Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
New York : Greenwillow Books, c2008.
Pages
404
Description
When Charmain is asked to housesit for Great Uncle William, the Royal Wizard of Norland, she is ecstatic to get away from her parents, but finds that his house is much more than it seems.
Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Children's Literature — 2009)
Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee — Young Adult — 2010)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008-06-10
Physical description
404 p.; 8.7 inches
ISBN
0061477958 / 9780061477959
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The Grand Tour, or, The purloined coronation regalia: Being a revelation of matters of high confidentiality and greatest importance, including extracts from the intimate diary of a noblewoman and the sworn testimony of a lady of quality by Patricia C. Wrede
User reviews
LibraryThing member WinterFox
When I heard that Jones was coming out with another sequel to Howl's Moving Castle (although really, it's clearly set after Castle in the Air, the first sequel to Howl), I was a bit apprehensive. Authors coming back to work that they last touched nearly twenty years ago aren't usually a good thing.
The story seems pretty simple: Charmain, a girl who's respectable (read: doesn't know how to do anything practical) and loves books, is asked to watch the house of her great-uncle, who happens to be the head wizard for the kingdom of High Norland. She's got to learn to navigate the house, which is more expansive than appears, adjust to being more on her own (plus a dog and the wizard's new apprentice). Over time, and where the Howl crew come in, is with Charmain having to help keep the country from falling into the wrong hands.
Of course, since this is a good DWJ book, there's a good amount of interweaving of different bits that you don't quite see till later on, and her conception of magic is still one I quite like: it can be in anything and set in any way, if the person themselves is right. The characters are lively, both the new ones and the old ones (I particularly liked Howl's turn in this book), and the story comes together magnificently in the end. The style is very good, as well, simple but elegant, drawing you in.
So all my fears were ultimately allayed with this one. I liked it quite a lot; I'd still read the other two in the series first, just to get everything that's going on in the book, but this one is well worth it either way, I'd bet.
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I should have remembered, though: DWJ sequels tend to be stories about other people, with the characters from the previous book thrown in. So it turned out to be delightful.The story seems pretty simple: Charmain, a girl who's respectable (read: doesn't know how to do anything practical) and loves books, is asked to watch the house of her great-uncle, who happens to be the head wizard for the kingdom of High Norland. She's got to learn to navigate the house, which is more expansive than appears, adjust to being more on her own (plus a dog and the wizard's new apprentice). Over time, and where the Howl crew come in, is with Charmain having to help keep the country from falling into the wrong hands.
Of course, since this is a good DWJ book, there's a good amount of interweaving of different bits that you don't quite see till later on, and her conception of magic is still one I quite like: it can be in anything and set in any way, if the person themselves is right. The characters are lively, both the new ones and the old ones (I particularly liked Howl's turn in this book), and the story comes together magnificently in the end. The style is very good, as well, simple but elegant, drawing you in.
So all my fears were ultimately allayed with this one. I liked it quite a lot; I'd still read the other two in the series first, just to get everything that's going on in the book, but this one is well worth it either way, I'd bet.
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LibraryThing member salimbol
Here, Diana Wynne Jones returns to the world of 'Howl's Moving Castle'. 'Howl' is, of course, a really hard act to follow, and 'House of Many Ways' is definitely not as delightful as the original novel, but nevertheless it's more in-line with its pleasingly quirky universe than the other sequel,
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'Castle in the Air'. The plotting is as neat as ever, and (also as usual) wrapped up too quickly and (in this case) without as much of the central protagonist's involvement as I would have liked. Speaking of which, I'm of two minds over Charmain: on the one hand, I rather like seeing a female protagonist who is brainy but not kind, as all too often it's the other way around. However, she was also frequently apathetic and seldom took the action the plot/common sense was screaming for, and this became increasingly frustrating. As with 'Castle in the Air', Sophie and Howl don't come into the story for a while, but at least here they're a lot more integrated into the plot. Last but not least, there was a lot of fun to be had along the way - I actually quite like the 'domestic-magic-goes-wrong' trope, and the book certainly delivered on that front. Show Less
LibraryThing member quigui
In the last of the Howl's Castle series of books, we start with Charmain, a bookish 14 year old, who gets volunteered by her great-aunt to take care of her distant great-uncle William's house. Well, magical house. Charmain is a respectable young lady (read: sheltered and spoiled) and, as such, she
Luckily for her, the house is indeed magical, and does provide for her meals, and she has always her Uncle's recorded instructions, that help her navigate around the house and help solve some mishaps. Did I mention it is a magical house? Well, it is. From the outside it looks small, but turn left instead of right at a doorway, and you'll find yourself in a completely different room, or building.
