A House Called Awful End

Eddie Dickens Trilogy #1

by Philip Ardagh

Age range: 8-11

When Eddie's parents are struck down by a strange disease that turns them a rather peculiar shade of yellow, it is decided that he should go and stay with Mad Uncle Jack and Even-Madder Aunt Maud at Awful End.

Philip Ardagh's supremely daft and extremely funny novel is set in a terribly smelly 19th century world that children will love. Ardagh captures the stench and stealth of the times, turning what could have been a straightforward adventure story into a delightfully pungent, utterly ridiculous but unbelievably gripping adventure story.--Susan Harrison

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Humor, Fantasy, Young Adult, Juvenile

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Over six-and-a-half feet tall, with a bushy beard, Philip Ardagh is not only very big but also very hairy. He is the author of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy and when not writing silly books, Mr. Ardagh is quite serious and frowns a great deal. He lives in a seaside town somewhere in England with his wife and their son, Fred.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't particularly enjoy this -- it seemed like a not-as-clever imitation of the Lemony Snicket Unfortunate Events books, which were played out before the series was over -- but I can see it having a lot of appeal for kids of a specific age who've just learned to understand this type of humor.



Deth P. Sun

[Robert Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eddie Dickens’ parents have turned ‘crinkly around the edges’ and their skin has turned ‘yellow’. They are no longer able to take care of him due to their health. He must therefore move to Awful End and live with his Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Anut Maud. Mad Uncle Jack (as the name suggests) is completely bonkers. Hey pays bills with dried fish instead of money and rides a horse around the house. Even Madder Aunt Maud (yes, you guessed it again) is a total crack pot. Her best friend, Malcom the stuffed stoat, talks to her and some of her rather strange habits affect Eddie in the worst possible way! Will Eddie and his crazy companions ever make it to Awful End?

This a very witty book that delivers historical facts in a comical and interesting way. Ardagh presents a great range of complete nut-case characters that poor Eddie must cope with during his journey. Ardagh constantly and purposefully goes off on rants about various aspects of the Victorian life and relates Victorian life to the modern world. Most of the text is easily accessible to year 5/6 readers. I really liked this book and next time I visit my local library I will definitely be picking up the next in the series of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy.

[yexxo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wie kommt man nur auf solche Ideen :-) ????
117 Seiten völliger Nonsense, Wortspielereien, Klamauk auf hohem Niveau und dazu noch die genialen Zeichnungen von David Roberts - man bekommt die Mundwinkel gar nicht mehr nach unten. Doch Achtung! Leserinnen und Leser, die ein Mindestmaß an Sinn in einer Geschichte brauchen um diese genießen zu können, sollten die Finger davon lassen. Hier zählt nichts außer der Freude am Erzählen - und zwar völlig sinnfrei.
Die Geschichte ist schnell wiedergegeben: Edmund, genannt Eddie oder Jonathan oder auch Simon, je nachdem ob seiner Mutter gerade sein Name oder Kosename nicht einfällt, muss eine Zeitlang zu seinem Großonkel, dem Wahnsinnigen Jack, da seine Eltern an einer abscheulichen, sehr ansteckenden Krankheit leiden, von der man gelb und an den Rändern (welchen???) etwas wellig wird sowie nach alten Wärmflaschen riecht. Auf der Reise nach 'Schlimmes Ende', dem Haus seines Großonkels, zusammen mit dem 'Wahnsinnigen Jack', der 'Wahnsinnigen Maud' (seiner Großtante) und dem ausgestopften Wiesel das Sally bzw. Malcolm, aber vielleicht auch Cornelius oder Edna heißt, begegnet er merkwürdigen Gestalten und landet unter obskuren Umständen im Waisenhaus 'Sankt-Fürchterlich-Heim für dankbare Waisen' bei der schrecklichen Frau Direktor Grausam-Unsäglich.
Ardagh liebt es, überall noch weitere kleine Geschichten einzubauen, die eine skurriler als die andere (wie sich beispielsweise der Theaterdirektor auf seine Rolle als Lachs in dem Stück 'Wir kleinen Fische' vorbereitete. Er verbrachte einen ganzen Monat in der Badewanne und ernährte sich ausschließlich von Wattwürmern und Ameiseneiern.). Dazu die in jeder Hinsicht spitzen Zeichnungen von David Robert: Figuren mit den spitzesten Nasen die man sich vorstellen kann, spitzen Fingern, spitzen Beinen, Ellbogen, Schulten, Füße - es ist eine wahre Freude sich beim Durchlesen diese herrlichen Bilder anzuschauen.
Harry Rowohlt hat hier sicherlich eine erstklassige Übersetzung geliefert (ich kenne das Original nicht). Wie kommt man nur auf Wörter wie 'Augenbrauenaufrauer' oder 'berühmtergeneralsförmiger Eiswürfel'? Sowas findet doch man nicht im Wäörterbuch - oder doch :-) ?
Also: Unbedingt Lesen!!

