I was introduced to John Bellairs through an "old friend," Edward Gorey, who provided illustrations for many of his gothic novels. When the previews for "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" movie came out, I thought I should read the book that inspired it before I saw the film. I did, and I was introduced to Lewis Barnavelt and Johnny Dixon and Anthony Monday and their friends and foes. In January of 2021 (with some extra reading time in 2020 due to the pandemic), I completed all of Bellairs' book series, including the novels completed or written by Brad Strickland after Bellairs' death in 1991.
One thing I appreciate in Bellairs' novels is the way faith is incorporated. Lewis is Roman Catholic and recites prayers he learned as an altar boy. Roman Catholic priests are characters in the Johnny Dixon series. It's not a "bash you over the head with a Bible type thing", but a "faith is an important part of many peoples' lives kind of thing."
01 The House with a Clock in Its Walls Jun 1973 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
02 The Figure in the Shadows 1975 John Bellairs/Mercer Mayer
03 The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring Jan 1976 John Bellairs/Richard Egielski
04 The Ghost in the Mirror Apr 1993 John Bellairs & Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey
05 The Vengeance of the Witch-finder Sep 1993 John Bellairs & Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey
06 The Doom of the Haunted Opera Sep 1995 John Bellairs & Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey
07 The Specter from the Magician's Museum Mar 1998 Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey *
08 The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge 2000 Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey
09 The Tower at the End of the World Sep 2001 Brad Strickland/S. D. Schindler
10 The Whistle, the Grave, and the Ghost Aug 2003 Brad Strickland/S. D. Schindler
11 The House Where Nobody Lived Oct 2006 Brad Strickland/Bart Goldman
12 The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer Oct 2008 Brad Strickland/Bart Goldman
The Anthony Monday Series
01 The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn 1978 John Bellairs/Judith Gwyn Brown
02 The Dark Secret of Weatherend 1984 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
03 The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb 1988 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
04 The Mansion in the Mist 1992 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
The Johnny Dixon Series
01 The Curse of the Blue Figurine 1983 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
02 The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt 1983 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
03 The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull 1984 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
04 The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost 1985 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
05 The Eyes of the Killer Robot 1986 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
06 The Trolley to Yesterday 1989 John Bellairs/Edward Goreys
07 The Chessmen of Doom 1989 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
08 The Secret of the Underground Room 1990 John Bellairs/Edward Gorey
09 The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie 1994 John Bellairs & Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey
10 The Hand of the Necromancer 1996 Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey
11 The Bell, the Book, and the Spellbinder 1997 Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey
12 The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost 1999 Brad Strickland/Edward Gorey
Other
01 The Gargoyle in the Dump
About the cover of The Specter from the Magician's Museum, Brad Strickland writes, "Edward Gorey’s cover features a mysterious tombstone with a stone sphere, inspired by the Charles Merchant monument in Marion, Ohio. A five-ton globe on the Merchant tomb marker mysteriously revolves on its own, and no one knows why. I put a similar thing in the book. From Gorey’s sphere, enigmatic eyes peer as if gazing into your soul. The back includes one of Gorey’s splendidly spooky haunted houses, and hovering above it the form of a gigantic spider.
Strickland, Brad. An Unofficial Guide to New Zebedee: People, Places, and Things in the Lewis Barnavelt series Created by John Bellairs (p. 87). BrushMush Books. Kindle Edition.
