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Barsetshire #3
The Demon in the House
A sweeter demon doesn't exist than Tony Morland - a 12-year-old with a gift for disconcerting remarks and getting what he wants from his mother. Boys will be boys, and little Morland is no exception, boasting, bragging, breaking windows, messing about in boats and demanding breakfast in bed, all very much to the despair of his mother, Laura. Tony is desperate for a bicycle and although Laura is certain he'll come home in a coffin after one of his rides, Tony is determined to make her concede.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
29 people are currently reading
347 people want to read
About the author
Angela Thirkell
58 books258 followers Angela Margaret Mackail was born on January 30, 1890 at 27 Young Street, Kensington Square, London. Her grandfather was Sir Edward Burne-Jones the pre-Raphaelite painter and partner in the design firm of Morris and Company for whom he designed many stained glass windows - seven of which are in St Margaret's Church in Rottingdean, West Sussex. Her grandmother was Georgiana Macdonald, one of a precocious family which included among others, Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister, and Rudyard Kipling. Angela's brother, Denis Mackail, was also a prolific and successful novelist. Angela's mother, Margaret Burne-Jones, married John Mackail - an administrator at the Ministry of Education and Professor of Poetry at Oxford University.
Angela married James Campbell McInnes in 1911. James was a professional Baritone and performed at concert halls throughout the UK. In 1912 their first son Graham was born and in 1914 a second son, Colin. A daughter was born in 1917 at the same time her marriage was breaking up. In November 1917 a divorce was granted and Angela and the children went to live with her parents in Pembroke Gardens in London. The child, Mary, died the next year.
Angela then met and married George Lancelot Thirkell in 1918 and in 1920 they traveled on a troop ship to George's hometown in Australia. Their adventures on the "Friedricksruh" are recounted in her Trooper to the Southern Cross published in 1934. In 1921, in Melbourne Australia, her youngest son Lancelot George was born. Angela left Australia in 1929 with 8 year old Lance and never returned. Although living with her parents in London she badly needed to earn a living so she set forth on the difficult road of the professional writer. Her first book, Three Houses, a memoir of her happy childhood was published in 1931 and was an immediate success. The first of her novels set in Trollope's mythical county of Barsetshire was Demon in the House, followed by 28 others, one each year.
Angela also wrote a book of children's stories entitled The Grateful Sparrow using Ludwig Richter's illustrations; a biography of Harriette Wilson, The Fortunes of Harriette; an historical novel, Coronation Summer, an account of the events in London during Queen Victoria's Coronation in 1838; and three semi-autobiographical novels, Ankle Deep and Oh, These Men, These Men and Trooper to the Southern Cross. When Angela died on the 29th of January 1961 she left unfinished the last of her books, Three Score and Ten which was completed by her friend, Caroline LeJeune. Angela is buried in Rottingdean alongside her daughter Mary and her Burne-Jones grandparents.
Angela married James Campbell McInnes in 1911. James was a professional Baritone and performed at concert halls throughout the UK. In 1912 their first son Graham was born and in 1914 a second son, Colin. A daughter was born in 1917 at the same time her marriage was breaking up. In November 1917 a divorce was granted and Angela and the children went to live with her parents in Pembroke Gardens in London. The child, Mary, died the next year.
Angela then met and married George Lancelot Thirkell in 1918 and in 1920 they traveled on a troop ship to George's hometown in Australia. Their adventures on the "Friedricksruh" are recounted in her Trooper to the Southern Cross published in 1934. In 1921, in Melbourne Australia, her youngest son Lancelot George was born. Angela left Australia in 1929 with 8 year old Lance and never returned. Although living with her parents in London she badly needed to earn a living so she set forth on the difficult road of the professional writer. Her first book, Three Houses, a memoir of her happy childhood was published in 1931 and was an immediate success. The first of her novels set in Trollope's mythical county of Barsetshire was Demon in the House, followed by 28 others, one each year.
