Author | John Bellairs |
---|---|
Illustrator | Edward Gorey |
Language | English |
Series | Lewis Barnavelt |
Genre | Fantasy, mystery fiction |
Published | 1973 |
Publisher | Puffin Books |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print book |
Pages | 179 |
ISBN | 978-0-451-48128-3 |
OCLC | 1048899765 |
Followed by | The Figure in the Shadows |
The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a 1973 juvenile mystery fiction novel written by American author John Bellairs and illustrated by Edward Gorey. It is the first of the Lewis Barnavelt novel series. A 2018 film adaptation was released by Universal Pictures and directed by Eli Roth.
Lewis Barnavelt, recently an orphan, moves to the town of New Zebedee, Michigan, to live with his mysterious uncle Jonathan Barnavelt. Lewis' uncle turns out to be a mediocre, though well-intentioned, warlock. His next-door neighbor and good friend, Florence Zimmermann, is a far more powerful good witch. Jonathan's house was previously owned by Isaac and Selena Izard, a sinister couple who had dedicated their lives to black magic, and plotted to bring about the end of the world. Before dying, Isaac constructed the eponymous clock that he hid somewhere inside the walls of the house, where it eternally ticks as it attempts to pull the world into a magical alignment, which would destroy the world.
Lewis befriends a local boy named Tarby Corrigan, who is everything he is not—popular, athletic, thin—but the two soon begin to drift apart. Lewis tries to win Tarby back by demonstrating how to raise the dead in the local cemetery on Halloween but in doing so unwittingly releases Selena Izard from her tomb.
An escalating series of encounters with the sorceress' ghost builds to a final confrontation in the basement of Jonathan's house, where Lewis must summon up his courage and prevent the couple from finishing their work and bringing about the end time.
The Cronin House in John Bellairs's hometown of Marshall, Michigan was the inspiration for his book. The house received a historical plaque in 1992. [1] With the film adaptation debuting in 2018, Marshall's population embraced the fame with walking tours and other activities related to the book and its film. [2]
The House with a Clock in Its Walls received a New York Times outstanding book citation and a Michigan Young Readers award nomination. [3] Anita Silvey wrote in Children's Books and Their Creators that Bellairs "established himself as one of the most compelling mystery writers for children" with The House with a Clock in Its Walls. [4]
Kirkus Reviews wrote that Gorey's drawings of the house were "creepy-cozy", and that "Bellairs doesn't bother to supply either motivation or blueprints for the [...] scheme, but if the cavalier and capricious handling of the occult by characters and author alike precludes any bone-deep shudders, the house lives up to its promise of a few gratifying Halloween shivers". [5] The New York Times wrote: "It's the aura of this story—its blend of the everyday and the supernatural—that makes it glow among a plethora of lacklustre occult books this spring" of 1973. It continued: "What the author has done that's so special is to touch both the intellect and the feelings. He has dusted off the paraphernalia of ancient magic and made us newly aware of the difference between good and evil. His dialogue goes snap, crackle and pop. He sets chilling scenes with suspense that tightens like a screw". [6]
John Anthony Bellairs was an American author best known for his fantasy novel The Face in the Frost and many Gothic mystery novels for children featuring the characters Lewis Barnavelt, Rose Rita Pottinger, Johnny Dixon, and Anthony Monday. Most of his books were illustrated by Edward Gorey. At the time of his death, Bellairs' books had sold a quarter-million copies in hard cover and more than a million and a half copies in paperback.
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other writers. His characteristic pen-and-ink drawings often depict vaguely unsettling narrative scenes in Victorian and Edwardian settings.
William Bradley Strickland is an American writer known primarily for fantasy and science fiction. His speculative fiction is published under the name Brad Strickland except for one novel written as Will Bradley. By a wide margin his work most widely held in WorldCat participating libraries is The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer, which concluded the Lewis Barnavelt series created by John Bellairs (1938–1991).
