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CollectionAges 8–12Chapter Books

The Secret Lake

A universe by Karen Inglis

A warm, gentle time-slip adventure series in the classic garden-mystery tradition — a hidden tunnel, a secret lake and friendships that reach across a century.

  • Series

    1
  • Books

    3
  • Best for

    8–12
  • Status

    Ongoing

At a glance

Primary creator
Karen Inglis
First book
The Secret Lake · 2011
Tone
Adventurous, Warm, Nostalgic, Exciting
Overall sensitivity
Moderate

The shape of it

The shape of this universe.

Karen Inglis's much-loved time-slip adventure series, in which a hidden tunnel beneath a London garden opens onto a secret lake and a world almost a hundred years in the past. Across three books, siblings Stella and Tom slip between present-day London and the Edwardian era, forging friendships across time and being pulled into daring rescues and a genuine mystery. Warm, brisk and gentle at heart, the stories carry short chapters and real puzzles to solve, in the tradition of classic garden time-travel adventures brought up to date. An international self-published success translated into many languages, the series is a reliable, comforting hook for eight-to-eleven-year-olds who like their thrills without the fright.

A warm, gentle time-slip adventure series in the classic garden-mystery tradition — a hidden tunnel, a secret lake and friendships that reach across a century.

Primary themes

Tone palette

  • Adventurous
  • Warm
  • Nostalgic
  • Exciting

The series

One way in.

Cultural footprint

A shelf of evidence.

What The Secret Lake has done

  • Major award winner
  • Bestseller

Cultural ubiquity

2/ 5

A working classic for readers in the know.

Sensitivity

Moderate, and collection-wide.

ModerateCollection-wide

Content notes

  • Illness or disability

Across the collection

All 3 books.

About the creator

Karen Inglis.

Karen Inglis

Author

Karen Inglis: self-publishing phenomenon behind the bestselling Secret Lake time-slip mysteries, gentle page-turning adventures for readers of eight to eleven.

More from Karen Inglis
How we recommend

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