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

My nine year old gave this four stars but I think that was mostly be abuse she insisted I read all the voices it in a British accent. Since my British accent is so bad as to not be recognizable, I think she just enjoyed laughing at me and my silly voice.

I think this book tried too hard to be like A Series of unfortunate Events. It was silly with weird characters but they mostly were all weird in the same way. There were some funny plays on words but they went right over my daughter's head. I think middle readers are the target of the story but there were gobs of words that age group would not be expected to know. I really felt that she really didn't know what was going on half the time.

Everything in the story was ridiculous to the utmost. In Lemony Snicket's books there are good people who try to help but are just ineffectual. There are evil people and there are non-brainy people and many of these are strange. But they very rarely are completely ridiculous. Here the characters are all inane and absurd and nothing makes any sense.

Some of the author's asides to the audience are funny and some are trying too hard. Many are confusing and if you didn't even already know the subject, difficult to know which stories were based on truth and which were complete fabrication.

So I'm going to give this three stars since apparently my kid enjoyed it. We'll see how much if she still wants me to read her the sequel next time we talk about it.

[Alena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before departing on a 1,200-mile road trip, I relieved the local library of about 35 hours' worth of audiobooks to play in the car. I hadn't heard of the Eddie Dickens trilogy, but the title piqued my curiosity, so I added it to the pile. As it turned out, I laughed for nearly the entire two-and-a-half-hour run of the audiobook.

While it would be all too easy to classify this short adventure under the heading of "Mass-Market Knockoffs of A Series of Unfortunate Events," to do so would be an injustice to this light, entertaining comedy of errors. The story plays every gothic cliche -- beloved parents suffering from a horrible disease; a child sent away to live with an estranged great-uncle; mad relations; a prison-like orphanage; a devastating fire -- but not one of these setups plays out as you would expect. Eddie Dickens' tale is as much parody as homage to the Gorey-inspired genre, and Ardagh also displays a delightful (at times Monty Python-esque) knack for the comedy of the unexpected.

Consequently, this book can appeal not only to fans of the children's gothic genre, but also to those who have grown tired of it and would appreciate a new twist. It's also a good bet for for anyone needing a brief escape into something pleasantly quirky.

[Caitlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel about this book the same way I feel about actors like Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell. There were moments of brilliant humor that made me laugh out loud, but overall, the author was trying too hard to be completely random. Less is more in my book.

[Miss Bookiverse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Buch habe ich zum ersten Mal im September 2007 gelesen und war von der ersten gelben, welligen Seite an begeistert. Es ist mit Abstand das absurdeste Buch, das ich je gelesen habe und das Tolle ist: es gibt noch 5 weitere!
Vor Kurzem (Nov 09) habe ich mir nun die Hörbücher der ersten drei Eddie Dickens Teile angeschafft, die von Harry Rowohlt gelesen werden. Dies gelingt dem guten Herren genauso fantastisch wie das vermutlich mit starken Schmerzen verbundene Übersetzen der mit unzähligen Wortspielen gespickten Bücher. Das einzige, was einem bei den Hörbuchern leider verloren geht, sind die wunderbaren Zeichnungen, die die Geschichte alle paar Seiten bildlich unterstützen.

Auf den ersten Blick wirken die Eddie Dickens Bücher wie Kinderbücher und ich bin mir sicher, dass ich als Kind meine helle Freude an den Geschichten gehabt hätte, aber die ganzen versteckten Witze machen dieses Buch zu einem Spaß für jeden Halb/Ganzerwachsenen. Wer keine Wortspiele, sinnlose Einschübe und wahllose Details mag, wird allerdings entsetzt sein.

Charaktere
Eddie Dickens (11 Jahre), der kleine, englische Junge, der all diese Abenteuer erlebt.
Eddies Vater, der gelb und an den Rändern etwas wellig ist.
Eddies Mutter, die ebenfalls gelb und an den Rändern etwas wellig ist und außerdem ständig etwas im Mund hat (berühmter generalförmige Eiswürfel, Eicheln, das Ohr ihres Mannes, Zwiebeln usw.)
Eddies wahnsinniger Onkel Jack, der ständig alle mit Trockenfisch bezahlen will.
Eddies noch wahnsinnigere Tante Maud, die gerne alle darüber belehrt, dass ihr ausgestopftes Wiesel Malcom Sally heiße.
Mr. Pumblesnook, ein verrückter Theaterdirektor, der teilweise auch die Rolle der Kaiserin von ganz China übernimmt.

