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I spent 20 years as a teacher of French, Latin and Classical studies, before a change of career led me to writing children's fiction. Originally from the UK, I now live in France with my husband and our beautiful Tonkinese cat.
Shadows from the Past is a series of time-travel adventures, featuring 3 children and a rather special Tonkinese cat - the incomparable Maximus Lancelot to give him his full name. I'm currently working on the eighteenth book, The Shadow of the Slave Ship. The full-length books are also accompanied by some shorter stories, Max's Adventures, all of which see the talking feline hero, Max, undertaking solo missions in the past.
As I take my young readers on a magical mystery tour through the past, I'm hoping that my love of history, myth and legend will rub off on them too.
Reviewed by Alysha Allen for Readers' Favorite
Joe, Jemima, Charlie, and Max have opened the large Shadows From The Past book again! Join the children and Max on another fantastic time-traveling adventure in The Shadow of The Minotaur by Wendy Leighton-Porter. Joe and Jemima Lancelot have recently discovered that their time-traveling parents are lost in the past. Their only hope lies in the children finding them and bringing them a special key that takes them home. With their friend Charlie and talking Tonkinese cat Max at their sides, Joe and Jemima bravely step into the past. As the children and Max search for the missing Lancelots, they experience history in ways never imagined. This adventure sends them to ancient Knossos. It's a race against time as Joe, Jemima, Charlie and Max help Prince Theseus to kill the fearsome half-man, half-bull creature known as a Minotaur. With the assistance of a lovely young princess, the children and Max find a way to get into the labyrinth where the gruesome beast feasts on humans so as to aid the young prince. Only, once in the Minotaur’s dangerous lair, they find themselves trapped with no hope of escape. With the children locked deep within the Minotaur's labyrinth and their only help now a hostage in the palace, one special hero tries to save the day. Can he get help before it's too late? Will the children suffer the same fate as the twins' parents and be forever lost in time? Or worse, be eaten by the mighty Minotaur?
Another wonderful book by master story-weaver, Wendy Leighton Porter! The Shadow of The Minotaur is the second book in the Shadows From The Past series. This book is action packed and filled with adventure around every corner. The reader, young or old, won't be able to put the book down to the last page. I loved that it came with a helpful pronunciation key to help the less experienced reader. I love the Shadows From The Past series. The author has an extraordinary ability to combine history with fiction in such a realistic manner. It gives the reader the feeling of being there, next to her characters. She then explains in detail what is history and what is fiction so that the reader won't become confused. Although this book is rather gory in parts, I didn't find it offensive. Contrarily, the goriness only added to the intensity and believability of the story. This is a must-read for any youngster. I recommend this book to children ages 7-10, but I believe anyone would enjoy it. I certainly did!