Angela also wrote a book of children's stories entitled The Grateful Sparrow using Ludwig Richter's illustrations; a biography of Harriette Wilson, The Fortunes of Harriette; an historical novel, Coronation Summer, an account of the events in London during Queen Victoria's Coronation in 1838; and three semi-autobiographical novels, Ankle Deep and Oh, These Men, These Men and Trooper to the Southern Cross. When Angela died on the 29th of January 1961 she left unfinished the last of her books, Three Score and Ten which was completed by her friend, Caroline LeJeune. Angela is buried in Rottingdean alongside her daughter Mary and her Burne-Jones grandparents.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
March 20, 2019
I usually rate short stories individually in collections, but these stories following the adventures in a year in the life of the enterprising Tony Morland are linked - both by characters & the seasons. So I'm just giving an overall rating.
I would recommend spreading the reads out as much as possible - especially if character development is important to you, as except in the (outstanding)Paradise Pool & the final story Farewell, Morland, Tony changes very little. He remains the same infuriating know-it-all who can't/won't take responsibility for his own actions. His mother, Laura, is exasperated & exhausted by Tony - but loves him just the same.
The Nurserymaids is the other story with a lot of depth & charm.
Other readers have found Tony very young for his age - I'm afraid 21st century children are now very old for their ages. Reading older collections like this makes this reader realise how much magic & innocence has been lost - & for me that is very sad.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
I would recommend spreading the reads out as much as possible - especially if character development is important to you, as except in the (outstanding)Paradise Pool & the final story Farewell, Morland, Tony changes very little. He remains the same infuriating know-it-all who can't/won't take responsibility for his own actions. His mother, Laura, is exasperated & exhausted by Tony - but loves him just the same.
The Nurserymaids is the other story with a lot of depth & charm.
Other readers have found Tony very young for his age - I'm afraid 21st century children are now very old for their ages. Reading older collections like this makes this reader realise how much magic & innocence has been lost - & for me that is very sad.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
January 7, 2016
Tony Morland has his say
The Demon in the House is the third book of Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels, and I wasn’t sure how I would feel about a story centered on a force of nature like the cheerfully self-involved, hyper-talkative, 12 or 13 year-old Tony Morland--the “demon” of the title--but for the most part I loved it. Many of the characters from High Risings, the first of Thirkell’s Barsetshire books, are back and it was a pleasure to catch up with old friends.
Several sections of the story evoke with breath-taking clarity the mostly unruly but sometimes sublime passions of childhood--especially chapter 5, which is titled Paradise Pool because Tony discovers a particularly lovely view of the lake where a group of grown-ups and children have gathered to picnic and swim. The youngsters are full of high spirits, playing, squabbling loudly, and running off with each other’s toys, but then Tony and his mostly silent friend Donk climb down to muck around in a stream that’s below the level of the main body of water, and from that lower angle the lake looms like a magic pool suspended in midair, a vision that awes and moves them both and temporarily silences the almost pathologically loquacious Tony--it’s a lovely piece of writing.
Thirkell apparently didn’t think much of her own books. Like Tony’s mother she wrote because she needed to earn a living and didn’t expect or want her well educated friends to read her novels, but but for “fluff” her stories are witty and socially aware. Because they were written during the time when they're set, in this case the 1930’s Britain, the stories also offer interesting and often unexpected (to me) insights about the daily life and attitudes of the era, including a few eyebrow-raising off-hand comments by characters that are offensive today.
Virago is re-releasing many of Thirkell’s novels, but so far not not this one, which means that most or all of the available copies are the Moyer Bell editions which do have some editing errors.
The Demon in the House is the third book of Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels, and I wasn’t sure how I would feel about a story centered on a force of nature like the cheerfully self-involved, hyper-talkative, 12 or 13 year-old Tony Morland--the “demon” of the title--but for the most part I loved it. Many of the characters from High Risings, the first of Thirkell’s Barsetshire books, are back and it was a pleasure to catch up with old friends.
