House of Many Ways
House of Many Ways is a young adult fantasy novel written by Diana Wynne Jones. The story is set in the same world as Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air.
Plot summary
Charmain Baker has led a respectable, sheltered life. She has spent her days with her nose in a book, never learning how to do even the smallest household chores. When she suddenly ends up looking after the tiny cottage of her ill Great Uncle William she seems happy for the adventure, but the easy task of house-sitting is complicated by the fact that Great-Uncle William is also the Royal Wizard Norland and his magical house bends space and time.
Though she is supposed to clean up the mess Great-Uncle William has left the house in, Charmain knows next to nothing about magic, and yet she seems to work it in the most unexpected way. The house's single door can lead to almost any place - from other rooms like the kitchen, to faraway places, and even other time periods. In her first days in the magical house, she ends up looking after a magical stray dog named Waif, had an encounter with a horrible lubbock, a confused young apprentice wizard named Peter shows up, a box of the King's most treasured documents, and a clan of small blue creatures called Kobolds.
When Charmain is caught up in an intense royal search to remedy the kingdom's troubles, she encounters Sophie Pendragon, her son Morgan, a beautiful child named Twinkle (who is really Howl in disguise), and their fire demon Calcifer.
She is soon involved in curing the kingdom of its ills and restoring the long-lost Elfgift.
Main characters
- Charmain Baker
- A thin-faced, ginger-haired girl who is also known as "Miss Charming" in her mid teens who grew up in a "respectable" family environment to be "respectable"; as a result, she does not know how to do much besides reading (e.g. she does not know how to use hot water to make tea) and has little interest in anything but reading books. Because she often is so focused on only one aspect of a situation, she often fails to see the larger picture. She has the abilities of a witch, inherited from her family on her father's side, but was raised thinking that magic was vulgar by her mother - when angry, she can literally force anything to happen by yelling what she wants out loud. Charmain's ambition is to become a librarian and she becomes entangled in this mystery when she comes to aid the king in sorting out documents at the royal library, but is apprenticed to her uncle to nurture her magical gifts. She and Peter begin with a difficult relationship that slowly gets better; she also befriends Howl (as "Twinkle") and Sophie.
- Royal Wizard Norland
- The Royal Wizard of High Norland, an old wizard who is sent away to be cared for by the elves when he falls sick (this is discovered to be caused by Lubbock eggs.) It is arranged that Charmain – a distant relation – will take care of his house while he is away. Charmain knows him as Great Uncle William and though he is not present in the house, he leaves magical instructions for Charmain if she has trouble managing things in the house. His voice is described as kindly and he is well respected by many, including the Wizard Howl.
- Sophie Pendragon
- Known as Sophie Hatter prior to her marriage. A lovely, powerful witch with red-gold hair from Ingary, Sophie is able to talk life into objects. She has a young son named Morgan and is married to the Wizard Howl. She takes on the task of trying to solve a mystery for the King of High Norland, but is dismayed when her husband decides to follow her to High Norland, bringing Calcifer and Morgan along in order to help her. She is reluctantly amused by her husband's antics as "Twinkle", and is therefore unafraid when the Lubbockin kidnap him.
- Wizard Howl
- Known also as the Wizards Pendragon and Jenkins and one of the Royal Wizards of Ingary, Howl Jenkins is a flamboyant, clever wizard who is married to Sophie. He transforms himself into the ridiculously adorable lisping child, Twinkle, and claims that Sophie is his aunt in order to meddle with the mystery that only Sophie was supposed to be involved in, as the King cannot "poach" someone elses Royal Wizard into helping. Howl figures out where the king's lost gold was hidden and who the Elfgift is with the aid of Sophie (who is reluctantly forced to keep his secret) and Charmain, in whom he recognises a magical ability.
- Calcifer
- A powerful fire demon that lives with Sophie and Howl. He moves the castle in which Sophie and Howl live. Because of his tremendous powers, he is able to perceive Charmain's inherent magical nature, much like he did for Sophie Hatter.
- Morgan
- Howl and Sophie's child. He is almost two, extremely noisy, and is rather mischievous with a slight problem pronouncing Ts. When Sophie leaves for High Norland, she leaves Morgan in the care of Howl and Califer and is outraged by Howl's decision to follow her. Howl uses Morgan as an excuse to be "Twinkle", as they could not get him to stop crying for Sophie (though he later admits he did not even try.) When Howl transforms back, he is glad to see his father but cries for the loss of "Dinkle". Presumably he has inherited some of his parents' magical talents.
- Waif
- She is a rare enchanted dog who befriends Charmain. One reason the book proves she is enchanted is that first, when Charmain had not arrived, she had been male, but then (since she loved Charmain too much) she changed her sex to match Charmain's. Great Uncle William originally brought Waif to his house as a stray dog shortly before Charmain came to look after his house. Waif is more than meets the eye (she turns out to be the Elfgift) and loves to eat. By the end of the book she is made pregnant by the cook's dog.
- Peter Regis
- A boy of about Charmain's age who arrives at Wizard Norland's house while Charmain is looking after it, claiming that he is to be the Wizard's apprentice. For some reason he cannot ever get a spell right - though he does it perfectly, something bad always happens - and causes trouble left and right (he cannot even tell left from right.) However, Peter is more experienced in practical household tasks than Charmain, though he has no idea how to cook. He and Charmain initially have trouble getting along because of Peter's confidence and Charmain's haughtiness, but they gradually start getting along better. His mother is the Witch of Montalbino and his father died in an avalanche.
- King Adolphus X
- The elderly and impoverished monarch of High Norland, who lives in the Royal Mansion. He has a daughter, Princess Hilda, and is a good friend of Great Uncle William. He and Princess Hilda have been struggling to organize the books in the Royal Library in order to find the king's lost gold, but have been met with little progress. He is fond of dogs and good-humoured.
- Princess Hilda
- The elderly and unmarried Princess of High Norland and King Adolphus's daughter. She was one of the princesses kidnapped by the djinn Hasruel in Castle in the Air and responsible for bringing Abdullah's friend Jamal, accompanied by his dog, to be the royal family's cook. Since she is acquainted with Sophie, Hilda invites Sophie to High Norland to solve the mystery of the missing royal treasury.
- Lubbock
- A horribly evil man-like creature with purple skin, wings, and a face of an insect. Lubbock can "lay" eggs inside creatures without them noticing. For males, the egg that hatches first consumes the other lubbock eggs and the male dies. For a female, the egg that hatches first consumes the other lubbock eggs and she gives birth as normal and then usually dies. The result of the birth from a human female is a lubbockin that looks mostly human except for purple eyes or purple tinted skin. The lubbock seen in the book wishes to rule Noland by placing the lubbockin Ludovic on the throne and using him as a puppet king.
External links
- Interview with Diana Wynne Jones about House of Many Ways in Publishers Weekly, 19 June 2008. Retrieved on 4 August 2008.
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Wizard's Castle
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Derkholm
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Magids
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