To add to the joy, in comes Peter, great-uncle William's new apprentice that he didn't know about, and who doesn't know his master isn't home. Peter, unlike Charmain, does know how to do things around the house, which should have come as a relief, if he didn't botch every magic attempt. And there were a lot of attempts.
And, as one job isn't good enough for bookwork Charmain, she writes to the King to tell him she would like to help him and his daughter organize the Royal Library. I do understand the girl, of course, a library is such a wonderful place to work when you love books.
But there is something missing here, isn't it? Of course, it would fit the series if Howl and Co. weren't there. And they are. Sophie is helping the King with his financial and magical problems, and Morgan and Calcifer come along, of course. And Howl, because he couldn't bear to be left behind. So he appears in his most adorable form ever (I'm not telling what it is, though it's easy to see when reading the book).
And so, Charmain has some adventures with magic, kobolds and lubbocks, manages not to destroy a house or kill her housemate, while getting herself a puppy.
Did I like this book? Hell, yeah! It was a rollercoaster of fun, but that was to be expected. It's Diana Wynne Jones, after all. But I did like it more than Castle in the Air, probably because of Howl. But Charmain was also a reason – incompetent as she was in household tasks, she is a bookworm, so I can find no fault in her (well, I am able to overlook most faults). I loved reading her adventures and misadventures, and if there was a lot of fun on the Castle scenes with the regular cast, her interactions with Peter were really great.
Had there been more books to this series, I would have read them. As it is, I will treasure these three forever.
Also at Spoilers and Nuts
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doesn't know how to do much besides reading a lot, and eating a lot of pasties. That includes washing clothes and dishes, and goes as far as making tea.Luckily for her, the house is indeed magical, and does provide for her meals, and she has always her Uncle's recorded instructions, that help her navigate around the house and help solve some mishaps. Did I mention it is a magical house? Well, it is. From the outside it looks small, but turn left instead of right at a doorway, and you'll find yourself in a completely different room, or building.
To add to the joy, in comes Peter, great-uncle William's new apprentice that he didn't know about, and who doesn't know his master isn't home. Peter, unlike Charmain, does know how to do things around the house, which should have come as a relief, if he didn't botch every magic attempt. And there were a lot of attempts.
And, as one job isn't good enough for bookwork Charmain, she writes to the King to tell him she would like to help him and his daughter organize the Royal Library. I do understand the girl, of course, a library is such a wonderful place to work when you love books.
But there is something missing here, isn't it? Of course, it would fit the series if Howl and Co. weren't there. And they are. Sophie is helping the King with his financial and magical problems, and Morgan and Calcifer come along, of course. And Howl, because he couldn't bear to be left behind. So he appears in his most adorable form ever (I'm not telling what it is, though it's easy to see when reading the book).
And so, Charmain has some adventures with magic, kobolds and lubbocks, manages not to destroy a house or kill her housemate, while getting herself a puppy.
Did I like this book? Hell, yeah! It was a rollercoaster of fun, but that was to be expected. It's Diana Wynne Jones, after all. But I did like it more than Castle in the Air, probably because of Howl. But Charmain was also a reason – incompetent as she was in household tasks, she is a bookworm, so I can find no fault in her (well, I am able to overlook most faults). I loved reading her adventures and misadventures, and if there was a lot of fun on the Castle scenes with the regular cast, her interactions with Peter were really great.