SPOILER (mild) //

Geschichte
Eddie wird zu seinem eigenen Besten von seinen Eltern zu seinem wahnsinnigen Onkel Jack geschickt, wo er auch seine noch wahnsinnigere Tante Maud kennenlernt. Sie machen sich auf den Weg nach "Schlimmes Ende", dem Sitz von Jack und Maud. Unterwegs rasten sie im Ausspann "Zum Ausspann", werden überfallen und Eddie wird festgenommen, da er fälschlicherweise für einen Waisenjungen gehalten wird. Unterdessen versucht Doktor Keks Eddies Eltern von ihrer Krankheit zu heilen und Eddie wieder aus dem Waisenhaus auszubrechen.

Lieblingsszene
Als Eddie zum ersten mal seiner noch wahnsinnigeren Tante Maud und dem ausgestopften Wiesel Malcom begegnet. Oder als die noch wahnsinnigere Tante Maud sich in die Holzkuh verliebt und sie Majorie tauft. Oder eigentlich jede Szene mit Tante Maud.

//SPOILER

In 3 Worten
Absurd, originell und saulustig.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best book by Philip Ardagh. I discovered it in the youth seciton of the library (on recommendation of a like minded friend) and found it to be much more then a book for children. Although the pictures are a bit odd, the book is relativley short, and the story can be understod by children, it is really a kids book for adults. There are great turns of phrase and the way Ardagh turns cliche on it's head it truly amazing. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is still young at heart.

[Rachel Oates]

I've been re-reading books like this from my childhood recently and all the old memories are coming back! :)

[Sue Moro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awful End

A delightfully quirky, humorous story reminiscent of The Series of Unfortunate Events.

Eddie Dickens' parents are worried about him. They've both come down with a disease that has turned them yellow, made them go all crinkly around the edges and smell of old hot water bottles. They are under the care of a doctor, who has some rather unique, and very odd, remedies. Afraid that their son may catch the disease, they decide to send Eddie to live with his mad Uncle Jack and Mad Aunt Maude in their house called Awful End.

Quite understandably, Eddie is reluctant to go and live with anyone who is called "mad", and who's named their house Awful End, but not wanting to disobey his parents, off Eddie goes. Adventure and many strange characters fill Eddie's journey.

This story is written for middle graders, but I found it very enjoyable and quite often I was laughing out loud.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ach ja Eddie Dickens! Skurrile Charaktere und schräge Handlung machen diese Reihe aus. Monty Python lässt grüßen.

[Federica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una storia che parla di un Dickens, che è anche un po' alla Dickens (quello vero), e che fondamentalmente fa scompisciare dall'inizio alla fine.

[Aki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still love it.

Mein Feelgood Hörbuch. Immer wieder toll.

[Supriya J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Eddie Dickens, a normal little boy in quite an abnormal world. In his world, his parents are afflicted with a disease that has made them yellow and crinkly around the edges, so he is sent off to live with his aunt and uncle until they get better.

His uncle, Mad Uncle Jack, is exactly that and his aunt is even madder Maude. Maude has a stuffed stoat (whom she calls Malcolm and her uncle calls Sally), whose nose hair she trims and stuffs into her own ear. What happens next are accounts of Dickens' many misadventures.

As you'd imagine, this book is silly to the core. I revisited this book and am continuing on with this series because it was one of my favourite childhood reads. I remember reading the trilogy and laughing out loud... Philip Ardagh's writing is just wordplay after wordplay and quite hilarious indeed. Of course, as a 28-year-old, the puns are a bit too juvenile, but I still laughed several times.

But I'd highly recommend this one to kids (and adults alike!)... Cannot wait to complete this series!

[Kathrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delight, and I really hate using that word, but nothing else describes the feeling we had as we chortled over each episode. Actually, my 7-year-old missed most of the jokes, excepting the scene where the children crawl out of the cow's bottom -- how can you miss that?-- but my 10-year-old caught most every pun and appreciated the strange situations Ardagh brought us to. Still, this is one of those books that children will enjoy for one reason, and adult readers, for another. "This is funny because,,,oh, never mind." We're jumping right into the sequel, Dreadful Acts.

[Tom M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's difficult to write a book that so thoroughly integrated the obvious voice of the narrator -- who consciously points out that he's the narrator -- and keep that voice humorous without becoming annoying. Oh, and have interesting characters and something of a decent plot as well.

