The Secret Staircase

An old house, a secret staircase, and a hidden time-tunnel.

A thrilling time-travel adventure for readers aged 8-12.

A quaint old hotel in a sleepy seaside town holds a secret-a hidden staircase that opens a gateway to a tumultuous past.

When twelve-year-old Jay and his younger sister Poppy visit their eccentric grandmother in Russell, they’d rather be anywhere else. But strange sounds only they can hear-mysterious voices, fireworks, or is it gunfire?-make them question their surroundings.

One night, they spot two men burying treasure in a garden long overgrown by trees. The mystery deepens as the siblings step into the world of Kororāreka in 1845, a town teetering on the edge of conflict. Caught in a momentous historical event, Jay and Poppy must navigate a dangerous past, where tensions rise and loyalties are tested.

A modern children’s classic from award-winning historical fiction author J L Williams.

If you enjoy Lucy M. Boston’s Green Knowe series or The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis, you won’t be able to put down this gripping time-travel mystery. The Secret Staircase delves into themes of colonization and culture with sensitivity and heart, launching readers on an unforgettable adventure.

Can Jay and Poppy trust their new-found friends, find the treasure, and return to the present before it’s too late?

Author Biography

J L Williams lives in the north of the North Island of New Zealand with her husband, her dog, a cat, a horse, several sheep and chickens and lots of fruit trees. She loves reading, writing and holidays by the sea.