John Bellairs (1938–1991)
Author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls
About the Author
John Bellairs was born in Marshall, Michigan on January 17, 1938. He attended Notre Dame and the University of Chicago. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. He went on to author fifteen graphic novels for young adults, one fantasy book "The Face in the Frost," and two other show more books. His works have been nominated for several awards in the past. Among those nominated for, he won the Utah Children's Fiction Book Award in 1981 for "The Letter, the Witch and the Ring" and the New York Times Outstanding Books of 1973 Award for "The House with a Clock in Its Walls." Bellairs died of cardiovascular disease, on March 8, 1991. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: John Bellairs
Series
Works by John Bellairs
The Best of John Bellairs: The House with a Clock in Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows; The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring (1998) 245 copies, 6 reviews
闇にひそむ影 (ルイスと魔法使い協会) 1 copy
Záhadné hodiny 1 copy
Associated Works
The Specter From the Magician's Museum (Lewis Barnavelt) (1998) — Author, some editions — 181 copies, 4 reviews
A funny thing happened to the church; humor, cartoons, satire, and fiction from the pages of the Critic — Contributor, some editions — 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Bellairs, John
- Legal name
- Bellairs, John Anthony
- Birthdate
- 1938-01-17
- Date of death
- 1991-03-08
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Notre Dame (BA|1959)
University of Chicago (MA|1960) - Occupations
- fantasy author
teacher - Awards and honors
- Haverhill Citizens Hall of Fame (2000)
Utah Children's Fiction Book Award (1981) - Short biography
- John Bellairs is best known as the author of 15 gothic mystery novels for young adults, comprising the "Lewis Barnavelt", "Anthony Monday", and "Johnny Dixon" series (which included 1973's "The House with a Clock in its Walls"). The book, illustrated by Edward Gorey, and "The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn" (1978), about a rumored fortune buried in the walls of a town library, were made into television movies for children. He also penned "St. Fidgeta and Other Parodies," "The Pedant and the Shuffly," and the Tolkien-inspired fantasy "The Face in the Frost." Born in Michigan, he earned a BA in English from Notre Dame in 1959 and attended graduate school at the University of Chicago. Later, he taught English at various Midwestern and New England colleges before relocating to live and write in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He died of cardiovascular disease in 1991.
- Cause of death
- cardiovascular disease
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Marshall, Michigan, USA
- Places of residence
- Marshall, Michigan, USA
South Bend, Indiana, USA
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Winona, Minnesota, USA
Mount Carroll, Illinois, USA
Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, UK (show all 9)
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
North Andover, Massachusetts, USA
Haverhill, Massachusetts, USA - Place of death
- Haverhill, Massachusetts, USA
- Burial location
- Greenwood Cemetery, Haverhill, Massachusetts, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Discussions
Mystery-chubby kid and Egyptian statuettes in Name that Book (January 2025)
Teen supernatural horror from the 80's in Name that Book (September 2012)
Horror Series read as kid in Name that Book (November 2010)
Reviews
Now this is what I’m talking about! With Strickland finishing writing the Lewis Barnavelt series that John Bellairs started, we’re back to wonderfully written and carefully crafted gothic horror for the children’s audience (and those of us who refuse to grow up). Lewis and Rose Rita are once again faced with a magical opponent when they find a cursed opera during a school project, leading to an adventure that rivals the creativity, suspense, and comedy of the book that started the show more series off. Tracing back into New Zebadee’s history, the pair are faced by another of the town’s dark wizards who was defeated by the magical consortium many years ago. While some of the adventure is structured exactly the same as the first novel (adults absent, Lewis conquering his fear, spooky graveyards, magical spells gone awry, etc), Strickland introduces new imagery and spellwork throughout to make this story stand out on its own and keep us on the edge of our seats as the situation grows dire for Lewis and Rose Rita. For a pair of relatively hapless kids, these two are slowly hitting their stride as they problem solve around the villain’s moves with more independence than previously, and it is their brilliant idea to heckle the magician out of performing his perfected cursed opera! Absolutely ridiculous as a finisher, but this kind of creative thinking that does the trick is a perfect way to end the story with a moment of laughter. show less
It's extremely gratifying when a book you love as a teen turns out to be just as good when you re-read it as an adult. That's how I feel after reading The Face in Frost again. Written in 1969, I first read it in the late 1980s and loved it. I am happy to say that it was just as enjoyable this second time around.