Had there been more books to this series, I would have read them. As it is, I will treasure these three forever.
Also at Spoilers and Nuts
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LibraryThing member Shelbya14
House of Many Ways is the story of a sheltered young girl, Charmain, sent to care for her uncle's house while he is ill. Her uncle is a wizard and his house turns out to be full of surprises and secrets. Charmain is also hired to help the King catalogue his extensive library, where she meets a fire
I enjoyed reading this book, but I didn't think it compared to Howl's Moving Castle. The characters were not as likeable, but the plot was intricate and engaging. I would say this book is probably best suited for readers 9 and up.
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demon, a witch named Sophie, her son Morgan, and a mysterious boy named Twinkle. The castle is abuzz with rumors of theft, a mysterious missing Elfgift, and the despicable Lubbock. Can Charmain help the King and Sophie to unravel the puzzling events plaguing the castle?I enjoyed reading this book, but I didn't think it compared to Howl's Moving Castle. The characters were not as likeable, but the plot was intricate and engaging. I would say this book is probably best suited for readers 9 and up.
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LibraryThing member phoebesmum
Lazy, spoiled, bookish Charmain finds herself volunteered to housekeep for her Great-Uncle William while he's away being cured of a mysterious disease. It's hard enough for Charmain, who has no idea how to keep house, let along deal with the bags of laundry that keep mysteriously multiplying, but
If DWJ has a weakness it is, oddly for a fantasy writer, that sometimes the fantastic elements don't quite work, and this is the case here – the Lubbock and its Lubbockins never really convince – and I would've liked to have seen more of Howl and Sophie … but maybe DWJ feels she's already told their story.
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Great-Uncle William is a Royal Wizard, and his house operates largely by magic. All Charmain really wants to do is read and, if possible, help catalogue the Royal Library, but she rapidly finds herself in over her head, and caught up in a treasonous plot to boot. Somewhere in there is a heavily-disguised Wizard Howl, the long-suffering Sophie, and baby Morgan – and Calcifer, who proves an extremely useful demon to have around in a pinch. Clever, funny, inventive and, as ever, unputdownable. If DWJ has a weakness it is, oddly for a fantasy writer, that sometimes the fantastic elements don't quite work, and this is the case here – the Lubbock and its Lubbockins never really convince – and I would've liked to have seen more of Howl and Sophie … but maybe DWJ feels she's already told their story.
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LibraryThing member teckelvik
This is more of a tangent to Howl's Moving Castle than Castle in the Air, although it isn't a direct sequel. It takes place after the other two, and there are recurring characters, but the main plot lne follows someone entirely new.
Jones has an amazing ability to make sense of plots without
Jones has an amazing ability to make sense of plots without
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spelling everything out, and she creates amazingly realistic characters. I enjoyed Charmain's growing knowlege of her own flaws, and the way she watches herself make mistakes over and over despite her best intentions. That, and her emotional intensity and basic self-centeredness, rang true for a teenaged girl. Show Less
LibraryThing member jenspirko
Brilliantly intricate but never "clever for its own sake." Jones' signature wit and inventiveness.
LibraryThing member ansate
no one was perfect and no fell in love. recommended.
LibraryThing member LadyJoana
It truly is an unforgettable book. Magical and beautiful something i would treasure throughout my whole childhood and carry it with me till i was old and feeble telling it to my grandchildren. I have to say in some ways this book is better than the other two, but they somehow feel even more magical
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than the last book, probably because i read them first though. Show Less
LibraryThing member SunnySD
What does one slightly spoiled, definitely pampered young lady's venture into house sitting for an infirm elderly wizard have to do with the Wizard Howl and his devious ventures? (The cover proclaims this to be the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle.) For Charmaine, who's never heard of the Wizard
Read and discover along with Charmaine - you won't be sorry.
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Howl, but who has an exceedingly desperate fascination with libraries and books, the connection isn't immediately apparent either. But as she copes with sinks missing taps, multiplying laundry, and one small, white, very determined dog, it eventually becomes clear.Read and discover along with Charmaine - you won't be sorry.