Several sections of the story evoke with breath-taking clarity the mostly unruly but sometimes sublime passions of childhood--especially chapter 5, which is titled Paradise Pool because Tony discovers a particularly lovely view of the lake where a group of grown-ups and children have gathered to picnic and swim. The youngsters are full of high spirits, playing, squabbling loudly, and running off with each other’s toys, but then Tony and his mostly silent friend Donk climb down to muck around in a stream that’s below the level of the main body of water, and from that lower angle the lake looms like a magic pool suspended in midair, a vision that awes and moves them both and temporarily silences the almost pathologically loquacious Tony--it’s a lovely piece of writing.
Thirkell apparently didn’t think much of her own books. Like Tony’s mother she wrote because she needed to earn a living and didn’t expect or want her well educated friends to read her novels, but but for “fluff” her stories are witty and socially aware. Because they were written during the time when they're set, in this case the 1930’s Britain, the stories also offer interesting and often unexpected (to me) insights about the daily life and attitudes of the era, including a few eyebrow-raising off-hand comments by characters that are offensive today.
Virago is re-releasing many of Thirkell’s novels, but so far not not this one, which means that most or all of the available copies are the Moyer Bell editions which do have some editing errors.
April 29, 2019
Not much progress today. I digressed to see what various declared candidates have on their websites, but I didn't get far. Buttigieg seems nnice, but doesn't have many positions outlined. Elizabeth Warren however made a big impression: lots of text (ready!) lots of ways to address economic disparities, inclusive. Can't imagine she'll get too far on a "make the rich actually pay" platform, but a girl can dream. Economic justice. Green energy. Free college like all the other developed nations.
Meanwhile, back in Low Rising, Tony is worrying his mother to death gallivanting about on a rented bike. She is plagued by visions of finding him in a ditch and such, but womanfully sucking up that fear and letting him go anyway. It's a racing bike and he is twelve, and so full of himself. He wears terrible ties and too much hair product, and he is simultaneously adorable and loathsome.
Thirkell is my new favorite early 20th c writer. Delighted that all my Gorey reading brought her to me. Especially after the disappointment of Burnett-Compton.
***
Review attempt 2.0
The gist of this morning's review is gone, snowed under by the interesting comments that I had missed. So instead of whatever was lost, that was probably awfully anyway, I'm going to belatedly join my own thread. Apparently at some point I turned off notifications for comments. That at least is remedied.
Moving on. Ivy Compton-Burnett: the worst. I really don't get the appeal. One novel is enough to put me off all the rest. I was thinking she'd have been better had she actually written plays, but in the interval I reread a Stoppard play, and no, she wouldn't have been funny as a playwright either.
Twee kids? It is weird reading along and having her talk about the "little boys" and they're twelve which now would put them over 6 feet with five o'clock shadows. Or not, but modern 12-ywear-old-boys could certainly fall within the realm of adolescence, whereas, as Miriam points out, Tony and Donk don't just don't compare. Ignore the age number, though, and I feel like Thirkell does well by the kids. None of them are stereotypes. She does an excellent job of showing extremes: Tony suffers from a truly annoying excess of esteem, and we get to see Laura being annoyed as hell with him, and embarrassed by him, and also feel sorry for him when he's been horrible and lost his temper and gone to sleep crying and clutching his old stuffy. Silent Donk has hidden depths, too.
It's hard to process so much more childhood, and so little adolescence. It's a bit creepy to have a middle-aged man court a woman in her early twenties (outside of the movies). Of course, middle-aged is rather older than it once was, too. There may even be a reference to how Laura's only in her 40s, but has three adult sons, and Sibyl's more than a decade younger than her husband, I think.
Strange. But lovely. I like Laura looking forward to being all on her own soon, despite how much she dotes on her annoying youngest.
Library copy
Meanwhile, back in Low Rising, Tony is worrying his mother to death gallivanting about on a rented bike. She is plagued by visions of finding him in a ditch and such, but womanfully sucking up that fear and letting him go anyway. It's a racing bike and he is twelve, and so full of himself. He wears terrible ties and too much hair product, and he is simultaneously adorable and loathsome.