Light-footed yet dark-hearted, gothically detailed yet deliberately vague, delightfully complex yet deceptively simple, this is an example of what the fantasy genre can be in the show more hands of a master storyteller.
And that's what The Face in the Frost is: a story. In the best sense of the word. This is a tale to read in front of the fireplace in the evening, or to bring with you to the beach when you need to shrug off the weight of the world for a while.
At significantly less than two hundred pages, The Face in the Frost shows that high quality fantasy can be tightly written and still open up new worlds and mysterious situations.
A hauntingly great story that ought to be better known and appreciated. show less
Light-footed yet dark-hearted, gothically detailed yet deliberately vague, delightfully complex yet deceptively simple, this is an example of what the fantasy genre can be in the show more hands of a master storyteller.
And that's what The Face in the Frost is: a story. In the best sense of the word. This is a tale to read in front of the fireplace in the evening, or to bring with you to the beach when you need to shrug off the weight of the world for a while.
At significantly less than two hundred pages, The Face in the Frost shows that high quality fantasy can be tightly written and still open up new worlds and mysterious situations.
A hauntingly great story that ought to be better known and appreciated. show less
This series may have started off chronicling the magical adventures of Lewis Barnavelt, but I am enjoying the author’s change of focus towards the characters of Mrs. Zimmermann and Rose Rita Pottinger so much that I don’t care if we don’t see as much of Lewis and his zany uncle. This book had the ladies travel back in time to 1828, in the hopes of restoring Mrs. Zimmermann’s magic and helping solve a “horrible injustice” from happening to her magical teacher (who was just a show more little girl at the time). Not only do we get a fun view back in time to the magical views of the Pennsylvania Dutch (a superstitious bunch, from the sounds of it) and their simpler way of life, but we get to see Rose Rita take charge and help solve a bunch of magical problems. She is at that awkward age when she’s beginning to become a more grown up young lady, so with her mind engaged and her abilities showcased, we get to see her earn some confidence that will help when she returns to the real world. The story ends happily, with Mrs. Zimmermann’s magical abilities back in action, so I’m sure that the next novel will see even more action as our whole team of players is at 100%! show less
I originally read this book as a kid and had forgotten all about it until I found it among a pile of weeded books in a school library. It was the same 1974 Dell Yearling copy I remember reading and immediately the memories of its delicious creepiness came flooding back. I scooped it up and brought it home for my 10-year old, who loved it as much as I did. He even recommended it to his teacher as a class read-aloud.
The illustrations by Edward Gorey are fantastic but what is best about this show more book is how it taps into a child's wild imagination to help immerse him or her into Lewis's world of Gothic horror. I was ecstatic to rediscover one of my favorite scenes (the nighttime car chase to the bridge) - my 42-year old self had retained this vivid scene (and the intense, creepy emotions it invoked) but had forgotten which book it was from.
Without realizing it, this book was probably the impetus for my love of books with creepy, magical themes (e.g., Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is an all-time favorite read...and listen...and viewing). Now that I have this little gem back in my possession, I will not be letting it go. show less
The illustrations by Edward Gorey are fantastic but what is best about this show more book is how it taps into a child's wild imagination to help immerse him or her into Lewis's world of Gothic horror. I was ecstatic to rediscover one of my favorite scenes (the nighttime car chase to the bridge) - my 42-year old self had retained this vivid scene (and the intense, creepy emotions it invoked) but had forgotten which book it was from.
Without realizing it, this book was probably the impetus for my love of books with creepy, magical themes (e.g., Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is an all-time favorite read...and listen...and viewing). Now that I have this little gem back in my possession, I will not be letting it go. show less
Lists
Edward Gorey Covers (17)
music to my eyes (1)
1960s (1)
Elevenses (1)
Summer Books (1)
Gateway Horror (16)
Five star books (3)
Ghosts (4)
Which house? (2)
1990s (4)
1980s (7)
Michigan (2)
Witchy Fiction (1)
1970s (2)
Massachusetts (2)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 37
- Also by
- 10
- Members
- 12,593
- Popularity
- #1,855
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 264
- ISBNs
- 420
- Languages
- 11
- Favorited
- 50
