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The Best of John Bellairs: The House with a Clock in Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows; The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring ReviewThis volume contains:The House with a Clock in its Walls (1973)
The Figure in the Shadows (1975)
The Letter, the Witch and the Ring (1976)
I have not read all of Bellairs' novels, so I cannot say whether these three are really his "best". But the grouping is appropriate for other reasons: These are in fact the first three of Bellair's supernatural horror novels for kids; each is a sequel to the last; and all three feature the characters Lewis Barnavelt, Jonathan Van Olden Barnavelt, Mrs. Zimmerman, and (in the last two novels) Rose-Rita Pottinger. Moreover, the collection is more-or-less complete, since these are the only ones featuring these characters that were written entirely by Bellairs and published during his lifetime. The "next" in the series, entitled "The Ghost in the Mirror" was published posthumously after being completed by Brad Strickland in 1993 (after a gap of 17 years, during which Bellairs switched to writing about Johnny Dixon and Anthony Monday). Strickland has gone on to write his own adventures in the series (with what success I cannot say).
HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS begins with the orphaned Lewis Barnavelt, aged 10, being sent to live with his crazy Uncle Jonathan, and his batty neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman. The Uncle and the neighbor both turn out to be magicians (of the benevolent sort), and the grand old house they inhabit is filled with magical artifacts and mysteries, including a strange ticking sound reputed to come from a hidden clock. Matters get serious after the insecure Lewis, in an attempt to impress a friend, ignores his uncle's warning that he should never attempt magic. Creepy, scary fun ensues.
The next two novels in the series are just as well written, and every bit as creepy and scary as the original. However, the grimness becomes a little more unrelenting, and some kids may even find it depressing. One reason for this is that Bellairs seems to have somewhat regretted sending mixed messages in his first book, by his positive portrayal of magic as practiced by Mrs. Zimmerman and Uncle Jonathan. In the course of these volumes Mrs. Zimmerman is almost completely deprived of her powers. Bellairs continues to pay lip service to the idea that they are both benevolent minor magicians, but he ceases to show them using magic to positive effect. Magic use becomes, for all practical purposes, almost entirely associated with evil, and any dabbling therein leads only to horrific consequences.
I don't think Bellairs is necessarily wrong to want to discourage kids from seeking occult powers. However, it is a possibly unintended effect of this decision that the stories become increasingly and unrelentingly horrific. While the first volume made it seem as though there were powerful forces of Good to compete with those of Evil, the two sequels start to seem a bit like reading H.P. Lovecraft, wherein Evil has all the power.
This edition contains the original illustrations for all 3 books. This means we get Edward Gorey for the first novel, which is good. Unfortunately, other artists illustrated the 2 sequels. The latter pictures do not enhance the stories, which would be better off without them.The Best of John Bellairs: The House with a Clock in Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows; The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring Overview
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