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LibraryThing member rj_anderson
Definitely more coherent, plot-wise, than some of the other DWJ books I've read. Charmain is engagingly flawed and the clashes between her and Peter make for fun reading; and the Lubbock is plenty creepy. Not a book I'll be likely to read again (didn't love it THAT much) but nothing I can really
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complain about. Show Less
LibraryThing member beserene
This was a quick, fun read for me. I loved Jones' Howl's Moving Castle, years ago, and this newest sequel was almost as much of a pleasure. It does lack the emotional depth within the central character that made the first novel a favorite of mine, but it improves in some measure on the
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over-convenient ending. I love the little dog and was delighted at the return of Howl and Calcifer, though they are not technically the central focus of the novel. This is much more of a sequel in subject and style than Castle in the Air, which was published quite a while ago. Bottom line: if you (or your kids, since this is a children's book) liked the previous novels, you will probably enjoy this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member flemmily
This is not one of my favorite DWJs. It's rather simplistically written, and doesn't really get good until DWJ's signature chaos descends about forty pages from the end. I think one of the problems is that the main character doesn't like to actually do anything, and would much rather sit around and
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read. There's nothing wrong with this of course, in fact I feel the same way, but her proclivity means that she doesn't go looking for trouble, and there is not quite enough trouble finding her to make the book really sing. It is a very quick read. It is fun to see Howl and Sophie again of course. Show Less
LibraryThing member emania
This was a very cute sequel to “Howl’s Moving Castle.” There is the book in between called “Castle in the Air” but the summary never really interested me for that one. When I picked up this one, it really grabbed me, and although I enjoyed this outside perspective into Howl and Sophie’s
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married life, I didn’t miss them when they weren’t part of the narrative...I was perfectly content to follow Charm around on her exploits. I really would recommend this book to others. You don’t even have to have read “Howl’s Moving Castle.” If you haven’t, Sophie, Howl, and Calcipher will just be another few characters showing up. Show Less
LibraryThing member ElegantNocturne
Exciting and unexpected. At times funny and at others serious, but overall a great, incredible adventure. Witty and delightful.
LibraryThing member readinggeek451
Charmain is sent to house-sit for her great-great-uncle William while he is off with the elves being cured of a growth. Great-Uncle William is a wizard, and his house proves to be very strange indeed. Charmain, who loves books, also begins work as a temporary assistant in the king's library. There,
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she becomes involved in the mystery of the vanishing treasury and the evil prince. Show Less
LibraryThing member brittlandess
This book centers around Charmain Baker, a girl who has lived a sheltered life thanks to her mother’s idea of being a respectable young lady. After her Great Uncle William becomes sick for unknown reasons, Charmain volunteers to help take care of the house while he’s gone. Accepted for the job,
This book was definitely another good one by Diane Wynne Jones. I love how her characters have their faults. This book had many unexpected twists and turns that made it enjoyable and a good read. It had a good pace and a good ending. I think the Diane Jones writing style is delightful and entertaining. I think that it’s nice how she made Howl’s Moving Castle and the House of Many Ways separate but interwoven stories. The way that you can read each story separately and still understand it is good, and this story is amusing and entertaining by seeing how someone such as Charmain deal with the odd situations she is given. I would gladly reread the story again and watch the magic unfold again.