Thirkell is my new favorite early 20th c writer. Delighted that all my Gorey reading brought her to me. Especially after the disappointment of Burnett-Compton.
***
Review attempt 2.0
The gist of this morning's review is gone, snowed under by the interesting comments that I had missed. So instead of whatever was lost, that was probably awfully anyway, I'm going to belatedly join my own thread. Apparently at some point I turned off notifications for comments. That at least is remedied.
Moving on. Ivy Compton-Burnett: the worst. I really don't get the appeal. One novel is enough to put me off all the rest. I was thinking she'd have been better had she actually written plays, but in the interval I reread a Stoppard play, and no, she wouldn't have been funny as a playwright either.
Twee kids? It is weird reading along and having her talk about the "little boys" and they're twelve which now would put them over 6 feet with five o'clock shadows. Or not, but modern 12-ywear-old-boys could certainly fall within the realm of adolescence, whereas, as Miriam points out, Tony and Donk don't just don't compare. Ignore the age number, though, and I feel like Thirkell does well by the kids. None of them are stereotypes. She does an excellent job of showing extremes: Tony suffers from a truly annoying excess of esteem, and we get to see Laura being annoyed as hell with him, and embarrassed by him, and also feel sorry for him when he's been horrible and lost his temper and gone to sleep crying and clutching his old stuffy. Silent Donk has hidden depths, too.
It's hard to process so much more childhood, and so little adolescence. It's a bit creepy to have a middle-aged man court a woman in her early twenties (outside of the movies). Of course, middle-aged is rather older than it once was, too. There may even be a reference to how Laura's only in her 40s, but has three adult sons, and Sibyl's more than a decade younger than her husband, I think.
Strange. But lovely. I like Laura looking forward to being all on her own soon, despite how much she dotes on her annoying youngest.
Library copy
March 9, 2019
I'm very fond of Angela Thirkell's writing and happily reading her entire Barsetshire series. This novel is the only one so far that I have dropped from five to four stars -- not because it wasn't just as well written, but because the main character is a 12-year-old boy. Laura Morland is a widowed writer whose youngest of four sons, Tony, is at home from his boarding school for the holidays, "the demon" who has unlimited self-assurance and talks incessantly, routinely inciting rage in his otherwise adoring mother. While Tony's observations on life are vastly amusing, I would have preferred to read a little more about Laura herself, or the other adult characters in High Rising, the village where they live.
August 9, 2015
Laura Morland must be a saint to put up with the antics of her son, Tony. But it's those antics and especially his dialogue that kept me laughing throughout the book.
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November 23, 2019A must to read for any software developer! It simply will change the way you THINK about programming, making you write much faster, scalable, and better applications than ever.
August 12, 2022
After reading High Rising, I was eager to get back to the life of the Morland family. Although The Demon in the House still maintained Thirkell's trademark wit, I started to find Tony Morland grating on my nerves. Laura's exasperation with him yet her strong urges to defend him when he got someone's back up were irritating in their contrariness.
I still plan on reading more in this series but I think I'll be looking forward to reading about a new family in Barsetshire.
I still plan on reading more in this series but I think I'll be looking forward to reading about a new family in Barsetshire.
September 9, 2010
Laura Morland is one of my favorite characters from Angela Thirkell's novels. And Tony is definitely on the other end of the spectrum. In this, one of Thirkell's earlier books, Tony is 12 years old and though it's interesting to meet this younger version of the man that keeps popping up in so many of her other novels, a little of him goes a long way. But unfortunately he is the central character this time around and so the only way to enjoy being back in Thirkell's 20th century version of Trollope's Barsetshire is to put up with the thoroughly bothersome Tony. The book is set in pre-WWII England and it's interesting to note how much 12 year olds have changed since then. Thirkell repeatedly calls Tony a "little boy" and many of his exploits are exactly what might be expected of a precocious youngster. But no 12 year old I know is even remotely as innocent and childlike as Tony. Nevertheless in spite of how much I dislike Tony, I continue to enjoy these wonderfully irrelevant novels even though as Laura Morland herself (Angela Thirkell's persona) admits about her own books, they're all pretty much the same in the sense that nothing much ever happens in them!
