Living next to the magical land of Faerie is complicated, as the inhabitants of Lud-in-the-Mist know all too well. As a result, Lud-in-the-Mist is an extremely practical and prosaic country, where any mention of Faerie, the fae, or fairy-fruit is taboo. But when it appears someone has begun smuggling fairy-fruit into Lud-in-the-Mist--resulting in bewitched children disappearing into Faerie--Lud-in-the-Mist's mayor, the respectable Nathaniel Chanticleer, sets off on a mission to rescue his home and his children. This is a forgotten classic that is perfect for readers of Susanna Clarke's
Piranesi
and Neil Gaiman's
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
.