The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder

In the previous Lewis Barnavelt novel we are left with nary a Barnavelt in sight, following Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmerman through time and back, so it’s only fair that Lewis and Uncle Jonathan get to entertain us with a solo trip through Europe in this book! We first meet them fittingly in London, where Bellairs (and co-writer Brad Strickland) give us a taste of British wit when the two get directions from a London bobby to the (fictitious) home of Sherlock Holmes. The Victorian gothic themes are strong throughout the novel, as the Barnavelt’s visit their distant cousin Pelham, who lives in a decrepit Baskerville style country house. Of course, Lewis immediately causes chaos when he and his new friend Bertie inadvertently set loose a show more demonic entity and a vengeful ghost of the (titular) witchfinder, who they must figure out how to defeat without the help of the grownups. We all know throughout that Lewis and Bertie will save the day, but Bellair’s and Strickland’s writing keeps the suspense going as they weave a historical mystery perfectly suited to the English countryside setting. A few of the previous books haven’t quite hit the high note of the first Lewis Barnavelt novel, but with this collaboration I feel like the series has picked up once again, and I am looking forward to seeing what magical and mysterious highjinx that the gang will get up to next! show less

The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder has Lewis Barnavelt and his Uncle Jonathan take a trip to Europe. Their first stop is London, England where we get reacquainted with Lewis' ability to deduce logical conclusions from a few clues when a bobby (policeman) helps him figure out where 122B Baker Street would have been located in pre-World War II (which was fairly recent in the book's fictional history) London. Later, that same bobby will come to the rescue even though Lewis and Jonathan are in the countryside, but that's getting ahead of the events.

Vengeance is similar to The Ghost in the Mirror, which preceded this novel, in that the young person and the adult are alone together on a trip which proves to be more dangerous than either show more expected. In Ghost, the pair were Rose Rita Pottinger and Mrs. Zimmerman. The action in the two books happens concurrently over a single summer's vacation.

One great aspect of the two books is that each one introduces children to culture they might not be familiar with. The England Lewis visits is not the England of Harry Potter, but a traditional tourist destination filled trip with destinations like the Tower of London.

But Lewis is a curious boy who makes friends with his cousin's housekeeper's son, Bertie, who is blind. Bertie, who knows the grounds of Barnavelt Manor intimately, despite his handicap, enjoys showing Lewis around, while introducing Lewis to what it is like to be blind. Most fascinating to the boys is the maze in front of the manor. Note that this book was published four years before JK Rowling published Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because the maze becomes a central part of the conflict the boys have to deal with on their own, much in the same way Harry and Cedric Diggory have to navigate a maze in Goblet. Lewis and Bertie, though, end up releasing an evil spirit once conjured and used by a notorious Puritan witch-finder, Malachiah Pruitt, who had tried to financially ruin Lewis' far removed cousin, Martin Christian Barnavelt--an act that set up the family's future financial difficulties that extend to post-war Pelham Barnavelt's current money problems.

The evil spirit is able to bring Pruitt back to life and both proceed to mesmerize Cousin Pelly and Bertie's mother, and taking Uncle Jonathan prisoner. On their own, Lewis and Bertie have to try to save their families and get rid of the evil trying to claim Barnavelt Manor.

Clever Lewis wins the day in a surprisingly clever way with a little mental magic of his own. show less

Jonathan and Lewis travel to Europe to visit Jonathan's cousin, Pelly, and while staying at Pelly's old manor house, Lewis and his new friend, Bertie, accidentally release an evil witch-finder ghost on the grounds.
We love Bellairs and Charlie has really been enjoying them as our occasional bedtime read-alouds, but this one got a bit too creepy for him in the middle. We took a break for a couple of days and then he wanted to get back to it, and we were able to finish it then. It's good knowing that everything always turns out right in the end, and I think that helped. The characters are great and the stories are fun, so I suspect that Charlie will choose to continue with the series.

When John Bellairs died, he left two half-finished books and outlines for two more. Brad Strickland completed all four books, and one of the results of those efforts is The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder. The story is part of the Lewis Barnaveldt series, and one which actually features Lewis (as opposed to being one the books that feature his friend Rose Rita as the protagonist).

One oddity of the series is that Lewis, teamed with his uncle Jonathan Barnaveldt, and Rose Rita, teamed with the Barnaveldt's neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman seem to alternate in solving the various mystical mysteries featured in the books, but don't seem to work all together very often - almost as if Bellairs and Strickland had decided they needed an all-boy team and show more an all-girl team to feature but that the two sexes should be kept apart whenever possible.

Lewis and his uncle Jonathan are traveling through Europe, interrupting their visits to tourist sites to visit Barnaveldt Manor, the home of their distant English cousins. While there, Lewis gets to poking around the manor, and with the help of the housekeeper's son, accidentally releases something that would have been better left undisturbed. Like many youthful protagonists, Lewis decides against telling any adults about the brewing trouble, and he and his uncle leave to continue their tour of Europe.

Weeks later, Lewis and Jonathan return to Barnaveldt Manor, and find that what Lewis released was the spirit of an evil witch-finder who was alive during the English Civil War, and who wants to put all the Barnaveldt's on trial for witchcraft. The witch-finder was, of course, a practitioner of magic himself who dabbled in dark magic, unlike kindly Jonathan (who is a wizard, but only practices good magic). Lewis outsmarts the evil spirit, and all ends well.

The story seems a bit thinner than the works that Bellairs wrote when he was alive. The mystery itself is fine, but there is less material focused in on developing Lewis, Jonathan, and the other characters than in previous works. That may be at least partially due to the constraints Strickland worked under to complete an unfinished work, but it makes the book seem somehow incomplete. There is a little thrown in about Lewis' travels helping him to transform from an overweight, bookish boy into a "normal" boy who is athletic and plays baseball, but it is really only given cursory attention. It also seems somewhat out of place - earlier books established Lewis as an overweight, unathletic boy, and Rose Rita as a baseball playing tomboy - making them both essentially misfits. Further, the previous books also established that this was perfectly okay, even if some people thought less of them for that. Having Lewis transform into a "normal" boy seems to undermine that message to some extent.

While not as good as some previous books in this series due to a lack of character development, the mystery is still good, and Lewis (despite some foolish choices here and there) is a sympathetic and enjoyable protagonist.

This review has also been posted on my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less

Lewis Branavelt and Uncle Jonathan Barnavelt are in England to visit their cousin at the family estate, Barnavelt Manor. An exciting trip to learn more about the family history and see where Sherlock Holmes once roamed.

At the Manor, Lewis meets his Cousin Pelly and also becomes friends with the housekeeper's son Bertram. Even though Bertram has bad eyesight, he knows the property like the back of his hand and plays tour guide for Lewis.

While exploring the maze, the two boys accidently unleash a demonice force that takes over the property and the people on it. A force that summons Malachiah Pruitt's ghost, a witch hunter from the 1600s and he is out for vengeance.

Will Lewis be able to banish the witch hunter or will the witch hunter show more banish the Barnavelts?

An enjoyable read with plenty of action. show less

Lewis Barnavelt and his uncle are in England, visiting their cousin at Barnavelt Manor. There, Lewis becomes fast friends with the housekeeper's son. As the two boys explore the garden maze, lewis accidentally unleashes demonic forces that summon the ghost of Malachiah Pruitt, who tried to have one of Lewis's ancestors executed for witchcraft. Can lewis fight the maniac wizard, or will all the Barnavelts perish?