June 13, 2020
Angela Thirkell can usually be relied upon to produce a light, frothy entertainment. In writing a book centred around an insufferable know-it-all of a thirteen year old boy (consistently referred to as a "little boy" for some reason), she produced a book which I found for the most part to be unfunny, only saved from the ignominy of one star by a few amusing moments with some of the adults in the story.
No doubt her readers had expressed an interest in hearing more about this boy after his appearance in "High Rising". I do hope that he does a lot of growing up before appearing in any more of her novels.
No doubt her readers had expressed an interest in hearing more about this boy after his appearance in "High Rising". I do hope that he does a lot of growing up before appearing in any more of her novels.
February 4, 2014
I just love Angela Thirkell's books.
They are beguiling novels of town and country.
Tony Morland is a wonderful character,an irresistable and maddening twelve year old.
He gets up to many antics to the despair of his mother.
He is a charming, infuriating creature to the adults.
My favourite so far.
Kept me entertained on a dreary wet day in Cornwall.
They are beguiling novels of town and country.
Tony Morland is a wonderful character,an irresistable and maddening twelve year old.
He gets up to many antics to the despair of his mother.
He is a charming, infuriating creature to the adults.
My favourite so far.
Kept me entertained on a dreary wet day in Cornwall.
June 1, 2025
3-1/2 Stars
I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. I will say that a little bit of Tony Morland goes a long way and this book is A LOT of Tony! But I love Angela Thirkell’s writing and the other characters in this book I really enjoyed (especially Donk, Stoker, and Dr. Ford). I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.
I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. I will say that a little bit of Tony Morland goes a long way and this book is A LOT of Tony! But I love Angela Thirkell’s writing and the other characters in this book I really enjoyed (especially Donk, Stoker, and Dr. Ford). I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.
March 12, 2019
I always enjoy a visit to Barsetshire, and this reread with the Retro Reads group was no exception.
More of a collection of stories, similar to Christmas at High Rising, a recent reissue of unrelated stories, this book centers on Tony Morland, at 12 years old the youngest son of widowed author Laura Morland. Laura and Tony are two of my favorite recurring characters in Thirkell’s Barsetshire series- his self-absorbed non-stop chatter is hilarious, but I’m sure would be exhausting to live with! Laura has no illusions about her son or the rather sensational Madam Koska books she writes to support her family, and I really like and relate to her; I’ve always sympathized with her often irrational fears, concerns and self-induced guilt trips over Tony!
I also enjoy Stoker, Laura’s no-nonsense cook and housekeeper (and Tony’s loyal slave), Dr. Ford (whose standard line to Tony is “Shut up”), and George Knox, a long-winded fellow author who lives nearby in Low Rising, and also gets wound up by Tony. Some readers may get Tony overload, but I enjoy his adventures and Thirkell’s writing about him; I think she really captures the humor, boundless energy and imagination of children in her writing, and some of the writing is really lovely, like Tony’s enchantment with Paradise Pool, the name he gives to a local swimming spot during a summer holiday picnic. Delightful!
More of a collection of stories, similar to Christmas at High Rising, a recent reissue of unrelated stories, this book centers on Tony Morland, at 12 years old the youngest son of widowed author Laura Morland. Laura and Tony are two of my favorite recurring characters in Thirkell’s Barsetshire series- his self-absorbed non-stop chatter is hilarious, but I’m sure would be exhausting to live with! Laura has no illusions about her son or the rather sensational Madam Koska books she writes to support her family, and I really like and relate to her; I’ve always sympathized with her often irrational fears, concerns and self-induced guilt trips over Tony!
