Madame Badobedah by Sophie Dahl Walker Books

A timeless story celebrating friendship and imagination, from an exciting new voice in children’s literature.

Mabel lives with her parents in The Mermaid Hotel, by the sea. Mabel likes to keep an eye on the comings and goings of all the guests. Then one day a particularly in-ter-est-ing old lady comes to stay. There is something very suspicious about her, with her growly voice and her heavy trunks and her beady-eyed tortoise. And why does no one know her REAL name? There can only be one answer, Mabel decides … this guest is a SUPERVILLAIN. But even supervillains have a soft side, and as an unlikely friendship grows between the pair, their fantastical exploits take them well beyond the corridors of their seaside home.

Sophie Dahl is an internationally bestselling novelist, cookery writer and columnist, and this warm, sparky, gently playful story is her very first foray into children’s books.

Lauren O’Hara’s soft, warm palette never fails to entice children into the pages of her books, and this beautifully produced jacketed gift hardback perfectly showcases her sumptuous illustrations.

Timeless storytelling reminiscent of classics such as Ludwig Bemelmans’ Madeline stories and Kay Thompson’s Eloise

Sophie Dahl began her working life as a teenage fashion model, but books and words were her first love. In 2003 she wrote Sunday Times bestseller The Man with the Dancing Eyes, an illustrated novella, which she followed in 2007 with her first novel, Playing with the Grown-ups. A devoted home-cook, Dahl has written two cookery books, From Season to Season and Sunday Times bestseller Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights, in addition to writing and presenting two BBC prime time shows about food. She is a contributing editor at Conde Nast Traveller and was a long-time contributing editor at British Vogue, and she has written non-fiction essays for US Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Observer, Guardian and The Times. Sophie lives in the countryside with her husband, daughters, rescue dog, cat and tortoise. Madame Badobedah is her first book for children.

ISBN: 9781406384406
Dimensions: 210 x 290mm, 56pp