Everything families ask about the Hughes Chronicles — the true story, the books, buying direct, and reading together across the miles.
Yes. ST Hughes was a real Welsh racehorse breeder who arrived in South Africa in the 1920s, created the real Black Forest Tea remedy, and vanished in the Belgian Congo in the late 1930s. His daughter Daphne was real, and his grandson DuGallan is writing the books from her family's real papers, photographs and recollections. The mystery at the heart of the series — what happened to ST — has never been solved. Where the true story needed wings to fly as fiction, it was given them, but the people, places and unanswered questions are real.
The Hughes Chronicles is a family read-aloud series, written so the adult is never ahead of the child. Most families read it together from around age 8 and up, and the clue-driven, chapter-a-night structure makes it a natural fit for bedtime reading, long car trips, or homeschool history units — but plenty of adults read it solo too, drawn in by the real history and the unsolved family mystery.
Each book resolves its own mystery, but every book ends with a Clue Keeper and a trail that leads directly into the next — so reading in order gives the richest experience. Series 1 (Books 1–6) follows Daphne's own search for her father; Series 2 (Books 7–12) follows the next generation continuing the trail. New readers should start with Book 1 — Start Where The Horses Ran, or with the free Prologue if they'd like a taste first.
Twelve books are mapped across the two current series — Books 1–8 are published now, and Books 9–12 are coming. Beyond that, the author's wider vision for the Hughes Chronicles spans three generations of the family and 20-plus books in total, as the search for ST continues with each new generation of searchers.
In format, yes — short, clue-ended chapters, a running Clue Keeper, hidden family secrets, and a trail spanning many books, all built for reading together. The biggest difference is what the trail is actually about: the Hughes Chronicles' central mystery is based on a real family and a real disappearance, not an invented one. See our full comparison on the Books Like The 39 Clues page.
Every direct purchase from DuGallan.com includes both a PDF of the full book to keep and read on any device, plus a Premium Flipbook edition with page-turn effects, accessed via a link and password inside your PDF. Payment is processed securely through Dodo Payments, and access is delivered immediately — no waiting, no shipping.
Immediately after your payment is confirmed, you'll see your personal access page with a download link for your PDF and the password for your Premium Flipbook. We recommend bookmarking that page or taking a screenshot, since it's also where you'd return if you ever need your details again.
Email us at doug@dugallan.com with the email address you used and, if possible, your payment reference, and we'll send your access details again. See our Buyer Support details on the Contact page.
Yes — the Hughes Chronicles is also published on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Buying directly from DuGallan.com gives you more for the same purchase: every direct order includes both a PDF to keep and a Premium Flipbook edition with page-turn effects, delivered instantly.
Yes. The PDF you receive can be transferred to most e-readers, including Kindle, using your device's normal ‘send to’ or file transfer options. The Premium Flipbook is designed for browsers on phones, tablets and computers rather than e-ink readers.
Single books and bundles come with a 14-day money-back guarantee, provided the book hasn't been substantially read. Subscriptions can be cancelled any time, with access continuing until the end of the paid period. Faulty purchases or failed delivery are always made right. See our full Refund Policy for details.
Yes — that's exactly what the Premium Flipbook is for. After purchase, you'll receive a link and password that work on any device, anywhere with an internet connection. Share them with your grandchild (or their parent), and you can both have the same page open during a call. Read more on our Read Together Across Generations page.
No special software is needed for the books themselves — the flipbook opens in a normal web browser. For the call itself, any video call app works: Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, or whatever your family already uses. If you're in the same room, you don't need a call at all.
It's one of the most common reasons families buy directly from DuGallan.com. Because delivery is instant and digital, you can buy a book or bundle as a gift and forward the access details to whoever will be reading it — no shipping, no waiting, and nothing that can go missing in the post.