The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Chapter Books

“Of especially naughty children, it is sometimes said, ‘they must have been raised by wolves’… these rascals actually were!”

If you love the thrill of a mystery, the elegance of the English countryside, and the fun of intriguing and quirky characters, you’ll find it all at Ashton Place, an estate with more secrets than a squirrel has whiskers.

Who Are the Incorrigible Children?

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place is a six-book mystery series exploring the unusual origins of Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia, and how they came to be left in the woods to be raised by wolves. The children’s governess, Miss Penelope, tries to make sure they learn their Latin, etiquette, and poetry, but she has her hands full just trying to teach them that birds are for watching, not for lunch.

Set against the backdrop of a vast English estate, these mysteries masterfully combine a suspenseful storyline with laugh-out-loud humor and endearing (albeit unusual!) characters.

Take our free Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Series Checklist to your local library!

About the Author and Series

Maryrose Wood has done many things: she’s been an actor and a comedian, she’s written award-winning plays, and she’s taught writing. And, of course, she’s written six books about the Incorrigible Children.

Her knack for combining silly situations with an old-fashioned writing style makes the series ideal for readers of all ages. As her author biography says, she “writes books for the sort of reader who is not yet old enough to drive but enjoys taking journeys of the imagination nonetheless.” Everyone will be kept guessing by the intriguing twists of the mystery, and they might even learn a thing or two about poetic meter along the way!

About the Books

In the first book of the series, The Mysterious Howling, Miss Penelope Lumley answers an ad for a governess position at a peculiar old estate called Ashton Place. She’s sure she can handle anything—after all, she’s a graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females. But instead of the well-behaved children she expected to tutor, Penelope soon realizes she’s been hired to civilize three wild, barking, nipping children who were literally raised by wolves.

Armed with only her education, a book of German poetry, and the pithy sayings of Academy founder Agatha Swanburne, Penelope has a challenge ahead of her. But the task is made even harder by the deadline for taming the children: Lady Constance’s rapidly approaching Christmas party. The children will have to display their newfound knowledge of subjects like speaking English and using forks, all in front of the guests—if only they don’t get distracted by squirrels!

Then it’s on to London in The Hidden Gallery, where the Incorrigibles meet a mysterious soothsayer. She seems to know something about their pasts, and maybe even their futures. But the woman is not quite as interesting to Penelope as another new friend in the city—a playwright named Simon Harley-Dickinson. He has a knack for navigating and a taste for adventure, both of which come in handy when he’s around the Incorrigibles! A misguided guidebook, a peculiar pirate play, and a highly recommended portrait gallery (that no one knows how to find) are all elements of the deepening mystery of the Incorrigible Children.

In the next installment, the Incorrigibles are home again at Ashton Place and about to meet The Unseen Guest. There are other guests around too, including Lord Fredrick’s melancholy mother and her admirer Admiral Faucet. The entrepreneurial admiral has brought along his newest business scheme—a racing ostrich. But the ostrich has just escaped into the same woods where the Incorrigibles were found roaming with wolves! When the Incorrigibles are enlisted to help track down the bird, will they be able to resist the call of the wild? Can Penelope ever convince them to return to Ashton Place?

*Please note: As always, we recommend that you review all reading material before giving it to your child to read to ensure that the books are appropriate for your child.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Series at a Glance

Author: Maryrose Wood
Genre: children’s fiction, mystery
Interests: mysteries, history, adventure, secrets, poetry
Suggested age range: 8 to 12
Gender preference: boys and girls
In the series: 6 books, 288 to 448 pages

Other Books in the Series

• The Interrupted Tale (Book #4)
• The Unmapped Sea (Book #5)
• The Long-Lost Home (Book #6)

Have you ever tried audiobooks as a voice-saving option for family read-aloud time? The Audible.com recordings of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place are so much fun to listen to!

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Series Checklist

Do your kids need a little extra encouragement to read?

Take our free Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place checklist to your local library and have your child check off books as he reads them!

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