Ten-year-old Beatrix is very good at telling jokes, dancing and throwing knives. She also happens to be a queen of a distant land - though she doesn't know that yet. She also happens to be the queen who is quite possibly destined to lead the Wobblers to bold victory over the Evil Army - though she doesn't know that yet either.

Beatrix lives in an enormous golden palace with Aunt Esmerelda the Terrible and Uncle Ivan the Vicious, but as she's only been allowed to see one new room per birthday, she's only ever been inside ten rooms of the palace. Her aunt and uncle have always told her that if she goes beyond the woods outside the palace she'll fall off the edge of the world.

And the Dark, Dark Woods and all that lies beyond must be avoided at all costs - what if the dreaded Wobblers were to get her? But finally, the veil Beatrix has been living under is starting to slip. Beatrix knows she needs to be bold. Beatrix knows she needs to look for answers. And she's about to get them.

About the Author

Simon Mockler studied art at Camberwell Art College and Modern Languages at Cambridge. He has worked as an artist, musician, teacher and civil servant and now works as a consumer law and advertising specialist. He lives in South London with his wife and two children, who keep asking him what he wants to be when he grows up. Beatrix the Bold is his debut novel.