MCB buys ‘classic war story’ by Hilary McKay

Macmillan Children’s Books (MCB) will this September mark 100 years since the end of World War One by publishing a new novel by Hilary McKay.

The Skylark’s War is about three children called Clarry, Peter and Rupert, whose lives are uprooted when Rupert goes to fight at the front.

Publisher Venetia Gosling, who acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency, said: “I totally fell in love with The Skylarks' War as soon as I read it. It is very much a snapshot of the early 20th century as the First World War approaches — and our heroine Clarry's longing for the idyllic summers of her youth as the harsh realities of conflict, absence and death intrude into her and her family's lives.

“Hilary is such an accomplished, warm and witty writer, and you know you are in very safe hands as she carries you through the charmed pre-war years and into the dark horrors of the trenches.”

MCB will publish in hardback on 20th September at the same time as the paperback release of Fairy Tales, McKay’s short story collection.