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she arrives just as Great Uncle William, who she later learns to be the Royal Wizard of High Norland, is taken away by elves in order to find out what is wrong with him. When she starts to unpack, she meets Waif a dog who is male and finds that the house bends space and time. While exploring the house, she attempts a spell that would allow her to fly. When she goes through a window in her uncle’s study, she runs across a lubbock, a creature that eats humans or lays eggs in them. After barely escaping from it with the flying spell, she meets a kobold who is angry with the hydrangeas that are in Uncle William’s yard. After denying him the right to cut the hydrangeas down, she goes inside when it starts to rain. While reading, someone comes in, saying that Wizard Norland took him on as an apprentice. It turns out that it is Peter Regis, the Witch of Montalbino’s son. After confirming this, the two get into many arguments including one which reveals that Waif is actually a girl, even though both William and Charmain believed that Waif was originally was a boy. They then decide it would be best to settle down for the night and find out that Peter is unable to tell the difference between left and right. During the following days, Charmain receives a reply to her letter volunteering to help the king by working at the Royal Library, her mother visits, and is met with a group of angry kobolds afterwards. They then refuse to work for Great Uncle William. The king on the other hand accepts her offer and soon has her at the library, helping to organize some papers in order to help find the treasure that had disappeared. Through them she meets Sophie Pendragon, her son Morgan, and her lisping “nephew Twinkle.” They too are trying to help the king find the stolen gold. As the days pass by, Charmain continues to work at the castle; finding out the Prince Ludovic is the next successor, learning about the elfgift and the fact that her father uses magic. This explains how, in great times of anger, is able to bend things to her will by yelling at it. This includes stopping a pipe from gushing water, changing the water to the correct temperature, and changing Waif back to her original size after a spell by Peter gone wrong. During that time, one of the elves return with lubbock eggs, the reason that Uncle William had been sick. Charmain goes and brings back Calcifer, the fire demon the came with Sophie, and has him destroy the lubbock and its eggs. This unfortunately doesn’t happen until after Peter and Charmain watches as the same kobold that caused trouble for Great Uncle William being paid by the lubbock who plants eggs inside him after the kobold starts to walk away. After all of this, Calcifer seems to have disappeared after he falls off a cliff. Charmain heads to the castle the next day to tell Sophie of this. Before she leaves though, she finds out that Peter’s mother has come and finds out that Waif is a, literally, enchanted dog that chose Charmain as its master and even changed its gender to be the same as Charmain’s. She then leaves to tell Sophie of what happened to Calcifer an discovers the Prince Ludovic is a lubbockin, the offspring of a lubbock and a human woman. She warns Sophie of this just as the family is about to “leave.” Unfortunately, Prince Ludovic steals what at first seems to be Morgan but turns out to be Twinkle. After a chase after the lubbockin, they find where the gold is hidden and kill the lubbockin. It is revealed that Twinkle is actually Howl Pendragon, Sophie’s husband who is a famous wizard in Ingary. Howl reveals to everyone else that the elfgift is actually Waif.This book was definitely another good one by Diane Wynne Jones. I love how her characters have their faults. This book had many unexpected twists and turns that made it enjoyable and a good read. It had a good pace and a good ending. I think the Diane Jones writing style is delightful and entertaining. I think that it’s nice how she made Howl’s Moving Castle and the House of Many Ways separate but interwoven stories. The way that you can read each story separately and still understand it is good, and this story is amusing and entertaining by seeing how someone such as Charmain deal with the odd situations she is given. I would gladly reread the story again and watch the magic unfold again.
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LibraryThing member Aerrin99
Cute, funny, an entertaining read, but with neither the plot nor the characters of the other two Howl books. Pleasant enough, but not something I'd re-read, or really bother to recommend to someone over the age of 13.
LibraryThing member bgknighton
A nice continuance of the storyline. Nice twists, people who grow better as you go, you find out what happens to some of the other characters.
LibraryThing member jrjohnson1
Great ending. Her books she writes are really good. This book is mean't for a more young adult crowd.
LibraryThing member francescadefreitas
Charmain, who has never been allowed to do anything useful, goes to look after her wizard uncle's house while he is off with the elves for medical treatment.
Yay! This is more of the cosy, off-kilter domestic magic that I enjoyed so much in the first two Howl books. Although Howl, Sophie, and
I enjoyed Charmain, whose instinctive reaction to stress is to go and read a book.
I'd give this to any fantasy fan.
Yay! This is more of the cosy, off-kilter domestic magic that I enjoyed so much in the first two Howl books. Although Howl, Sophie, and
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Calcifer are minor players in this story, this enchanted world has plenty of other engaging characters.I enjoyed Charmain, whose instinctive reaction to stress is to go and read a book.