I also enjoy Stoker, Laura’s no-nonsense cook and housekeeper (and Tony’s loyal slave), Dr. Ford (whose standard line to Tony is “Shut up”), and George Knox, a long-winded fellow author who lives nearby in Low Rising, and also gets wound up by Tony. Some readers may get Tony overload, but I enjoy his adventures and Thirkell’s writing about him; I think she really captures the humor, boundless energy and imagination of children in her writing, and some of the writing is really lovely, like Tony’s enchantment with Paradise Pool, the name he gives to a local swimming spot during a summer holiday picnic. Delightful!
February 4, 2014
Very different from Angela Thirkell's other books. I think it's only the second book, chronologically speaking. It's entirely the adventures of Laura Morland's youngest son, 12-year-old Tony. He's mostly exasperating, a know-it-all enthusiast of trains, bicycles, horses, and most other subjects under the sun.
April 17, 2013
I loved this book so much. It doesn't really have any plot. It just follows a mother's relationship with her youngest son and her concerns and fears about him growing up. But it is so sweet.
March 15, 2019
With The Demon in the House, Thirkell revisits the charmingly daft Laura Morland, successful writer of pulp fiction, and her irrepressible son Tony, the antihero of the title. Tony is a know-it-all thirteen-year-old, a relentless chaos machine who in this brief book cuts himself a swath through a series of school holidays. He would be more exhausting for his mother if she didn't outsource the consequences of his misdeeds to her long-suffering servant, Stokes, but he's plenty exhausting enough for this reader, no great fan of children. I was glad this book was short, scarcely more than novella length. Many of the delightful characters from Thirkell's previous Morland story, High Rising, reappear here, and I found myself clinging to their scenes as my reason to go on. Tony was entertaining as a minor character in the previous book but a serious irritant to me once he took center stage.
That said, Thirkell's Austenesque knack for social comedy was on full display, and there were chuckles enough in these pages. She always has a bit of low-key romance just to keep the community of Barsetshire evolving, and this book was no exception though the poor lovers got only two scenes, their meeting and their betrothal. I look forward to reading the next Barsetshire book, hopefully one that focuses on the grown-ups!
That said, Thirkell's Austenesque knack for social comedy was on full display, and there were chuckles enough in these pages. She always has a bit of low-key romance just to keep the community of Barsetshire evolving, and this book was no exception though the poor lovers got only two scenes, their meeting and their betrothal. I look forward to reading the next Barsetshire book, hopefully one that focuses on the grown-ups!
October 20, 2019
Another amusing Barsetshire book. The titular demon is young Tony, the good-natured but loquacious and excessively confident son of Laura Morland. His brothers are grown and abroad, therefore “he missed the fraternal snubbing which is supposed to improve the character,” and his mother has failed at her occasional attempts “to be a little unkind to him”.
The book is a series of vignettes covering the school holidays which Tony spends at home. His mother worries about him extravagantly, but quietly: “she must remember that boys were not brought home dead on a shutter simply because they rode bicycles.” He’s admired by the vicar’s young daughters, and tolerated to a greater or lesser degree by the adults of the village.
An utterly plotless book featuring an obnoxious 13-yr-old boy doesn’t sound appealing, but Thirkell’s characterizations are a lot of fun, and the mother-son relationship is very appealing.
The book is a series of vignettes covering the school holidays which Tony spends at home. His mother worries about him extravagantly, but quietly: “she must remember that boys were not brought home dead on a shutter simply because they rode bicycles.” He’s admired by the vicar’s young daughters, and tolerated to a greater or lesser degree by the adults of the village.
An utterly plotless book featuring an obnoxious 13-yr-old boy doesn’t sound appealing, but Thirkell’s characterizations are a lot of fun, and the mother-son relationship is very appealing.
November 22, 2025
These books make me laugh out loud. I just love Tony.