Ardagh manages to do all of this in an all-too-brief book. There was so much to love about this book. I've read it once, listened to it on CD a second time and it's still every bit as enjoyable.

It's one of those books I wish I'd written.

[Candice Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange, odd and amusing just about sums this up.
Set in the 19th century, Eddie is a boy who is sent to live with his mad ( totally bonkers) Aunt & Uncle at ‘Awlful End’ but will they even get there !
Wonderfully ridiculous & extremely funny
Fab for ages 7+

[Charonoxus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im Falle aller Fälle ich sollte jemals ein Buch schreiben, dann wäre Philip Ardagh vom Schreibstil her eines meiner größten Vorbilder!

[Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book really funny and plan on re-reading it.

[Dave Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a fun sort of book

[Matei Teodor Munteanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Einen tolles komisches Buch

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lustig, spannend und gar nicht so schlimm - ein schönes Vorlesebuch

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herrlich absurd und fantastisch übersetzt.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A House Called Awful End, the first book out of three in Philip Ardagh’s
The Eddie Dickens Trilogy tells a fiction story about the humorous misadventures of Eddie Dickens.
Eddie Dickens is put through various misfortunes after his parents Mr. and Mrs. Dickens have catched some strange illness. They become concerned that their disease will infect Eddie and so he is sent away to live at Awful End with his great Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud until their sickness has been cured. On Eddie’s way to Awful End a couple of misadventures that occur along the way are him having to sleep in the trunk when they stopped at a coaching in for the night and being mistaken for an orphan then taken away to St. Horrids home for Grateful Orphans.
A House Called Awful End was an entertaining story. I had a couple of laughs here and there while reading its humorous scenes. For example when Mad Aunt Maud asks Eddie what time it is but he can’t answer because he does not have a watch on him. Mad Aunt Maud scrambles through her purse and finds a watch then hands it to Eddie, asking once more what time it is. After Eddie tells her the time he tries to return her watch but Mad Aunt Maud won’t accept it, thinking its some very valuable gift. Not arguing any farther with this woman he knows is not sane, he puts her watch into his pocket. Mad Aunt Maud starts accusing Eddie as a thief for taking her watch. Frightened little Eddie returns the watch, Mad Aunt Maud now thinking it’s a gift like before says how generous of Eddie to give her such a gift and takes it only to throw it out the window, hitting some one in the process right after saying how she doesn’t like it. This scene in particular was my favorite. This book was indeed descriptive. Philip Ardagh has a way with details when it comes to informing his readers. I could visualize every event that happened especially with sketches provided within the pages. An issue this book relates to is how unfortunately in some places children can be mistaken for orphans and are taken away.
I would recommend A House Called Awful End for children who would want some sense of adventure and a good laugh before bed. If you liked A Bad Beginning by Lemony snicket, you’ll surely like this one because of the interesting plot followed in this book.

[Chazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

April 11, 2019
I have discovered I read this book in 2014! I just finished again! I don't normally re-read books. I felt like I'd read the story some other time but wasn't sure, so I read the book. This time out, I felt that it read more like a Roald Dahl book than Snickett, so I wrote another review and am posting it...
Eddie's parents have gotten a terribly disease that makes them crinkley around the edges and yellowish in colour. They are afraid Eddie might catch it, so decide that he is to go live with Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud at their home Awful End.

If that paragraph doesn't give you the idea that it isn't going to be a simple trip, you must also be mad!

Strange things happen on this journey. Not only does he have to share the carriage with Even Madder Aunt Maud, he also has to put up with her stuffed stoat Malcolm...or Sally.... A bearded stranger, winding up at St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans, an audience with The Empress of All China and a few more odd events that happen are all part and parcel of this strange tale.

Philip Ardagh writes along the lines of Roald Dahl. Crazy, funny, scary and totally entertaining. I enjoyed this all the way through. There are also drawings to add to the enjoyment.

Fun for kids of all ages to read!
______________________________________
2014 Review-

If you enjoy the adventure, or rather the mis-adventures, of the Baudelaire children in the Lemony Snickett series then you will enjoy Eddie Dickens and his strange world.

This is the first in a trilogy about a boy and his strange parents and stranger relatives. His parents are suffering from a strange disease and are undergoing a cure. Feeling that it would be better for Eddie to stay elsewhere, they call on his aunt and uncle; Mad Aunt Maud and Mad Uncle Jack. And mad they are, as in crazy.

On his way to their home, Awful End, he puts up with his Mad Aunt Maud and her stuffed stoat named Malcolm or Sally, his uncle, a Mr. Pumblesnook, St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans and The Empress of All China. Strange people and stranger happenings.

