is born with lines across his palms that mark him as a zhoury—a human who is part Djinn and who has remarkable skills and luck beyond the ordinary. I was expecting a novel heavy on magical realism, but that isn't the case. Readers see a handful of moments of great luck in Hamou's life, but mostly he is an ordinary man trying to live an ordinary life in a time when the meaning of "ordinary" is shifting as colonial society breaks down. This isn't a tale of magical realism; it's a tale of life as occupation crumbles and new norms emerge.
At first, I found the lack of magical realism disappointing, because I enjoy the genre. As I continued to read, however, I appreciated that events in the book aren't driven by magic, but by human inequities, tensions, and aspirations.
If you're interested in the history of French-occupied northern Africa or the struggle against colonialism you'll find this novel engaging, even though—or perhaps because—Hamou isn't a capital-H Hero, but a man who manages moments of small-h heroism during a dangerous time. But even if you're not interested in the historic aspects of the story, you'll find yourself appreciating the way The Black Crescent explores the costs and rewards of right action.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own. show less
The White Hare provides a wonderful, spooky read that remains rewarding throughout. I have run up against so many books lately that begin with promise, but lose course, that I can't begin to say how grateful I am for a title that I never once considered abandoning.
The White Hare has plot elements that are familiar: outsiders come to a small community and are made less than welcome; there's a strange man who keeps showing up, but has no known address; the local priest is determined to stamp show more out paganism; other members of the community practice the old ways; the sea broods; past horrors are alluded to, but never explained.
Our outsiders in this case are a trio of women: grandmother and mother are both Polish immigrants who immigrated to the UK at the start of WWII; the daughter, Janey, not quite school-age, is UK-born. The two older women are both fleeing their own traumas, but Janey remains content with her rabbit-toy best friend and eager to explore the forests and beaches near her new home. But then Rabbit disappears—and reappears—and suddenly conversations between Janey and Rabbit become more mysterious and esoteric.
One of the joys of this title is the way it steadily builds a sense of menace, but also sustains a sense of hope. I kept waiting for the moment of horror that would ruin the book for me, but—despite plenty of unworldly events—that moment never came.
If you like "gothic" (not quite the right word here, but I'll go with it) fiction, but aren't interested in bloodbaths, you are going to *love* The White Hare. The balance of unease and comfort offered by the book lets readers walk a fine edge without a sudden fall to either side.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGallet; the opinions are my own. show less
The White Hare has plot elements that are familiar: outsiders come to a small community and are made less than welcome; there's a strange man who keeps showing up, but has no known address; the local priest is determined to stamp show more out paganism; other members of the community practice the old ways; the sea broods; past horrors are alluded to, but never explained.
Our outsiders in this case are a trio of women: grandmother and mother are both Polish immigrants who immigrated to the UK at the start of WWII; the daughter, Janey, not quite school-age, is UK-born. The two older women are both fleeing their own traumas, but Janey remains content with her rabbit-toy best friend and eager to explore the forests and beaches near her new home. But then Rabbit disappears—and reappears—and suddenly conversations between Janey and Rabbit become more mysterious and esoteric.
One of the joys of this title is the way it steadily builds a sense of menace, but also sustains a sense of hope. I kept waiting for the moment of horror that would ruin the book for me, but—despite plenty of unworldly events—that moment never came.
If you like "gothic" (not quite the right word here, but I'll go with it) fiction, but aren't interested in bloodbaths, you are going to *love* The White Hare. The balance of unease and comfort offered by the book lets readers walk a fine edge without a sudden fall to either side.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGallet; the opinions are my own. show less
Thanks to Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.
Mila thinks “We’re not living in a fairy tale,” but there are elements of folklore, legends, myths, and magical qualities that make this an engrossing 5-star read. Any book that is recommended to fans of Kate Morton and Alice Hoffman sets me up for an atmospheric story of family, old houses, secrets, and mysteries. This one has all that and more.
