“‘It is also said,’ answered Frodo, ‘Go not to the Elves for Council, for they will say both no and yes.’” (Chapter Three Three is Company) When Frodo was little his adopted father Bilbo Baggins was a legend in the Shire for bringing riches back from a journey that no one really expected him to Read more…
Isabella is the youngest student to ever take my The Art of the Personal Essay (ed. Phillip Lopate) unit, and has just finished reading Virginia Woolf’s “Street Haunting”. Woolf is in need of a pencil one evening in London. It is a wintry evening as she walks across town, and “the champagne brightness of the Read more…
History’s impact on John Bellairs The House with a Clock in its Walls is a novel full of compelling historical references taken from the mind of author John Bellairs. The novel includes details of the murder of David Rizzio: this man was the private secretary of Mary Queen of Scots. A young Italian courtier, he Read more…
John Bellairs and Edward Gorey: a Winning Combination The cover of the gripping The Ghost in the Mirror by John Bellairs features a massive rock, strewn with snow, so high that Rose Rita could be taken for a cold-looking doll at the bottom. The illustration, by the famous and taste-making Edward Gorey (1925-2000) transports the Read more…
The Clocks of The House with a Clock in its Walls Clocks are seemingly mundane objects, and always seem to seamlessly blend into the background of every setting. But what happens when we start paying attention? The endless variations of brands, structures, and histories of clocks can be very telling. In The House With a Read more…
