Robin Jarvis
Robin Jarvis (born 8 May 1963) is a British young adult fiction (YA) and children's novelist, who writes dark fantasy, suspense and supernatural thrillers. His books for young adults have featured the inhabitants of a coastal town battling a monumental malevolence with the help of its last supernatural guardian (The Witching Legacy), a diminutive race of Werglers (shape shifters) pitched against the evil might of the faerie hordes (The Hagwood Trilogy), a sinister "world-switching" dystopian future, triggered by a sinister and hypnotic book (Dancing Jax), Norse Fates, Glastonbury crow-demons and a time travelling, wise-cracking teddy bear. (The Wyrd Museum series), dark powers, a forgotten race and ancient evils on the North Yorkshire coast (The Whitby Witches trilogy), epic medieval adventure (The Oaken Throne) and science-fiction dramatising the "nefarious intrigue" within an alternate Tudor realm, peopled by personalities of the time, automata servants and animals known as Mechanicals and ruled by Queen Elizabeth I. Jarvis' books for younger readers have featured anthropomorphic rodents and small mammals – especially mice - as featured in the Deptford Mice series.
Robin Jarvis
- Born
- 1963.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom.
- Occupation
- writer and illustrator.
- Education
- Northumbria University and Penketh High School.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary summary
Robin Jarvis (born 8 May 1963) is a British young adult fiction (YA) and children's novelist, who writes dark fantasy, suspense and supernatural thrillers. His books for young adults have featured the inhabitants of a coastal town battling a monumental malevolence with the help of its last supernatural guardian (The Witching Legacy), a diminutive race of Werglers (shape shifters) pitched against the evil might of the faerie hordes (The Hagwood Trilogy), a sinister "world-switching" dystopian future, triggered by a sinister and hypnotic book (Dancing Jax), Norse Fates, Glastonbury crow-demons and a time travelling, wise-cracking teddy bear. (The Wyrd Museum series), dark powers, a forgotten race and ancient evils on the North Yorkshire coast (The Whitby Witches trilogy), epic medieval adventure (The Oaken Throne) and science-fiction dramatising the "nefarious intrigue" within an alternate Tudor realm, peopled by personalities of the time, automata servants and animals known as Mechanicals and ruled by Queen Elizabeth I. Jarvis' books for younger readers have featured anthropomorphic rodents and small mammals – especially mice - as featured in the Deptford Mice series.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Jarvis worked across writer and illustrator. This article rests on 68 published texts and 30 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.
Jarvis was born in Liverpool, the youngest of four children, and grew up in Warrington, attending Penketh High School. His favorite subjects at school were Art and English and he went on to study Graphic Design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University). After college, he moved to London and worked in the television and advertising industries as a model-maker. He lives in Greenwich in southeast London.
The Whitby Witches Trilogy
The Whitby Witches Trilogy
• The Whitby Witches (Originally published 1991) (Re-published as an Egmont Modern Classic 2017,"...and the inspiration for The Power of Dark and its sequels.") • A Warlock in Whitby (1992) • The Whitby Child (1994)
The Hagwood Trilogy
The Hagwood Trilogy
• Thorn Ogres of Hagwood (1999) (Re-published December 2012) (eBook and print on demand) • Dark Waters of Hagwood (June 2013) (eBook and print on demand) • War in Hagwood (July 2016) (eBook and print on demand) Originally published by Puffin Books, Thorn Ogres of Hagwood has been published online by Open Road Integrated Media. The sequel Dark Waters of Hagwood was published in June 2013, and the series finale; War in Hagwood in July 2016. After the original publication of the first instalment, the long-awaited second and third books were finally published over ten years later. The series follows the heroic battle for survival of a peace-loving race of Werlings who have the power to Wergle or shape shift. Living an untroubled existence, they unwittingly become embroiled in an epic struggle against the mighty powers of dark faerie magic and the least likely champion must find the hero within. The first title in the series has been described as "Fun for Hobbit-addicts and Potter-philes of all ages."
Dancing Jax
Dancing Jax
• Dancing Jax (February 2011) • Freax and Rejex (February 2012) • Fighting Pax (July 2014) The Dancing Jax trilogy is a dark fantasy series for Young Adults, published in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins. Jarvis has said the series was inspired by a dream. "...it gave me everything I needed, the title of the book, the characters and their names and other key 'ingredients'". The series relates the hypnotic and destructive power held over its readers by a devilish book, originally written in the 1930s by an evil magician. The book acts as a gateway to Mooncaster, "a fairytale world, full of Jacks, Queens and Kings, unicorns and wolves", but further described as "No fairytale", and by the author himself as "Not for the faint-hearted". The book explores themes of Many-worlds interpretation, Popular culture, Dystopia and Fear conditioning. The first, second, and third volumes of the trilogy have been published in Germany by Script5.
Tales from the Wyrd Museum
Tales from the Wyrd Museum
• The Woven Path (1995) (Re-published July 2011) • The Raven's Knot (1996) (Re-published October 2011) • The Fatal Strand (1998) (Re-published February 2012)
The Deptford Mice
The Deptford Mice
• The Deptford Mice Trilogy • The Dark Portal (1989) (Re-published May 2012) (eBook edition) • The Crystal Prison (1989) (Re-published May 2012) (eBook edition) • The Final Reckoning (1990) (Re-published May 2012) (eBook edition) • The Deptford Histories • The Alchymist's Cat (1991) • The Oaken Throne (1993) • Thomas (1995) The Deptford Mice Almanack (1997) • The Deptford Mouselets • Fleabee's Fortune (2004) • Whortle's Hope (2007) The Deptford Mouselets are a series of stand-alone prequel novels for younger children, featuring characters from The Deptford Mice and The Deptford Histories series.
Intrigues of the Reflected Realm
Intrigues of the Reflected Realm
• Deathscent (2001)
Early life and training
Early life and training
Robin Jarvis was born on 8 May 1963. Jarvis held the nationality of United Kingdom. Jarvis was educated at Northumbria University and Penketh High School.
Writing
Writing
Jarvis wrote as well as composed, and is recorded as writer. 27 books and published texts survive in the institutional catalogues, spanning 1989 to 2016. Among them are The Crystal Prison (1989), The Dark Portal (1989), The Final Reckoning (1990), The Whitby Witches (1991), A Warlock in Whitby (1992) and The Oaken Throne (1993). The whole run is set out in the catalogue below.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1963
Robin Jarvis was born on 8 May 1963.
Books and published writings, as catalogued, 1989–2016
Catalogued output
Books and published writings, as catalogued, 1989–2016
These are texts written by the subject, distinct both from writings about the subject and from printed editions of other people's work. The 1990s are the densest part of the run, with 11 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself. They belong to a run of 27 titles in all, from 1989 to 2016.
17 texts carry dates between 1989 and 2016
The run opens with The Crystal Prison and closes with The Power of Dark
The Crystal Prison
1989
The Dark Portal
1989
The Final Reckoning
1990
The Whitby Witches
1991
A Warlock in Whitby
1992
The Oaken Throne
1993
The Alchymist's Cat
1994
The Woven Path
1995
Thomas
1995
The Deptford Mice Almanack
1997
Books and published writings, as catalogued without a settled date
Catalogued output
Books and published writings, as catalogued without a settled date
10 further texts are catalogued under Jarvis's name without a date the collections agree on, which is why they are set apart from the dated run rather than placed in it.
The Deptford Mice
Freax and Rejex
Dark Waters of Hagwood
War in Hagwood
The Whitby Child
The Devil's Paintbox
Time of Blood
Writings and published texts, 1989–2021
Catalogued output
Writings and published texts, 1989–2021
These are catalogued publications carrying the name — editions and printings, distinct from the works they contain and from writing about the subject. The run opens with Microcomputers in accounting and closes with Legacy of Witches. They belong to a run of 68 titles in all, from 1989 to 2021. A selection is set out below and the complete run may be opened beneath it.
67 editions carry dates between 1989 and 2021
The entries follow Open Library
Microcomputers in accounting
1989
Wordsworth, Milton and the Theory of Poetic Relations
1991
The Alchymist's Cat (Deptford Histories)
1991
The Whitby Witches (Whitby, Book 1)
1991
The Oaken Throne (Deptford Histories)
1993
The Alchymist's Cat (Book One of the Deptford Histories)
1994
Business accounting for hospitality and tourism
1995
The Crystal Prison (Fiction: The Deptford Mice Audiotapes)
1995
The Whitby Boxed Set
1995
The Dark Portal (Deptford Mice)
1995
The complete catalogue · 52
67 editions carry dates between 1989 and 2021
The entries follow Open Library
Microcomputers in accounting
1989
Wordsworth, Milton and the Theory of Poetic Relations
1991
The Alchymist's Cat (Deptford Histories)
1991
The Whitby Witches (Whitby, Book 1)
1991
The Oaken Throne (Deptford Histories)
1993
The Alchymist's Cat (Book One of the Deptford Histories)
1994
Business accounting for hospitality and tourism
1995
The Crystal Prison (Fiction: The Deptford Mice Audiotapes)
1995
The Whitby Boxed Set
1995
The Dark Portal (Deptford Mice)
1995
The Final Reckoning (Deptford Mice)
1995
Thomas (Deptford Histories)
1995
The Woven Path (Tales from the Wyrd Museum)
1995
The Deptford Histories
1996
The Raven's Knot (Tales from the Wyrd Museum)
1996
The Warlock in Whitby
1996
Accounting in a business context
1997
Deptford Mice Almanack (Gift Books)
1997
The Raven's Knot (Tales from the Wyrd Museum S.)
1997
The Woven Path Wyrd Museum Book 1
1999
Romantic Writing and Pedestrian Travel
2000
The Crystal Prison (Deptford Mice)
2000
Die Mäuse von Deptford 1
Das düstere Portal
2001
The Whitby Child (Whitby, Book 3)
2001
Deathscent (Intrigues of the Reflected Realm S.)
2001
The Crystal Prison (Deptford Mice Trilogy, Book 2)
2002
Die Mäuse von Deptford 2
Das Kristallgefängnis
2002
Die Mäuse von Deptford 3
Das letzte Gefecht
2002
Deptford Mice Trilogy
2004
The Alchemist's Cat
2006
Whortle's Hope (Mouselets of Deptford)
2007
The Final Reckoning (The Deptford Mice, Book 3)
2007
Ogmund's Gift (Mouselets of Deptford, Book 3)
2008
The Thorn Ogres of Hagwood (The Hagwood Books)
2008
Raven's Knot
2011
Dancing Jax 2: Freax and Rejex
2012
Dancing Jax
2012
Fighting Pax
2014
Power of Dark
2016
Romantic Period
2016
Romantic Readers and Transatlantic Travel
2016
Whitby Witches
2017
Devil's Paintbox
2017
Dans Eden Valeler
2018
Dans Eden Valeler 3 Barisa Karsi
2020
Dans Eden Valeler 2 - Uyumsuz ve Asi
2020
Legacy of Witches
2021
Writings and published texts without a settled date
Catalogued output
Writings and published texts without a settled date
1 further edition are catalogued under Jarvis's name without a date the collections agree on, which is why they are set apart from the dated run rather than placed in it.
Whitby Series Dumpbin
The Witching Legacy
• The Power of Dark (June 2016) • The Devil's Paintbox (March 2017) • Time of Blood (July 2017) • Legacy of Witches (April 2021) The Witching Legacy is a four title series published by Egmont Books, in which Jarvis returns to the North Yorkshire town of Whitby. Jarvis said in a 2015 press release. "Now the time is right to climb those 199 steps once more and discover what’s been happening. Gasp – very grave and Dark things…" He further said of the town "The place won't leave me alone, it compels stories out of me. It's such a perfect blend of every location you could want, with a fabulously rich history that stretches back over a thousand years." The Power of Dark follows the story of two friends who get caught up in a supernatural vendetta from the past. "Something is brewing in the town of Whitby. To best friends Lil and Verne, it just seems like a particularly bad storm, but Cherry Cerise, the last of the Whitby witches, fears that ancient forces are at work, reviving the curse of a long lost magical artifact." The Devil's Paintbox continues the adventures of Lil when "More than ever she needs the support of best friend Verne and the witch Cherry Cerise, but they are preoccupied by their attempts to uncover more secrets of the golden Nimius. When Lil finds an antique box of watercolour paints she welcomes the diversion, little realising that every time she uses it something nasty escapes. But it is while they are distracted an old enemy finds a path to their door..." Time of Blood In this third title, the sinister Mister Dark is more powerful than ever and has enslaved young Verne to his will. Can Lil save her best friend before their enemy unleashes his most audacious and insane plan yet? Even with the help of new, surprising allies - a witch, a mysterious man of many disguises and the secretive aufwaders beneath the cliff - all seems hopeless. Whitby has never been a more frightening and dangerous place to live, and the murdered dead refuse to rest in peace.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Robin Jarvis”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7352573: Robin Jarvis
General reference · Wikidata
Literature
Further cited scholarship
4 scholarly and reference publications are cited here, each one identified by title and by the publication, publisher or institution that carried it, with its year where the register states one. The cited literature runs from 1992 to 2012, which is a measure of how long Jarvis has been a subject of scholarship rather than of how much has been written. The publications represented include American Studies in Scandinavia, The Yearbook of English Studies and Nineteenth-Century Literature. The Encyclopedia cites this literature and does not summarise the arguments of works it has not read in full. Robin Jarvis' <i>Romantic Readers and Transatlantic Travel. Caraher; Wordsworth, Milton, and the Theory of Poetic Relations.
Robin Jarvis, Nineteenth-Century Literature, 1992
Wordsworth's "Slumber" and the Problematics of Reading
Caraher Wordsworth, Milton, and the Theory of Poetic Relations
Authority records
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Robin Jarvis Homepage. Robinjarvis.com.
- 2.Text on the front cover of the 2000 Hodder Silver edition of The Dark Portal.
- 3.Tall Tales and Short Stories - Dancing Jax review.
- 4.BookZone - Interview with Robin Jarvis.
- 5.BookZone - Amazon Review. Amazon UK.
- 6.Tiny Dog Productions.
- 7.As Clive Barker returns here's eight other Merseyside sci fi, fantasy and horror writers who have thrilled readers worldwide - Liverpool Echo. 19 May 2015.
- 8.Author Information: Robin Jarvis. Iblist.com.
- 9.Bestselling author Robin Jarvis returns to Whitby with new gothic series to be published by Egmont. Egmont.co.uk.
- 10.Ripley, Vincent. Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books. 25 May 2016.
- 11.The Devil's Paintbox. Egmont Publishing.
- 12.Time of Blood. Egmont Publishing.
- 13.The Whitby Witches. Egmont Publishing.
- 14.Thorn Ogres of Hagwood. PublishersWeekly.com.
- 15.BookZone - Interview with Robin Jarvis.
- 16.BookZone - Interview with Robin Jarvis.
- 17.Dancing Jax - Zwischenspiel Script5 homepage.
- 18.Dancing Jax – Auftakt Script5 homepage.
- 19.Dancing Jax - Finale Script6 homepage. Script5.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Roberto ParadaIllustrator
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- RobinsonIllustrator
- Robyn BeltonIllustrator
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