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  • Published: 25 July 2023
  • ISBN: 9780241623909
  • Imprint: Puffin Modern Classics
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $36.00

Stig of the Dump




Discover our collectable Puffin Clothbound Classic edition of Stig of the Dump

Puffin Clothbound Classics are stunningly beautiful hardback editions of the most famous stories in the world, now including a beautiful 60th anniversary edition of Stig of the Dump, the poignant, humorous story of an unlikely friendship.

'King's modern classic from 1963 is enduringly loved because it contains so many irresistible ingredients' - The Times

Barney is a solitary little boy, given to wandering off by himself. One day he is lying on the edge of a disused chalk-pit when it gives way and he lands in a sort of cave. Here he meets a boy wearing a rabbit skin and speaking in grunts. He names him Stig. Nobody believes Barney when he tells his family all about Stig, but they become great friends, learning each others ways and embarking on a series of unforgettable adventures.

  • Published: 25 July 2023
  • ISBN: 9780241623909
  • Imprint: Puffin Modern Classics
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $36.00

About the authors

Clive King

David Clive King was born in Richmond, Surrey, England in 1924 but spent most of his childhood in Ash, a small village some 30 miles from London on the Kentish North Downs, where he and his three brothers used to play in a disused chalk pit. He was a boarder at King's School, Rochester at a time when every boy expected to be called up for the armed services in World War Two, and he opted for the Navy. This gave him seagoing experience that took him to the Arctic, Australia and Asia.

He returned with a post-war grant to Downing College, Cambridge, where he read English and Russian. The British Council offered him jobs, mostly concerned with teaching English, in Amsterdam, Belfast, Syria, Beirut, Dhaka and Madras (now Chennai). Many of these places provided settings for the stories he was writing. In 1973, he became a full-time writer, heartened by the growing popularity of his third book, Stig of the Dump. Clive lives in Norfolk with his family.

He comments:
'Places give me ideas for stories, and I like to get the topography exactly right. My travels have also given me an interest in the misunderstanding caused by different languages and backgrounds - though, yes, I do believe we can all get on with each other. I don't really know why Stig of the Dump is so much more popular than my other books. Perhaps it's because it combines my own experience and fantasies with those of my son Charles, in the English countryside we both knew so well.'

Edward Ardizzone

Edward Ardizzone (1900-1979) illustrated over 200 books and was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal for Tim All Alone. He was awarded the CBE in 1971.