February 28, 2019
I was exhausted just reading about Tony Morland, age 12. He thinks he knows everything about anything and has no hesitation in telling anyone how things should be done. He is constantly talking and getting into scrapes. His mother is either in fear of his life or wanting to throttle him. He goes to boarding school, but this book describes his actions during the school holidays (or hols as he calls them) for Easter, Summer, and Christmas. At boarding school he also gets in trouble and causes teachers and matrons to go "off pop".
January 4, 2015
It seems that the schoolboy Tony Morland was such a success with readers of High Rising, Thirkell decided to devote an entire book to him. Not a very long book, fortunately, because although Tony is endearing he is also quite annoying. Thirkell invents some pretty interesting mischief for him, and makes us think that he will turn out to be a nice young man -- that is, if he doesn't get killed in the war which, at this point, nobody knows is looming. My favorite part of this book is Tony's vision of "Paradise Pool," a glimpse of a pond framed by a stone bridge. What a nice human touch.
April 22, 2013
Thirkell did such an amazing job with Tony, capturing his incredibly annoying personality thorough his verbal diarrhea. He's so cocky and self-sure, and there are only glimpses of self-doubts. I think I cheered each time Dr. Ford told him to "shut up." The other dialogue also just shines; it's so unique and personal to each character. I think I could really pick out the character from reading unidentified lines. I laughed a lot throughout the book. This was my first of what will be many Barsetshire books--a great introduction!
July 14, 2010
Didn't think I could hate an AT book, but dear God! ONE chapter of young Tony is more than enough. I know she was writing about her own kid(s), and she's excellent at conveying their foibles. But gimmeabreak! George Knox also runs on and on, but at least he's not the star of the show. Not sure I can even finish reading this. Suggest duct tape--either over his mouth, or to seal the book. A child only HIS mother could love. All in all, I favor Dr. Ford's views, telling Tony, "Shut up."
September 23, 2012
LOVE this book. I have an extemely old hard back copy of it that my mom picked up at a library book sale in the 60's. I have read it several times and love it every time. Tony is my absolute favorite fiction character of all time.
June 12, 2015
The story of Laura Morland's son Tony, who first featured in High Rising. He's a thoroughly ghastly child, but a great character who makes for an entertaining read.
February 26, 2008
She's not Austen, but at some point, six novels isn't enough.
August 21, 2009
A fun read, I have another one of Thirkell's books which I will read at some point. Tony is quite a character!
February 3, 2013
Although the exploits of a talkative and precocious child are not my favorite theme, I must admit that I laughed aloud several times.
January 7, 2023
I was surprised how much I liked this book. Fair warning, the main character is a 12 year old know-it-all, that talks incessantly and always has an excuse for why he’s never to blame. What made it fun for me was his incredibly relatable mom. She dearly loves her son, and frequently worries that his exploits will end in death or dismemberment. But that doesn’t stop her from wanting to throttle him and tell him to just shut up. Like I said, relatable.
It also was fun to catch up with characters from the previous novel High Risings, and enjoy the author’s signature wit.
It also was fun to catch up with characters from the previous novel High Risings, and enjoy the author’s signature wit.
September 23, 2018
Tony is really annoying, which is sort of the point, but still didn't make for an amazing read.
March 6, 2017
I wish I had discovered this author fifty years ago!
January 25, 2025
I am reading the Barsetshire series in order, so I am re-reading Angela Thirkell's "The Demon in the House" and loved it. My review from 2020 stands. I am looking forward to seeing what characters are going to be mentioned again.
Review from 2020-
I have been waiting for a Kindle book on Angela Thirkell's The Demon in the House since reading, "High Rising" and "Wild Strawberries" looking to read her Barsetshire series in chronological order. It has been awhile since I read "Wild Strawberries", looking through my notes, it seems Laura and Tony Morland are not main characters, so it was refreshing to continue hearing about the mother and son again. Tony was a whirlwind in "High Rising" and is much more in this third of the series. "The Demon in the House" is Tony and though this is practically all about his hyper energetic imagination and non stop locomotive talking which brings humor throughout! At first when I read this I was thinking can a book centered on a young boy keep my attention and interest, it certainly was infecting. Many characters from "High Rising" are part of this story but the focus is on Tony and his widowed book writing and worried mother, thinking always that her son will end up dead, yet she does not prevent his spirited soul from his boyish endeavours, God forbid becoming a milksop.
