The House of Dies Drear (Dies Drear Chronicle) (original 1968; edition 1984)

by Virginia Hamilton, Eros Keith (Illustrator)

Series: The House of Dies Drear (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations / Mentions
1,554	18	11,514	(3.37)	2 / 37
A black family tries to unravel the secrets of their new home which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

▾Book information

Member:	meaneycab
Title:	The House of Dies Drear (Dies Drear Chronicle)
Authors:	Virginia Hamilton
Other authors:	Eros Keith (Illustrator)
Info:	Simon Pulse (1984), Paperback, 256 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	None

Work Information

The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton (Author) (1968)

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▾Conversations (About links)

Group › Topic	Messages	Last Message
Name that Book: Found: YA Fiction 90s Mystery w/ Golden Triangles	6 unread / 6	hannahsayward, December 2023
Name that Book: YA haunted slave escape tunnels	4 unread / 4	DisassemblyOfReason, October 2018

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▾Member reviews

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Showing 1-5 of 18 (next | show all)

This book is as old as I am. Reading it as an adult, I can see some of the flaws. But as a child, I think I would have found it to be magical. (

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TheGalaxyGirl | Dec 2, 2023 |

Includes related readings, poetry, a play, When The Rattlesnake Sounds, and true stories by formerly enslaved. Also places to visit today.

VillageProject | Oct 5, 2023 |

I know this is considered a classic; however, I felt the story was somewhat lacking. An African American family relocates from the deep south to Ohio, to the former home of an abolitionist and underground railroad conductor. Some of the story was compelling as far as the home with all it's secrets were concerned but the conflict felt too contrived. The author tried to present the views of the teenage or preteen protagonist but missed the mark to me. Interesting from the historical fiction stand point. (

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phoenixcomet | Jul 17, 2023 |

A young boy and his family move into a house filled with ghosts and drama dating from the time of the Underground Railroad. (

)

LindaLeeJacobs | Feb 15, 2020 |

I'm very sorry to have missed my book group meeting where this book was discussed. I found it very spooky and felt a little lost much of the time. Very different than I had expected. (

)

njcur | Jun 26, 2017 |

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▾Published reviews

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Thomas Small, his parents, and twin brothers leave their home in North Carolina for Ohio where Mr. Small has a job teaching history at a college. The time of the setting of the story is at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960's.Their new home has previously been a station on the Underground Railroad. Mr. Thomas received a report that stated Dies Drear, the original owner, and two slaves had been murdered at the house. One additional slave had been at the house at the time of the murder. The caretaker of the house is an elderly man named Mr. Pluto.

added by Jeff.Pauls | editbuildingrainbows.com

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Hamilton, Virginia	Author	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Dillon, Diane	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Dillon, Leo	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Keith, Eros	Illustrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Morrissey, Georgia	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Thigpen, Lynne	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed