ACHUKA Book of the Day 24 Jul 2026
PUBLISHED 50 YEARS AGO
“I have been re-reading this book for decades. It is not simply a magical timeslip story, a must read for anyone (like me when I was younger) enchanted by the history and mythology of Wales. It is also one of my favorite family stories, with great characterization and its appealing (well, to me) plot of older sister trying to help her family–having to learn to cook, and that sort of thing…These two elements–the magic and the familial–are both treated seriously, and it is the seamless meeting of the two, I think, that made this book such a favorite of mine.” Charlotte’s Library
When fifteen-year-old Jen Morgan flies to Wales to spend Christmas with her family, she’s not expecting much from the holiday. A year after her mother’s sudden death, her father seems preoccupied by the teaching job that has brought him and Jen’s younger siblings to Wales for the year. Her brother, Peter, is alternately hostile and sullen,and her sister, Becky, misses Jen terribly.
Peter tells Jen he’s found a strange artifact, a harp key that shows him pictures from the life of Taliesin, the great bard whose life in sixth-century Wales has been immortalized in legend. At first Jen doesn’t believe him, but when the key’s existence — and its strange properties — become known to the wider world, the Morgans must act together against a threat to the key…and to their family.
Anita Silvey writes of Bond’s work generally:
“[Her] attention to detail makes for some dense writing, requiring a certain level of reader sophistication, but one of the results is the development of believable characters. Bond has a good ear for dialogue and uses it liberally to develop recognisable relationships. Though the protagonists are always adolescents, their worlds are peopled with fully fleshed persons of all ages. Portrayed often are refreshing intergenerational friendships…”
“Bond’s leisurely pace makes her an old-fashioned storyteller of timeless young adult concerns.” Cambridge Guide to Children’s Books in English
I read A String in the Harp for the #1976Club. I think this is also a favorite of yours, @charlotteslib, am I right? https://t.co/RgnIPIEE3H pic.twitter.com/JqFVukxQF3
— CLM (@ConMartin) October 14, 2021
I love Snowdonia. So many Welsh folk tales to share. A String in the Harp: It tells of the American Morgan family who temporarily move to Wales, where Peter Morgan finds a magical harp key that gives him vivid visions of the past. Bit of a tear jerker though. pic.twitter.com/gGRw1rjW5T
— Kathryn Morgan (@KathrynMorgan_2) August 23, 2019
@LucyTheReader #ukyachat I rea.d a book set in NW Wales a few years ago. Nancy Bond, The Harp Key. It was wonderful
— Hilary McKay (@hilary_mckay) May 8, 2015
A Sting in the Harp by Nancy Bond. Beautiful story of child and family dealing with loss that my 10-year-old self needed to hear. Sparked imagination and an understanding that I wasn’t alone in the trauma I was coping with.
— Elaine K. Howley (@emkhowley) February 1, 2019
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