Peter Dickinson is a fine writer, who I believe is underappreciated. He wrote a series of young adult novels in the late 1960s and early 1970s called, collectively, The Changes. I highly recommend the series to any reader who enjoys either the Harry Potter novels or Diana Wynne Jones's works. These are darker and more edgy than DWJ's Chrestomanci books, but each comes to a redemption in the end.
He wrote the last, The Weathermonger, first; the middle, Hearts-ease, next, and the first book (in terms of chronology) last: The Devil's Children.
My hardback editions were published by Delacorte in about 1986.
The Devil's Children: Suddenly, people are confused and repelled by any form of machinery. Panic and chaos ensue. Nicola Gore, a girl of 11, is separated from her parents as they flee from London. She returns to her home to wait, and then sees she needs to leave London. She joins a band of Sikhs who are fleeing the city, and helps them fight for a place where they can live at peace with their neighbours.
Heartsease Four years have passed Margaret and her brother Jonathan are in the grip of the Changes, the sudden hysterical fear of machines. But somehow, faced with an American spy who has been stoned and left for dead, the children lose their fear and rescue the American.
The Weathermonger: It is five years on. The people of the British Isles, mentally, are in the mindset of the Dark Ages, and are hysterically fearful of any mechanical devices. Geoffrey, the sixteen year old weathermonger, is in command. But then, somehow, Geoffrey and his sister throw off the fear of machines, and the world begins again to turn.
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