Robin Jarvis

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-10-21

Robin Jarvis, born on 8 May 1963, is a British children's novelist and illustrator of dark fantasy, often about anthropomorphic mice and other small mammals. He studied graphic design in Newcastle and then worked in television and advertising making model monsters and puppets, and came up with the idea for The Deptford Mice while working as a model-maker. His first novel, The Dark Portal (1989), was runner-up for that year's Smarties Book Prize and opened the Deptford Mice trilogy, followed by the prequel Deptford Histories; he went on to the Whitby Witches books, winners of the Lancashire Libraries Award, the Hagwood novels and later series, and in 2024 Pushkin Children's Books began reissuing the Deptford Mice with new illustrations by the author.

Universe(s)

Books

• The Crystal Prison (1989) · The Deptford Mice Core Canon
• The Dark Portal (1989) · The Deptford Mice Core Canon
• The Final Reckoning (1990) · The Deptford Mice Core Canon
• The Alchymist's Cat (1991) · The Deptford Mice Core Canon
• The Oaken Throne (1993) · The Deptford Mice Core Canon
• Thomas (1995) · The Deptford Mice Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 6 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 1 (1 finalist mention)

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