Mila, her young daughter show more Janey, and her mother Magda have invested all their money to purchase a remote and neglected old house in Cornwall above the beach, on the edge of a forest. They intend to renovate and restore it to its former glory, with Magda planning to throw glamorous parties while Mila just wants a place to rebuild her life and raise her daughter. The superstitious local villagers hint at the house’s dark reputation while imaginative Janey seems to have connected with a mystical white hare that offers protection, guidance, and perhaps even answers to the mysteries that are slowly revealed.
The novel is told from Mila’s point of view, with much of the focus on the broken relationship between Mila and her mother Magda. This drama plays out against some of the other characters’ narratives as we learn more about them and the history of the area. The lush, wild forest is almost a character itself, providing a timeless atmospheric backdrop to this story that takes place in 1954. It also includes secret stairways, an ancient cryptic symbol that keeps turning up, and the feeling of a presence. As Mila says, “It’s not threatening – not to us, anyway – but just a sense of being watched, or maybe watched over. A sort of awareness, much larger than we are.”
Themes of strong women, family, mothers and daughters, healing and forgiveness blend with the magical and mystical aspects of folklore, restorative herbal concoctions, and a bit of romance, too. I thoroughly enjoyed this rich, timeless story with a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend it. show less
Mila thinks “We’re not living in a fairy tale,” but there are elements of folklore, legends, myths, and magical qualities that make this an engrossing 5-star read. Any book that is recommended to fans of Kate Morton and Alice Hoffman sets me up for an atmospheric story of family, old houses, secrets, and mysteries. This one has all that and more.
Mila, her young daughter show more Janey, and her mother Magda have invested all their money to purchase a remote and neglected old house in Cornwall above the beach, on the edge of a forest. They intend to renovate and restore it to its former glory, with Magda planning to throw glamorous parties while Mila just wants a place to rebuild her life and raise her daughter. The superstitious local villagers hint at the house’s dark reputation while imaginative Janey seems to have connected with a mystical white hare that offers protection, guidance, and perhaps even answers to the mysteries that are slowly revealed.
The novel is told from Mila’s point of view, with much of the focus on the broken relationship between Mila and her mother Magda. This drama plays out against some of the other characters’ narratives as we learn more about them and the history of the area. The lush, wild forest is almost a character itself, providing a timeless atmospheric backdrop to this story that takes place in 1954. It also includes secret stairways, an ancient cryptic symbol that keeps turning up, and the feeling of a presence. As Mila says, “It’s not threatening – not to us, anyway – but just a sense of being watched, or maybe watched over. A sort of awareness, much larger than we are.”
Themes of strong women, family, mothers and daughters, healing and forgiveness blend with the magical and mystical aspects of folklore, restorative herbal concoctions, and a bit of romance, too. I thoroughly enjoyed this rich, timeless story with a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend it. show less
Somewhat of an Arthurian quest told completely from the point of view of felines and a few companions of other animal species. These aren't just behaving as humans would, only happen to be animals, these beings perceive the world around them as one would imagine animals to do, their behavior toward each other and their opinions of the humans around them are quite catlike. In fact, humans rarely have much presence, except as providers of food, and with the glaring exception of the Alchemist show more and his minions.
The young Tag is recruited by the ancient Majicou to bring the King & Queen to Tintagel by the equinox.
I'm not sure I would recomment this to anyone younger than a teen. There is torture of cats (which at first I likened to modern use of animals for lab experiments--but it was more on the lines of Nazi experiments on humans, only the Alchemist's purpose differed), and many fights in which the animals are severely wounded & given up for dead. show less
The young Tag is recruited by the ancient Majicou to bring the King & Queen to Tintagel by the equinox.
I'm not sure I would recomment this to anyone younger than a teen. There is torture of cats (which at first I likened to modern use of animals for lab experiments--but it was more on the lines of Nazi experiments on humans, only the Alchemist's purpose differed), and many fights in which the animals are severely wounded & given up for dead. show less
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