Secret of the Andes is a children's novel by Ann Nolan Clark. It won the 1953 Newbery Medal.
Ramona the Pest, by Beverly Cleary, is the second book of the Ramona series and the first to focus on Ramona Quimby as the protagonist. This children's book chronicles the adventures of Ramona's first few months at kindergarten. The book's title is derived from the characterization of Ramona as a "pest" by many, including her older sister Beatrice, known as "Beezus." Ramona the Pest was first published in 1968 and featured illustrations by Louis Darling. Other illustrators have since updated Ramona the Pest, including Alan Tiegreen, Tracy Dockray, and Jacqueline Rogers.
Criss Cross is a novel by Lynne Rae Perkins that received the 2006 Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature. It includes the character Debbie from her previous novel, All Alone in the Universe, but introduces several new characters, primarily her neighborhood friends Hector, Lenny, Patty, and Phil.
The White Stag is a children's book, written and illustrated by Kate Seredy. It won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature and received the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. The White Stag is a mythical retelling that follows the warrior bands of Huns and Magyars across Asia and into Europe, including the life of Attila the Hun.
Gone-Away Lake is a children's novel written by Elizabeth Enright, illustrated by Beth and Joe Krush, and published by Harcourt in 1957. It was a runner-up for the annual Newbery Medal and was named to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list in 1970. It tells the story of cousins who spend a summer exploring and discover a lost lake and the two people who still live there.
This is a bibliography of works about Halloween or in which Halloween is a prominent theme.
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village is a 2007 children's book written by Laura Amy Schlitz. The book was awarded the 2008 Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature.
The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes is the second novel in the children's series known as The Moffats. Published in 1942, it was a Newbery Honor book. The title comes from Janey Moffat, who feels a little lost among her three siblings. Being neither the oldest or youngest, she decides to become the 'Middle Moffat' to help herself feel more important. The Moffats is set in small town Cranbury, Connecticut during World War I.
The Ghost Belonged to Me is a novel written for children by Richard Peck, author of Newbery Medal winning A Year Down Yonder.
The Singing Tree is a children's novel by Kate Seredy, the sequel to The Good Master. Also illustrated by Seredy, it was a Newbery Honor book in 1940. Set in rural Hungary four years after The Good Master, it continues the story of Kate and Jancsi, showing the effect of World War I on the people and land.
Halloween ABC is a book of poetry for children, written by Eve Merriam and illustrated by Lane Smith. It includes a poem related to a scary or Halloween related theme for each letter of the alphabet.
Anthony Monday is a fictional 14-year-old American boy featured in a series of four children's gothic horror novels by John Bellairs that were published from 1978 to 1992. Anthony and his friends generally overcome evil forces bent on ending the world. Alternatively, Anthony Monday is the book series, as in ISFDB. Brad Strickland, who has completed Bellairs' works posthumously and written new novels based on his characters, has noted that Anthony Monday was disliked by those in charge of publishing and any book ideas with Anthony as the character were rejected. This is why there has not been an Anthony Monday book since John Bellairs died.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a 2018 American fantasy comedy film directed by Eli Roth, based on the initial 1973 eponymous entry of the Lewis Barnavelt novel series by John Bellairs. It stars Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sunny Suljic, and Kyle MacLachlan. The film follows a young boy, Lewis, who is sent to live with his uncle, Jonathan, in a creaky, old house. He soon learns it was previously inhabited by a villainous warlock. Universal Pictures released the film in the United States on September 21, 2018. It was a box office success, grossing over $131 million worldwide and received mostly positive reviews from critics who largely praised the cast, but said the film did not fully live up to its potential.
Owen Wilder Vaccaro is an American child actor. He has appeared in feature films since 2015, including Daddy's Home (2015), Daddy's Home 2 (2017), and in the lead role of The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018).
Fabrizio Vidale is an Italian actor and voice actor.
Sylvia Cassedy was an American novelist and poet, who is best known for her children's and young adult fiction.