Awful Auntie. David Walliams

      

Copyright

      First published in hardback in Great Britain in 2014

      by HarperCollins Children’s Books

      HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

      Visit us on the web at www.harpercollins.co.uk

      Cover lettering of author’s name © Quentin Blake 2010

      David Walliams and Tony Ross assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.

      AWFUL AUNTIE Text © David Walliams 2014. Illustrations © Tony Ross 2014. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

       HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

      Source ISBN 978-0-00-745360-3

      Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2014 ISBN: 9780007453634

      Version: 2018-08-22

      This is Saxby Hall, where our story takes place.

      Here is the interior of Saxby Hall.

      This is a map of the house and grounds.

       For Maya, Elise and Mitch

       Thank yous

       I would like to thank the following people.

       Charlie Redmayne, the big boss at HarperCollins.

       Ann-Janine Murtagh, who is the head of children’s books there.

       Ruth Alltimes, my brilliant editor.

       The great Tony Ross, who has once again brought the story alive with the most magical illustrations.

       Kate Clarke, the cover designer.

       Elorine Grant, who designed the inside of the book.

       Geraldine Stroud and Sam White, who are in charge of publicity.

       Paul Stevens, my literary agent at Independent.

       Tanya Brennand-Roper, who produces the audio versions of my books.

       Finally, of course, a huge thank you to Mrs Barbara Stoat, who writes all my books for me.

       I do hope you enjoy this one. I haven’t read it myself so I have absolutely no clue as to what it’s about.

       David Walliams

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Copyright

       Maps

       Dedication

       Thanks

Prologue

I: Frozen

II: A Baby Vanishes

III: A Beastly Child

IV: The Great Bavarian Mountain Owl

V: Mummified

VI: Some Terrible Nightmare

VII: The Human Caterpillar

VIII: The Great Escape

       IX: Hunted Down

       X: Locked in the Cellar

       XI: Behind the Walls

       XII: Posho

       XIII: A Light in the Shape of a Boy

       XIV: Ghost Snot

       XV: The Ghost Detective

       XVI: A Bitter Aftertaste

       XVII: Desserts Galore

       XVIII: Crackle Crackle Crackle

       XIX: Deeply Creepy

       XX: