A Stranger Came Ashore

mollie hunter lisa falkenstern

A wild, stormy night . . . A shipwreck . . . The sudden appearance of a stranger . . . That is how it all begins. The stranger is Finn Learson, a young and handsome man who seems to be the only survivor of the wreck. Finn Learson is charming and generous, and the Henderson family gladly give him shelter. Only young Robbie Henderson does not trust Finn Learson and his oddly unsettling secret smile. Robbie is sure that he is hiding something--but what? The clues Robbie finds are Finn Learson's love of dancing; an ancient gold coin that Finn gives to the family; strange omens in the ashes of a fire; and beautiful young Elspeth Henderson's increasingly odd behavior. Then, in one frightening moment, Robbie recalls his grandfather's warning and discovers at last the terrible, incredible truth about Finn Learson. And Robbie knows it's up to him to save his sister . . . before it's too late. Only 12-year-old Robbie knows that the mysterious Finn Learson is the evil Great Selkie, the seal-man of Shetland Islands legend. Phoenix Award winning author Mollie Hunter "has written another suspense story finely laced with folklore; her storytelling is as spontaneous as it is irresistible."?H. ?Sure to keep readers spellbound.? ?SLJ. Notable Children?s Books of 1971-1975 (ALA)
1976 Boston Globe?Horn Book Award Honor Book for Fiction
Best Books of 1975 (SLJ)
Outstanding Children's Books of 1975 (NYT)
Children's Books of 1975 (Library of Congress)

Kirkus Choice 1975

Genres fantasyfictionyoung adultchildrenshistorical fictionscotlandhistoricalmagicread for schoolmiddle grade

163 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1975

Literary awards

boston globe-horn book award,

Places

scotland,

This edition

Format: 163 pages, Paperback
Published: January 1, 1977 by Trophy Pr
ISBN: 9780064400824
ASIN: 0064400824
Language: English

About the author

mollie hunter

Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith writes under the name Mollie Hunter. Mollie Hunter is one of the most popular and influential twentieth-century Scottish writers of fiction for children and young adults. Her work, which includes fantasy, historical fiction, and realism, has been widely praised and has won many awards and honors, such as the Carnegie Medal, the Phoenix Award, a Boston Globe - Horn Book Honor Award, and the Scottish Arts Council Award.

There has also been great interest in Hunter's views about writing fiction, and she has published two collections of essays and speeches on the subject. Hunter's portrait hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and her papers and manuscripts are preserved in the Scottish National Library.

Her books have been as popular in the United States as in the United Kingdom, and most are still in print. Critic Peter Hollindale has gone so far as to assert that Hunter "is by general consent Scotland's most distinguished modern children's writer."