---
product_id: 1343225
title: "House of Many Ways: A Magical Fantasy Adventure about an Enchanted House and Royal Intrigue for Children (Ages 8-12) (World of Howl, 3)"
price: "11959CFA"
currency: XOF
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reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/1343225-house-of-many-ways-a-magical-fantasy-adventure-about-enchanted
store_origin: SN
region: Senegal
---

# Magical house bends space & time 3rd book in acclaimed World of Howl series Features iconic wizard Howl & sorceress Sophie House of Many Ways: A Magical Fantasy Adventure about an Enchanted House and Royal Intrigue for Children (Ages 8-12) (World of Howl, 3)

**Price:** 11959CFA
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## Summary

> ✨ Unlock the magic of a house that bends reality — don’t miss the fantasy adventure everyone’s talking about! 🏰

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** House of Many Ways: A Magical Fantasy Adventure about an Enchanted House and Royal Intrigue for Children (Ages 8-12) (World of Howl, 3)
- **How much does it cost?** 11959CFA with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/1343225-house-of-many-ways-a-magical-fantasy-adventure-about-enchanted)

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## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
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## Key Features

- • **Meet legendary characters:** Reunite with fan-favorites Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer in a story that deepens their magical legacy.
- • **Dive into a spellbinding sequel:** Join Charmain as she navigates magical court intrigues and mysterious creatures in a richly woven fantasy world.
- • **Experience a house like no other:** The enchanted house defies reality, bending space and time to create endless surprises and secret passages.
- • **Award-winning author’s masterpiece:** From Diana Wynne Jones, a World Fantasy Award honoree, delivering timeless storytelling that transcends generations.
- • **Perfect for young professionals' kids:** A sophisticated fantasy adventure that sparks imagination and critical thinking for ages 8-12.

## Overview

House of Many Ways is the third installment in Diana Wynne Jones’s beloved World of Howl series, following Charmain Baker as she discovers the secrets of an enchanted house that warps space and time. Packed with magical intrigue, iconic characters like Wizard Howl and sorceress Sophie, and a gripping quest to save the kingdom, this award-winning fantasy novel captivates readers aged 8-12 and beyond.

## Description

In this sequel to the international bestseller Howl’s Moving Castle , bookish Charmain finds herself smack in the middle of magical court intrigues . . . and dealing with the dashing Wizard Howl. When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle's house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. She didn't realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard. Now, somehow, she's been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king's urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. The king is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he's called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, the great Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer won't be far behind. How did respectable Charmain end up in such a mess, and how will she get herself out of it? All fans of classic fantasy books deserve the pleasure of reading those by Diana Wynne Jones, whose acclaim included the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. The three books in the World of Howl are: Howl's Moving Castle Castle in the Air House of Many Ways Other beloved series from Dianna Wynne Jones include the Chronicles of Chrestomanci and the Dalemark Quartet.

