Children's literature is especially attuned to the bends and loops of chronology and geography. Penelope Lively's The Whispering Knights (1971), Susan Cooper's Over Sea, Under Stone (1965), and Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960) all feature stony settings that blend past, present and distant myth. Arthurian Knights and evil enchantresses are awoken from slumber. The contemporary world is threatened by long dormant evils. We might be able to travel back through history, but, if it finds the right passage, history can also come looking for us.
