Description
The Return of the Antelope by Willis Hall, illustrated by Rowan Barnes-Murphy, continues the whimsical adventures of the tiny mariners introduced in Hall’s original story. Set in 1899, the tale begins when siblings Gerald and Philippa leave their picnic hamper on the beach during a sudden rainstorm, only to discover the next morning that three miniature shipwrecked mariners have made it their temporary home. These pint-sized visitors, following in the footsteps of Gulliver’s Travels’ Lilliputians, have sailed the seas in a tiny ship named the Antelope, retracing adventures first imagined two centuries earlier. Hall’s story blends imaginative adventure with humour and charm, offering young readers a richly detailed world of tiny heroes navigating challenges far larger than themselves.
Based on the thirteen-part television series Hall wrote for Granada Television, the novel preserves the spirit of the original show while expanding the narrative for literary audiences, capturing themes of curiosity, courage and the delight of discovering the extraordinary in the everyday.