[Kelsey Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read this for a long time. Like, since I was 7, and at 23 I'm just now getting around to it. I feel like this book is something I should have liked a lot more. The illustrations were appealing, the humor was laugh-out-loud random (a character suddenly having a mouthful of acorns, for kicks and giggles), and the narrator had a very strong voice. It reminded me a lot of Monty Python or Black Adder in this way. It does have a lot of very British words (not too hard as an adult), and although there's an index in the back, I had to look up that a stoat is the same thing as a weasel.
The main things that tarnished this book for me were the characters and the pacing. Aside from maybe 2 or 3 characters, they aren't incredibly interesting. Some are even boring to the point of being annoying. Eddie is bland, but I was fine with him being the straight man in a world of crazies. Mr. Pumblesnook was the most ridiculous, and left me feeling like he was utterly pointless to the story, and just there to fill a chapter or two. The pacing is incredibly irritating. This book has a magical quality of being too slow and too fast all at the same time. Most of the story takes place in Mad Uncle Jack/Aunt Maud's carriage, with two chapters at the end in and out of an orphanage. But the ending is just dropped in your lap like a brick, as if Ardagh wanted to write a longer novel, but his editor was like "no, it has to be 117 pages or I'm taking your dog." This story might have been better if it was allowed to be a little longer, or if it left on a cliffhanger for the sequels, but it doesn't. And, unfortunately, it doesn't make me want continue with this series.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy in England named Eddie Dickens is sent off to stay with his Mad Uncle Jack and Even-Madder Aunt Maud when both Eddie's parents catch a disease that makes them turn yellow, go a bit crinkly around the edges, and smell of hot water bottles, it's agreed he should go and stay with relatives at their house, Awful End. through a string of over-complicated funny events he finds himself in an orphanage called St. Horrid's Orphanage.

This book has been said to be like a cross between Charles Dickens and Monty Python, but for kids, so there are many possible connections one could make. For example a text to text connection could be BFG meets A Series of Unfortunate Events plus lots of humor. The author tries to make the book more fun just like Roald Dahl does in the BFG. The plot is very mildly similar to A Series of Unfortunate Events but different enough for it to be extremely different.

I would rate this book three and a half out of five stars.The reason I think this rating is appropriate is because it was very good and very funny but it got a little annoying to read at times, also I thought that it was just a little bit too much like a ton of other books. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked A Series of Unfortunate Events or other books like that. Although it is a little childish and an easy level, so older people might not enjoy it as much.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember being a big fan of this book as a kid, but unfortunately it doesn't hold up that well as an adult. The narrative style is pretty fun - it's reminiscent of Lemony Snicket while still being distinct in large part thanks to an infusion of British humor. There's a lot of really excellent wordplay here and some other clever bits. However, the story they're in service of just isn't honestly all that good. It's basically just a ramble from one wacky plot event to the next. The author explains that this was originally written for a relative in installments, which does explain the oddities of the plot to an extent. Still, that doesn't really help much. Whereas A Series of Unfortunate Events is well worth reading for both writing style and plot, all this has, in my eyes at least, is the writing. Still, it was a fairly quick read, and I'll likely revisit the rest of the trilogy out of curiosity. And, of course, it's quite possible that younger readers will enjoy this just as much as I did when I was a kid.

[Nora Eliana | Papertea & Bookflowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich liebe diese Bücher (Hörbücher) einfach. Ich bin sogar relativ sicher, dass ich hier weiterhin immer die übersetzte Variante hören werde. Harry Rowohlt ist wirklich ein Genie was das übersetzten angeht und ich kann nur bewundern was er schafft.

Dieses Buch ist perfekt für alle die gerne lachen, Unsinn lieben und wirklich nicht viel wert auf Realität oder Plausibilität legen.

Ich habe diese Hörbücher das erste Mal mit meinem Vater gehört und wir waren beide begeistert. Seitdem höre ich sie mir immer wieder gerne an.
Eddie Dickens Abenteuer sind so schön verrückt und ich liebe die Art wie´die Geschichte erzählt wird.
Sie beginnt damit, dass Eddie leider seine Eltern verlassen muss, da diese krank sind. Sie sind gelb, riechen nach alten Wärmflaschen und ganz wellig an den Rändern. Man bekommt also direkt mit, was einen erwartet.

Mit am besten gefallen mir sowohl die Anmerkungen vom Autor als auch die vom Übersetzter, Harry Rowohlt.

[Whitaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great book shows us how everything is great and worth to die for