A time where boys could be boys and not be started on "Ritalin" just because they are whirlwinds, just thinking about that should make parents pause.
Story- Tony comes home during school breaks and brings his "Demon" energy to all his young and older friends.
Published in 1934, it is interesting the reference to Hitler and one gets a glimpse of an author's eyes on the times prior to Hitler's complete rise.
“I say, Stokes,” said Tony, “what do you think about Hitler?” “No call to think about him at all as far as I can see,” said Stoker. “He leaves me alone and I leave him alone. See?” “Yes, but Stokes, how would you like it if you were a German and Hitler came and murdered you?”
"I’d put an electric shock machine in the telephone, and then when Hitler answered the telephone he’d get electrocuted. Do you know, Stokes, practically everyone in Germany gets murdered? "
Looking forward to reading more about Barsetshire.
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌
Adrian Coates, Laura's editor married Sybil Knox in "High Rising" and have a baby which they name after Laura, being the one who brought the two together. George Knox, Sybil's father had married Laura's secretary are included, as well as the vicar, Gould and his family. The young daughters, Dora and Rose are friends with Tony, as well as young Master Wesendonck, who rarely speaks. Tony's make believe "Morland" is called out as such to his mother, as he has graduated to "trousers" and to more grown up things. Dr. Ford marries Slyvia Gould, the eldest daughter of the Vicar after finding out she can control Tony Morland.
Review from 2020-
I have been waiting for a Kindle book on Angela Thirkell's The Demon in the House since reading, "High Rising" and "Wild Strawberries" looking to read her Barsetshire series in chronological order. It has been awhile since I read "Wild Strawberries", looking through my notes, it seems Laura and Tony Morland are not main characters, so it was refreshing to continue hearing about the mother and son again. Tony was a whirlwind in "High Rising" and is much more in this third of the series. "The Demon in the House" is Tony and though this is practically all about his hyper energetic imagination and non stop locomotive talking which brings humor throughout! At first when I read this I was thinking can a book centered on a young boy keep my attention and interest, it certainly was infecting. Many characters from "High Rising" are part of this story but the focus is on Tony and his widowed book writing and worried mother, thinking always that her son will end up dead, yet she does not prevent his spirited soul from his boyish endeavours, God forbid becoming a milksop.
A time where boys could be boys and not be started on "Ritalin" just because they are whirlwinds, just thinking about that should make parents pause.
Story- Tony comes home during school breaks and brings his "Demon" energy to all his young and older friends.
Published in 1934, it is interesting the reference to Hitler and one gets a glimpse of an author's eyes on the times prior to Hitler's complete rise.
“I say, Stokes,” said Tony, “what do you think about Hitler?” “No call to think about him at all as far as I can see,” said Stoker. “He leaves me alone and I leave him alone. See?” “Yes, but Stokes, how would you like it if you were a German and Hitler came and murdered you?”
"I’d put an electric shock machine in the telephone, and then when Hitler answered the telephone he’d get electrocuted. Do you know, Stokes, practically everyone in Germany gets murdered? "
Looking forward to reading more about Barsetshire.
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌
Adrian Coates, Laura's editor married Sybil Knox in "High Rising" and have a baby which they name after Laura, being the one who brought the two together. George Knox, Sybil's father had married Laura's secretary are included, as well as the vicar, Gould and his family. The young daughters, Dora and Rose are friends with Tony, as well as young Master Wesendonck, who rarely speaks. Tony's make believe "Morland" is called out as such to his mother, as he has graduated to "trousers" and to more grown up things. Dr. Ford marries Slyvia Gould, the eldest daughter of the Vicar after finding out she can control Tony Morland.
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