I'd give this to any fantasy fan.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Good book. It's no more a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle than Castle in the Air was - again, a different character has a bunch of adventures, then encounters Howl and family and (eventually) the matter is resolved. But possibly the weirdness at the beginning has a stronger flavor of Moving Castle -
I don't think much of either of the kids, though I do (somewhat) identify with Charmain's constant desire to read a book. I'm certainly capable of ignoring dirty dishes and laundry to read. But I do know what to do with them (though it's a lot easier for me! Labor-saving devices...) and do eventually get around to them. (They also don't multiply when I ignore them - at least, not of themselves.) I didn't like her any better when she ran into the lubbock, either. I started to like her when she resolved to be kinder - when she thanked the King, actually. By the end of the story she was quite tolerable. The boy (Peter?) was still pretty much a non-entity to me, though. And the solution(s) were way contrived. I don't know. Not one of my favorites - which doesn't mean I won't reread it! DWJ is held to a higher standard than many...
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oh gee, now I have to go reread the other two to be sure. Oh, save me.I don't think much of either of the kids, though I do (somewhat) identify with Charmain's constant desire to read a book. I'm certainly capable of ignoring dirty dishes and laundry to read. But I do know what to do with them (though it's a lot easier for me! Labor-saving devices...) and do eventually get around to them. (They also don't multiply when I ignore them - at least, not of themselves.) I didn't like her any better when she ran into the lubbock, either. I started to like her when she resolved to be kinder - when she thanked the King, actually. By the end of the story she was quite tolerable. The boy (Peter?) was still pretty much a non-entity to me, though. And the solution(s) were way contrived. I don't know. Not one of my favorites - which doesn't mean I won't reread it! DWJ is held to a higher standard than many...
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LibraryThing member NeitherNora
A cute story, but quite the disappointment as sequels go -- Howl's Moving Castle was so wonderfully complex and twisty, and both this third book and the second in the series are just predictable and downright silly by compare. This one felt particularly childish, wrapping up far too neatly. The
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characters were trite and monotonous -- even the protagonist showed no depth or development to speak of, spending the entire story irritable and impatient. Also, any book character who's outlandishly book-obsessed always strikes me as gratuitous self-insertion. So yes. I didn't think highly of this conclusion. Show Less
LibraryThing member Herenya
House of Many Ways is the second sequel to Howl's Moving Castle; it feels more of a direct sequel than Castle in the Air but it feels different, yet again.
Charmain’s parents are talked into letting Charmain house-sit for her great uncle William, which all very well, except book-obsessed Charmain
It’s fun, very fun. The House is fantastic, and there’s something very likable about Charmain, with her believable flaws and endearing desire to work in the royal library. Waif, the dog, is bursting with personality, it is interesting to see a different country/culture and it’s very entertaining to meet Howl et al again.
However, everything is too readily and easily resolved, deus ex machine style… almost. It feels more like children’s fantasy than the other two. But let that not be held against it.
Charmain’s parents are talked into letting Charmain house-sit for her great uncle William, which all very well, except book-obsessed Charmain
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has been brought up to be respectable (read: completely sheltered from the realities of magic and housework) and her uncle is the Royal Wizard. Hence an improbable house “of many ways”, an unexpected house-guest, problems with the unusual gardener, experiments with house-keeping and a quest for employment…It’s fun, very fun. The House is fantastic, and there’s something very likable about Charmain, with her believable flaws and endearing desire to work in the royal library. Waif, the dog, is bursting with personality, it is interesting to see a different country/culture and it’s very entertaining to meet Howl et al again.
However, everything is too readily and easily resolved, deus ex machine style… almost. It feels more like children’s fantasy than the other two. But let that not be held against it.
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LibraryThing member AJBraithwaite
Follow-on from Howl's Moving Castle, but not one of her best. Not sure why, really, just not very engaging. A lot of it was about archives, so you'd think as an archivist I'd enjoy that, but it was a disappointing read. My 10 year-old daughter enjoyed it though.