A Night In Five Dials

Some music inspired by Prospero's horrific encounter in - of course - Five Dials:

Commenting on 'The Tilting House'

Jennifer, the librarian of the Jean Little Library, had some misgivings about the back-of-the-book promotions on Tom Llewellyn's The Tilting House:

BiblioFile: Puffin Publishes Barnavelt (Part 1)

You can credit Brad Strickland for many things – continuing the sagas of Lewis Barnavelt and Johnny Dixon, extending John’s literary life, sparking fans to band together on the Internet, and so on – including the push of paperbacks.

When Strickland’s The Ghost in the Mirror was nearing its initial publication in April 1993, the powers-that-be, knowing it would eventually hit paperback, seemingly decided to start fresh with the series. John’s original Lewis Barnavelt trilogy was first released in paperback during the mid-to-late 1970s through Dell’s Yearling imprint and, with at least two new books in the series due out in 1993, there would have to be some changes when those covers went soft. Those Yearlings were approaching being two decades old by this point, for goodness sakes!  What better way to connect the original books with the new adventures than with a new round of paperbacks? What eventually surfaced was published through Puffin with contemporary layouts and artwork by illustrator Brad Goldman.

Review: House "Gothic Bones Have Allowed It To Stand The Test Of The Decades"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Time Capsules: Memories Written In The Earth

I found an article on time capsules while thumbing through our archives. Time capsules bring mortality to mind and make me wonder if someone somewhere ever placed one of Bellairs's books in such a thing. I cannot fathom why one would do such a thing except to help ensure people remembered the book decades from now. Maybe there's an autographed edition buried somewhere underground.

Time capsules also made me wonder what would have happened had Isaac and Selenna decided to plant a little secret in their backyard. Not so much the instructions for end-of-the-world shenanigans but another booby-trapped timepiece of sorts.

Anyway –

Raising Up Spirits From Underground

I’ll admit there’s always been something about The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt that’s enchanted me. Part of it is that I think it’s the first book of John’s I remember reading (and you always remember your first, right?) but I think a lot of it has to do with Bellairs’ ability to tie together some interesting historical anecdotes.

Goreyana: The Trolley to Yesterday

Notes from Goreyana about The Trolley to Yesterday:

• Gorey's wrap-around dust jacket art is not up to par with most of the other color covers in this series. The front cover portion of the dust jacket art looks undecided and rushed. I do like the painting on the back cover illustration, which has delicately placed clouds.
• [The frontis illustration with] heavily crosshatched drawing is remarkable for the deep black shadows which were created by line work and not in-painting. This is a drawing that is diminished when printed in the book because all the crosshatching blurs into solid black on the printed page. This drawing is signed in ink.
• The map is a fantastic example of Mr. Gorey's deft skills at cartography. Mr. Gorey misspelled several words on this map and had to correct the art for publication. This is also a rare instance in which Mr. Gorey drew an illustration larger than it was intended to be printed because of the amount of lettering involved.
• At one time, I also owned two small drawings that appear as interior spot illustrations for this book, but I sold them some years ago to another collector. The two illustrations were drawn on a single piece of illustration paper. 

Top 10 Fictional Books

As we prepare for the tenth anniversary of Bellairsia, we’re using our modestly-shared Twitter feed to share some memorable moments and commentary in the form of Top Ten lists.

Something for the Smead Jolley Fans

A user named DMcCunney answers the age-old question about which book have you read/re-read all your life and confesses how the late Smead Jolley made someone a brief fantasy convert.  No errors there, Smead!

Time Capsule: 1860

1860: At the northwest corner of Michigan and Kalamazoo Avenues stands one of the most unusual pieces of architecture to be seen anywhere in the United States and it's celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

Goreyana: Eyes & Lamp

Notes from Goreyana about The Eyes of the Killer Robot and The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb:

• The Eyes of the Killer Robot has a wrap-around dust jacket design and a frontis drawing. I don't feel that the dust jacket painting for this book is as polished as the art for many of the other titles in the series. The artwork does convey atmosphere, but is not a favorite of mine. The artwork was sold by Bromer Booksellers in 2001.
• For The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb, the front and back cover of the dust jacket do not read as a continuous image when viewed as a single image. The back of the jacket is daytime and the front is night, and there is a solid break at the spine between the images. This is one of the dust jacket paintings that was cut and sold in two pieces by Gotham Book Mart. An image of the front half of the dust jacket art without the type was included in Gorey Rare, a 2007 spiral bound calendar/date book.
• The frontis illustration...is one of the more technically challenging pieces of art created by Edward Gorey for the Bellairs series. To convey the darkness of the room, Mr. Gorey covered the entire surface of the art with his signature line work. Even so, the objects in the room are distinct and clearly visible. It is truly a masterpiece of control and consummate skill. 

Author Living in Haverhill

The following article appeared in the Newburyport Daily News promoting one of John’s visits to the Haverhill Public Library to meet his fans, 30 years ago today - May 10, 1980.  Anyone reading today who was there for this event is more than welcome to share their memories in our comment section.

Review: House "As An Adult It Struck Me As Just A Little Too Far-fetched"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Top 10 Places to Visit

As we prepare for the tenth anniversary of Bellairsia, we’re using our slightly-worn Twitter feed to share some memorable moments and commentary in the form of Top Ten lists.

Cuffs In The Question

A few years ago, during a redesign of the Bellairsia website, we thought it would be fun to add some sort of interactivity in to the mix. You know, for kids: games or puzzles or the like.