Review: A welcome return to the world of Howl's Moving Castle - Charmain Baker lives in the small, shabby realm of High Norland. (Her age is not stated, but I imagined her to be about twelve.) Her father runs a successful pastry shop; her mother has a nouveau-riche obsession with propriety. Both treat Charmain as though she is made of glass. They've indulged her bookishness to the point that, when she is called upon to house-sit for an eccentric uncle-by-marriage, Charmain is as helpless at washing and drying dishes as she is at managing her newly-discovered magical talent. In the meantime, the elderly King and his almost as elderly daughter, the Princess Hilda (whom we met briefly in Castle in the Air), are frantically attempting to save their country. For hundreds of years High Norland has been leaking prosperity, morale, and any sense of security. Now almost nothing is left. Charmain, who has grown up oblivious to all this, on a whim writes to the King offering to help in the Royal Library. She figures that hundreds of other Norlandi kids have done the same thing, and doesn't expect to hear back from him. But she does, and soon finds herself with two jobs--in both of which she is way in over her head. Charmain learns that some dark and dangerous creatures live right outside of town, in particular the insectile lubbock, which claims to own High Norland and everybody in it. Jones knows how to show the face of pure evil, and she does so fearlessly--although always with a light touch. The Princess Hilda, meanwhile, has called in an old friend and the best fighter-of-evil she knows, the sorceress Sophie Pendragon. Sophie brings along her son Morgan, now in his terrible twos, her fire demon "Sir Calcifer," and her husband Howl, who wasn't officially invited because he is already somebody else's Royal Wizard, and the rather passive King believes it would be "poaching" to use him. Howl's affronted, and behaves accordingly; just when you thought he could not be any more endearingly obnoxious or outrageous than he already is, Howl surprises you! Great characters, many twists and turns, and much food for thought: House of Many Ways is another fascinating novel from a uniquely gifted writer.
Review: has a little more Howl and Sophie than book 2 - This is book 3 in the "Howl's Moving Castle" series and it's back in more familiar territory than book 2 was. The setting is pseudo-European rather than pseudo-Arab, and our favorite characters (i.e., Howl, Sophie, Calcifer, etc.) have larger parts in this book than the previous one -- although they're not the POV characters again, this time around. Perhaps because I'd just finished book 2 and knew what it was like, I expected the structure of this book to be what it was. Charmain is a young-ish woman, a bookworm, and she's been given the duty of watching her great-uncle's home while he is away for medical treatment. The great-uncle is a wizard and Charmain has neither household skills nor magical training (her mother doesn't believe it's respectable). She uses the opportunity of being away from home to write to the King and ask to assist him in making a catalog of all the documents/books/etc. in his library, a task she's heard is ongoing. Somewhat to her surprise, the King accepts her help. Early in her stay at the wizard's home, a boy named Peter shows up, claiming to be apprenticed to the wizard. Charmain is rather frustrated by Peter, who attempts all manner of spells but can't seem to get them right, no matter what. Also joining Charmain and Peter at the wizard's home is a small dog, Waif. I rather enjoyed the descriptions of the house. It seems like a total dump at first, with bags of laundry strewn everywhere (the source of all these bags of laundry is never mentioned) and half-empty teapots covering many surfaces. And only a few small rooms, including a kitchen sink without any taps for getting water out! Charmain soon discovers that there is more to the house than there seems. I like the process of discovery of the house's secrets very much, and the idea that the sequence of steps and turns you take in a hallway can make the hallway lead somewhere other than what you expected. I also enjoyed the humor of some of Charmain's and Peter's attempts at housekeeping, some of which turn out better than others. All is not right in this kingdom, though, and Charmain is given a second task as part of an investigation into the kingdom's problems, so there's a bit of a mystery involved, as well. It's nicely worked into the story, and even ties back to some seemingly unrelated events from the earliest part of the book. So the whole thing comes together very well into a unified whole. Charmain isn't my favorite lead character from Diana Wynne Jones, but she's suitably complex. I think the main thing I don't get about her is the notion that she ALWAYS wants her head in a book, to the exclusion of nearly anything else. She's also rather short with Peter, even though he's actually willing to step in and do the housework on occasion (though she often resolves to be nicer to him). However, she does undergo a bit of a transformation and becomes more well-rounded as the story progresses. Peter is reasonably well-developed for a secondary character. None of the other characters have a lot of depth (though of course we know Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer from before, as well as Jamal the cook and his dog from book 2). But this is really Charmain's book. As with the previous two books, I'd say this is fairly suitable for children. The book contains no adult language or situations. There's some violence with respect to magical creatures and transformed magical creatures in this volume that seems a little darker than anything in the previous books, so watch out for that. It's not described in gory detail or anything. It was just a little surprising considering the tone of the earlier books. Finally, if you liked the madcap nature of the final confrontation scenes from the previous two books, well, the author has done it again -- gathered a lot of people (and sometimes a few animals) in the same room for a bit of action, some revelations, and a lot of noise. I think these scenes are always great fun, and this book's final confrontation was no exception. In the end, I think book 1 was the best in the series, book 2 flagged a little for me, and book 3 is a pretty strong comeback, although not quite as near and dear to me as book 1. 4.5 stars.

## Features

- Howl's Moving Castle
- Castle in the Air
- House of Many Ways

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #99,982 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #241 in Children’s Books about Libraries & Reading #501 in Children's Folk Tales & Myths (Books) #813 in Children's Classics |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 5,244 Reviews |

## Images

![House of Many Ways: A Magical Fantasy Adventure about an Enchanted House and Royal Intrigue for Children (Ages 8-12) (World of Howl, 3) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81vavky5s1L.jpg)

## Available Options

This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A welcome return to the world of Howl's Moving Castle
*by E***N on June 12, 2008*

Charmain Baker lives in the small, shabby realm of High Norland. (Her age is not stated, but I imagined her to be about twelve.) Her father runs a successful pastry shop; her mother has a nouveau-riche obsession with propriety. Both treat Charmain as though she is made of glass. They've indulged her bookishness to the point that, when she is called upon to house-sit for an eccentric uncle-by-marriage, Charmain is as helpless at washing and drying dishes as she is at managing her newly-discovered magical talent. In the meantime, the elderly King and his almost as elderly daughter, the Princess Hilda (whom we met briefly in Castle in the Air), are frantically attempting to save their country. For hundreds of years High Norland has been leaking prosperity, morale, and any sense of security. Now almost nothing is left. Charmain, who has grown up oblivious to all this, on a whim writes to the King offering to help in the Royal Library. She figures that hundreds of other Norlandi kids have done the same thing, and doesn't expect to hear back from him. But she does, and soon finds herself with two jobs--in both of which she is way in over her head. Charmain learns that some dark and dangerous creatures live right outside of town, in particular the insectile lubbock, which claims to own High Norland and everybody in it. Jones knows how to show the face of pure evil, and she does so fearlessly--although always with a light touch. The Princess Hilda, meanwhile, has called in an old friend and the best fighter-of-evil she knows, the sorceress Sophie Pendragon. Sophie brings along her son Morgan, now in his terrible twos, her fire demon "Sir Calcifer," and her husband Howl, who wasn't officially invited because he is already somebody else's Royal Wizard, and the rather passive King believes it would be "poaching" to use him. Howl's affronted, and behaves accordingly; just when you thought he could not be any more endearingly obnoxious or outrageous than he already is, Howl surprises you! Great characters, many twists and turns, and much food for thought: House of Many Ways is another fascinating novel from a uniquely gifted writer.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ has a little more Howl and Sophie than book 2
*by S***O on October 7, 2014*

This is book 3 in the "Howl's Moving Castle" series and it's back in more familiar territory than book 2 was. The setting is pseudo-European rather than pseudo-Arab, and our favorite characters (i.e., Howl, Sophie, Calcifer, etc.) have larger parts in this book than the previous one -- although they're not the POV characters again, this time around. Perhaps because I'd just finished book 2 and knew what it was like, I expected the structure of this book to be what it was. Charmain is a young-ish woman, a bookworm, and she's been given the duty of watching her great-uncle's home while he is away for medical treatment. The great-uncle is a wizard and Charmain has neither household skills nor magical training (her mother doesn't believe it's respectable). She uses the opportunity of being away from home to write to the King and ask to assist him in making a catalog of all the documents/books/etc. in his library, a task she's heard is ongoing. Somewhat to her surprise, the King accepts her help. Early in her stay at the wizard's home, a boy named Peter shows up, claiming to be apprenticed to the wizard. Charmain is rather frustrated by Peter, who attempts all manner of spells but can't seem to get them right, no matter what. Also joining Charmain and Peter at the wizard's home is a small dog, Waif. I rather enjoyed the descriptions of the house. It seems like a total dump at first, with bags of laundry strewn everywhere (the source of all these bags of laundry is never mentioned) and half-empty teapots covering many surfaces. And only a few small rooms, including a kitchen sink without any taps for getting water out! Charmain soon discovers that there is more to the house than there seems. I like the process of discovery of the house's secrets very much, and the idea that the sequence of steps and turns you take in a hallway can make the hallway lead somewhere other than what you expected. I also enjoyed the humor of some of Charmain's and Peter's attempts at housekeeping, some of which turn out better than others. All is not right in this kingdom, though, and Charmain is given a second task as part of an investigation into the kingdom's problems, so there's a bit of a mystery involved, as well. It's nicely worked into the story, and even ties back to some seemingly unrelated events from the earliest part of the book. So the whole thing comes together very well into a unified whole. Charmain isn't my favorite lead character from Diana Wynne Jones, but she's suitably complex. I think the main thing I don't get about her is the notion that she ALWAYS wants her head in a book, to the exclusion of nearly anything else. She's also rather short with Peter, even though he's actually willing to step in and do the housework on occasion (though she often resolves to be nicer to him). However, she does undergo a bit of a transformation and becomes more well-rounded as the story progresses. Peter is reasonably well-developed for a secondary character. None of the other characters have a lot of depth (though of course we know Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer from before, as well as Jamal the cook and his dog from book 2). But this is really Charmain's book. As with the previous two books, I'd say this is fairly suitable for children. The book contains no adult language or situations. There's some violence with respect to magical creatures and transformed magical creatures in this volume that seems a little darker than anything in the previous books, so watch out for that. It's not described in gory detail or anything. It was just a little surprising considering the tone of the earlier books. Finally, if you liked the madcap nature of the final confrontation scenes from the previous two books, well, the author has done it again -- gathered a lot of people (and sometimes a few animals) in the same room for a bit of action, some revelations, and a lot of noise. I think these scenes are always great fun, and this book's final confrontation was no exception. In the end, I think book 1 was the best in the series, book 2 flagged a little for me, and book 3 is a pretty strong comeback, although not quite as near and dear to me as book 1. 4.5 stars.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ quality and design
*by T***K on October 21, 2025*

Beautiful cover art. Great story. Came in good condition.

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*Last updated: 2026-09-06*