Yet she easily holds center stage, even when the flamboyant Wizard Howl (of Moving Castle fame) appears midway through the novel. Brought up by her doting parents to be utterly 'respectable' (which in her case translates to being astonishingly useless), Charmain is an unlikely heroine. When bookish, utterly selfish Charmain leaves home to care for her ailing great-uncle's magical house, she surprises herself by discovering her own hidden talents and ends up helping save the kingdom of High Norland from the fearsome Lubbock. Longtime fans and new readers alike will revel in Jones's self-assured return to the realm she charted in Howl's Moving Castle, a riff on English and German fairytales, and its Arabian Nights themed sequel, Castle in the Air. Other beloved series from Dianna Wynne Jones include the Chronicles of Chrestomanci and the Dalemark Quartet. Howl's Moving CastleCastle in the AirHouse of Many Ways The three books in the World of Howl are: As Neil Gaiman stated, she was 'quite simply the best writer for children of her generation.' How did respectable Charmain end up in such a mess, and how will she get herself out of it?Īll fans of classic fantasy books deserve the pleasure of reading those by Diana Wynne Jones, whose acclaim included the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. And where Sophie is, the great Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer won't be far behind. The king is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he's called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. Now, somehow, she's been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king's urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. She didn't realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard.

When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle's house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. and dealing with the dashing Wizard Howl. In this sequel to the international bestseller Howl’s Moving Castle, bookish Charmain finds herself smack in the middle of magical court intrigues.

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones