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The House with a Clock in Its Walls

The House with a Clock in Its Walls

Children's BooksFantasy
Pages
199
Published
2000
Language
English

Synopsis

Orphan Lewis Barnavelt expects a quiet life with his uncle, but discovers his uncle and his neighbor are actually powerful magicians. Lewis is thrilled to learn magic himself, but his experiments accidentally awaken a dangerous force tied to the house's past. Now, Lewis and his magical relatives must race against time to stop a doomsday clock hidden within the walls.

Prose complexity
1/10

Vibe

MysteriousAdventurousLightheartedWhimsical
Fish Out of WaterMentor FigureComing of Age

Genres

Children's Books Fantasy Mystery Time Travel Middle Grade Paranormal

About the author

J
John Bellairs

John Bellairs (1938–1991) was an American novelist working primarily in the Gothic genre. He is best-known for the children's classic The House with a Clock in its Walls 1973) and for the pathbreaking fantasy novel The Face in the Frost (1969). Bellairs held a bachelor's degree from Notre Dame University and a master's in English from the University of Chicago. He combined writing and teaching from 1963 to 1971, including a year at Shimer College that coincided with that school's storied...

Characters

Lewis BarnaveltProtagonist
Florence ZimmermannSupporting
Jonathan BarnaveltSupporting
All characters in The House with a Clock in Its Walls