Cornelia Funke
Cornelia Funke is the New York Times bestselling author of the Inkheart trilogy, The Thief Lord and a whole host of popular children’s novels and picture books.
Born in 1958 in the German town of Dorsten, Cornelia initially worked as an illustrator but soon began writing her own stories, quickly establishing a reputation as one of Germany’s best-loved children’s authors.
Her international breakthrough came with the fantasy novel Dragon Rider, which spent 78 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Success continued with the publication of The Thief Lord, which immediately climbed to the #2 spot on the New York Times bestseller list and stayed there for 19 weeks, selling 1.5 million copies.
Inkheart the movie, starring Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany, was released in 2008.
Cornelia Funke now lives in Italy and is working on several new books.
Thief Lord
Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city of Venice.
Befriended by a gang of street children and their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord, they shelter in an old, disused cinema. On their trail is a bungling detective, obsessed with disguises and the health of his pet tortoises. But a greater threat to the boys' new-found freedom is something from a forgotten past – a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.
An atmospheric and magical thriller told in the best storytelling tradition by the wonderful Cornelia Funke.
