Awful End (Eddie Dickens Trilogy) [Paperback]

Philip Ardagh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2000 | Series: Eddie Dickens Trilogy

When both of Eddie Dickens' parents catch a disease that makes them turn yellow, go a bit crinkly round the edges and smell of hot water bottles, it's agreed he should go and stay with relatives at their house Awful End. Unfortunately for Eddie, those relatives are Mad Uncle Jack and Even-Madder Aunt Maud, and it doesn't look as if the three of them are ever going to reach their destination...Set in a 19th-century world of blotchy skin, runaway orphans, and a stuffed stoat called Malcolm, this wonderfully ridiculous adventure story was Philip Ardagh's first full-length work of fiction and provides pure entertainment for children aged 8-80. This title is also available on Faber Penguin Audiobooks.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"When Eddie Dickens was eleven years old, both his parents caught some awful disease that made them turn yellow, go a bit crinkly around the edges, and smell of old hot water bottles." So begins author Philip Ardagh's silly story of an ill-fated boy who, due to his parents' jaundiced condition, is forced to take part in a quest so preposterous that it could only conclude at A House Called Awful End. Set in England, back in the days when "postage stamps were a pretty new idea," Eddie finds himself put in the dubious care of his Mad Uncle Jack and Mad Aunt Maud, who not only assault him with a stuffed stoat and make him sleep in his trunk, but carelessly turn him over to the St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans. There, he stages a breakout, smuggles himself and the other orphans out in the belly of a cow parade float, and is miraculously reunited with his newly recovered parents. And if you're thinking that this plot is utter nonsense, you're absolutely right. Ardagh originally wrote the ridiculous farce as a series of letters to entertain his nephew in boarding school and thought it may charm others as well. While adult readers may scratch their heads in bewilderment as they try to follow this riotously rambling narrative, children have long been aficionados of the absurd, and Awful End will no doubt appeal hugely to those fans of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and Neil Gaiman's wonderfully weird Coraline. Book one in a proposed trilogy. (Ages 9 to 12) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

British author Ardagh launches the Eddie Dickens Trilogy with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a hapless youth. A group of cockamamy adults manufactures most of the humor while the hero plays straight man: 11-year-old Eddie is sent away by his ailing parents so that he will be spared their ill health. His mother calls him Jonathan ("for Jonathan was the pet name she called Eddie when she couldn't remember his real one"), and his father sends the boy packing with his (truly) Mad Uncle Jack. Most of the novel follows the boy, his uncle and his Mad Aunt Maud and her stuffed stoat, Malcolm (whom Jack calls Sally), as they travel via stagecoach to their home, Awful End (they never get there). "To break the journey, Mad Uncle Jack stopped at a coaching inn called The Coaching Inn." Here things take a turn, and when events land Eddie in St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans, he gets to show his stuff. The omniscient narrator spoofs Charles Dickens's orphan tales with his offhand quips (when Eddie is suddenly thrust into the orphanage, the narrator remarks, "Perhaps we'll never find out how he ended up in this godforsaken place. Perhaps we'll find out in the next episode"). Roberts's hilarious pen-and-ink drawings of wide-eyed Eddie and his insane family resemble a cross between Charles Addams and Edward Gorey. Adult fans of Bleak House and Oliver Twist will appreciate Ardagh's clever crafting, and kids who lap up Lemony Snicket's series will take quickly to this tale and clamor for the next. Ages 9-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Faber Childrens; First Edition edition (October 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 057120354X
• ISBN-13: 978-0571203543
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,109,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hilarious, May 20, 2003

By 

K. Dougoud (Georgetown, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A House Called Awful End: Book One in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy (Hardcover)

My dyslexic son bought this book and the sequel while we were in
Oxford, England and we absolutely loved them. We could readily picture all of the characters and the things they were involved in. My son was 11 at the time and loved having it read to him every night. We have just purchased our first Lemony Snicket book as we grew tired of waiting for the final book in this trilogy. Perhaps we found it so entertaining as I am an upper elementary teacher and his father a middle school teacher and we know these characters on a personal level. It is well worth exploring. I have also read it to my students and they beg for more.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "AWFULLY FUNNY!", October 3, 2003

By 

Harvey J.Satan "Harvey J.Satan" (Among The Garden Gnome,Friar Park) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A House Called Awful End: Book One in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy (Hardcover)

Firstly,lets cut through all the treacle....if this book suffers from one thing,it's the comparrisons,that not only the book jacket gives,but most ill-read reviewers. Comparrisons to Monty Python (because it's British,and eccentric in spots ),Lemony Snickett ( because it's bad things happening to a child antagonist ),and Charles Dickens ( because of the name ). Well folks,Roald Dahl was doing stories about bad things happening to children long before Lemony Snickett or Monty Python,and Charles Dickens was doing stories about bad things happening to Victorian children before him. So Who Sues Who?
( A question which here means: "Stop crying wolf.")

HISTORY LESSON OVER....REVIEW BEGINS HERE:

This is a fun little book. It's silly. It's definitely written more for children than the adventures of the Baudelaire Children. It's also quite British in it's humours,but that by no means,means Americans and other foreigners won't enjoy it and laugh along. Young Eddie Dickens is sent to live with his Loony Aunt & Uncle and a stuffed stoat,at Awful End. And this book is the tale of what happens when they encounter Insane Actors,Highwaymen,The Empress of China,A Nosey Peeler(or "copper" to you. ),A Suspect Orphanage,and an Amusing Cow Shaped Parade Float. This is a good read for children,and fun for those adults who aren't too grown up. I also enjoyed the artwork,which has that "Willy Wonka"/"Edward Gorey" appeal to it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, though a bit short..., September 12, 2002

By 

Dorothy (my head) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A House Called Awful End: Book One in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy (Hardcover)

A House Called Awful End is a hilariously funny book. But it's too short. It might just be me because I think I'm a bit old for the series, but it's still really good and a definite filler for Lemony Snicket Fans like me who are eagerly awaiting his next book.