Spooks, Character, and Place

Justin Glanville is both the president of the Munchen, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and a fan of John Bellairs. Well, that’s not quite right – he’s not so much the president as he is the town’s co-creator.

Staging "Ring Round the Moon"

The second in a series of articles about Bellairs performing with the College of Saint Teresa Drama Department.

Time Capsule: November 22, 1963

Friday, November 22, 1963: The Tea House at the corner of West 17th and Gould Streets on the campus of the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, Minnesota. That’s what the late Norbert Geier remembered.

We’ve met numerous people over the years here at Bellairsia, mostly sharing memories of John and his life and times. Sometimes the stories recall momentous events – the publication of a book or the news of a chance encounter – but often they are anecdotes of what was happening a generation or two ago. This story is a bit of both.

"House" at 40 Fan Art: The Ace of Nitwits - What’s Up Your Sleeve?

What’s What: Muggins Simoon

Jonathan Barnavelt's automobile; a 1935 model, described as "a big black car with running boards and a windshield that could be cranked open" [The House with a Clock in its Walls; 94].

Time Capsule: Nov. 11, 1983

It's always interesting to find out something more about John Bellairs. Thirty years ago today, his father, Frank, died.

Goreyana: The Bell, the Book, and the Spellbinder

Irwin Terry has some new notes at Goreyana about the original artwork from 1997's The Bell, the Book, and the Spellbinder:

BiblioFile: 壁のなかの時計 (2001)

Of all the editions of The House with a Clock in its Walls we’ve reviewed this year, this is the one version we can’t read. At all. We don’t speak or read French or German but we’re able to thumb through books in those languages and still get a feel for where we are story-wise. Not with this yellow-bound beauty from Artist House. We’re totally lost with a book printed in Japan. More so, in Japanese.

The Autumnal Genius Of John Bellairs

Grady Hendrix at Tor.com writes about the nostalgia that this time of year brings to mind: burning autumn leaves on an overcast day, a static-filled radio station playing Brylcreem advertisements, a scratchy wool blanket ... it's the nostalgia of John Bellairs:

High on a Stage: The College of Saint Teresa Drama Department

The first in a series of articles about Bellairs performing with the College of Saint Teresa Drama Department.

Interview: Irwin Terry

Irwin Terry authors the Goreyana blog and creates stained glass windows in his spare time (or vicey versa) – including this gem recreating the image seen on the just-jacket of The Revenge of the Wizard’s Ghost that he donated to an Edward Gorey House auction back in 2010. When we last left Irwin he was giving us his top five illustrations from The House with a Clock in its Walls and discussing how he came to be a collector of Edward Gorey’s original artwork. This time around we chat about some Bellairs and Gorey collaborations.

"House" at 40 Fan Art: Zimmermann's Fifty Things of Purple

Who’s Who: Emmanuel de Grouchy

One of Jonathan’s illusions of famous scenes from the past includes a version of the Battle of Waterloo where the French won; setting the scene to his nephew, Jonathan says this French general was sent to keep the Prussian general Blücher busy [The House with a Clock in its Walls; 79].

Young Adult Books That Changed Our Lives

This week the CNN Living Staff published an article entitled Young Adult Books That Changed Our Lives.  Said staff "posed the question to members of the CNN Digital newsroom to find out which books have stuck with them since adolescence. To even things out, we sought input from the millennials in the newsroom, too." The published list includes some Judy Blume, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Louise Fitzhugh's nearing fifty Harriet the Spy - plus The Face in the Frost, The House With a Clock in Its Walls, and - of all things - The Chessmen of Doom:

BiblioFile: The House with a Clock in its Walls: A Study Guide

We’ve heard a handful of stories about John’s work being used in the classroom, everything from projects based on the books being presented by students to teachings introducing historical topics based on some of the stories. In 1994, Thomas J. Palumbo wrote Integrating the Literature of John Bellairs in the Classroom, and John’s life and work were the subject of a master’s thesis in 2011. Back in 1992, someone put together an entire workbook based on one book.