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Eddie Dickens Trilogy #2
Dreadful Acts
The hilarious sequel to A House Called Awful End.
In this eagerly awaited sequel to A House Called Awful End , Eddie Dickens narrowly avoids being blown up, trampled by horses, hit by a hot-air balloon, and arrested—only to find himself falling head-over-heels for a girl with a face like a camel’s and into the hands of a murderous gang of escaped convicts.
All the old favorite faces are here—including Mad Uncle Jack and Malcolm the stuffed stoat—along with some very worrying-looking new ones. Beware!
In this eagerly awaited sequel to A House Called Awful End , Eddie Dickens narrowly avoids being blown up, trampled by horses, hit by a hot-air balloon, and arrested—only to find himself falling head-over-heels for a girl with a face like a camel’s and into the hands of a murderous gang of escaped convicts.
All the old favorite faces are here—including Mad Uncle Jack and Malcolm the stuffed stoat—along with some very worrying-looking new ones. Beware!
144 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2001
14 people are currently reading
508 people want to read
About the author
Philip Ardagh
169 books178 followersOver six-and-a-half feet tall, with a bushy beard, Philip Ardagh is not only very big but also very hairy. He is the author of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy and when not writing silly books, Mr. Ardagh is quite serious and frowns a great deal. He lives in a seaside town somewhere in England with his wife and their son, Fred.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
August 14, 2019
The book is unquestionably terrific.
January 10, 2020
Die Eddie Dickens Trilogie ist herrlich schräg. Wer Charakterentwicklung sucht, ist hier definitiv falsch. Diese Charaktere müssen genau so bleiben, wie sie sind, nämlich völlig durchgeknallt.
August 5, 2012
This is second book of the Eddie Dickens trilogy, and it has many of the same zany characters as the first one, A House Called Awful. Like the first, the prose of this book reads almost as if it was written a century ago. The narrator actively speaks to the reader, reminding them that they are reading a book. Here is an example where he’s talking about a list of characters:
‘I’m beginning to wish that we’d had one of those lists at the beginning of this book, but what’s to say that we can’t have one over halfway through the adventure?’
He then goes on to provide one and congratulates himself for how ‘classy’ it looks. He does things like this often, explaining the meaning of words he used, asking the reader if they remember something said earlier, and providing a page number to check if they don’t, and things like that.
Modern books on writing tell us the author should avoid intruding on the story, but I find this style rather quaint and charming, at least in lighthearted books for kids. A.A. Milne did things like this often. Of course, Winnie the Pooh was published in 1926. The first American edition of Dreadful Acts was published in 2003.
This short book (128 pages) is mostly about Eddie, a fairly normal young gentleman, and his interaction with several very abnormal adults. The plot is almost secondary, so I won’t go into it much. It’s really just part of the setting, after all, but it involves escaped convicts, stolen jewels, and a failed magic trick. It’s a quick, fun read. I recommend it. I’ll get around to reading the third someday, but the only copy my local library has was checked out when I picked up the first two.
‘I’m beginning to wish that we’d had one of those lists at the beginning of this book, but what’s to say that we can’t have one over halfway through the adventure?’
He then goes on to provide one and congratulates himself for how ‘classy’ it looks. He does things like this often, explaining the meaning of words he used, asking the reader if they remember something said earlier, and providing a page number to check if they don’t, and things like that.
Modern books on writing tell us the author should avoid intruding on the story, but I find this style rather quaint and charming, at least in lighthearted books for kids. A.A. Milne did things like this often. Of course, Winnie the Pooh was published in 1926. The first American edition of Dreadful Acts was published in 2003.
This short book (128 pages) is mostly about Eddie, a fairly normal young gentleman, and his interaction with several very abnormal adults. The plot is almost secondary, so I won’t go into it much. It’s really just part of the setting, after all, but it involves escaped convicts, stolen jewels, and a failed magic trick. It’s a quick, fun read. I recommend it. I’ll get around to reading the third someday, but the only copy my local library has was checked out when I picked up the first two.
January 29, 2012
Philip Ardagh’s second book in the Eddie Dickens trilogy is called ‘Dreadful Acts’. Our hero Eddie has to cope with his odd parents, plus mad Uncle Jack, owner of the house ‘Awful End’ and even madder Aunt Maud, along with her best friend Malcolm, (or is it Sally?) a stuffed weasel (or stoat)!
The story starts with mad uncle Jack blowing up half the house by hitting a gas tap with his top hat. From this clue, it will be no surprise to learn that the story is set in Victorian times with no technology present.
There are runaway hearses, crashed hot air balloons, escapologists, escaped criminals and a girl Eddie falls for with a camel’s face.
The book is very silly indeed. It has a very chatty sense of humour with the author commenting on the action frequently and entertaining the reader with observations of how strange some words are. This would appeal to a moderate reader in year 3 or 4 who would probably enjoy plays on words like ‘getting the wrong end of the proverbial stick – which is like a real stick but, somehow, less sticky’ combined with the odd bit of toilet humour and a simple, but exciting and fast paced story.
Despite the silliness, the story is satisfying and could be used as a trigger to looking at aspects of history (why gas taps?) or science (how do hot air balloons work). I would recommend this book, especially if trying to encourage reluctant readers.
The story starts with mad uncle Jack blowing up half the house by hitting a gas tap with his top hat. From this clue, it will be no surprise to learn that the story is set in Victorian times with no technology present.
There are runaway hearses, crashed hot air balloons, escapologists, escaped criminals and a girl Eddie falls for with a camel’s face.
The book is very silly indeed. It has a very chatty sense of humour with the author commenting on the action frequently and entertaining the reader with observations of how strange some words are. This would appeal to a moderate reader in year 3 or 4 who would probably enjoy plays on words like ‘getting the wrong end of the proverbial stick – which is like a real stick but, somehow, less sticky’ combined with the odd bit of toilet humour and a simple, but exciting and fast paced story.
Despite the silliness, the story is satisfying and could be used as a trigger to looking at aspects of history (why gas taps?) or science (how do hot air balloons work). I would recommend this book, especially if trying to encourage reluctant readers.
June 3, 2019
Normally I would give this 3 stars, but because of nostalgia it gets 4. You can look at my review for book number 1, that one counts for the whole trilogy.
February 6, 2009
Dreadful Acts, the second book in Philip Ardagh’s, The Eddie Dickens Trilogy, tells a fictional tale about the witty, ill-fated quests of Eddie Dickens.
In this sequel, Eddie Dickens is caught up in a whole mess of trouble seemingly after meeting The Great Zucchini (an escapologist). He is almost blown up to pieces due to the fault of Mad Uncle Jack leaving the gas on and his father (Mr. Dickens) lighting a cigar to smoke. Getting trampled by frightened horses pulling a hearse. Crashed by a hot air balloon steered by Daniella (The Great Zucchini’s lovely assistant) and arrested for a crime he was thought to be involved in. What makes situations worse than they already were, Eddie comes across a dangerous gang of escaped convicts (Bonecrusher, Swags and Barkin’) from Grimpen Jail and kidnaps him for an errand they need.
I enjoyed reading Dreadful Acts. It was very interesting and entertaining because everything that seems to be going wrong. My favorite character was the protagonist himself, Eddie Dickens because he survived through all of that drama and became a hero by the end of the story. This book was indeed descriptive. Philip Ardagh has a way with details when it comes to informing his readers. I could visualize every event that happened especially with sketches provided within the pages. An issue this book relates to is how criminals escape from jail and continue their routine of committing thefts and murders.
I would recommend Dreadful Acts for children who would want some sense of adventure and a good laugh before bed. If you liked A Series Of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, you’ll surely like this one because of the attention-grabbing plot followed in this book.
In this sequel, Eddie Dickens is caught up in a whole mess of trouble seemingly after meeting The Great Zucchini (an escapologist). He is almost blown up to pieces due to the fault of Mad Uncle Jack leaving the gas on and his father (Mr. Dickens) lighting a cigar to smoke. Getting trampled by frightened horses pulling a hearse. Crashed by a hot air balloon steered by Daniella (The Great Zucchini’s lovely assistant) and arrested for a crime he was thought to be involved in. What makes situations worse than they already were, Eddie comes across a dangerous gang of escaped convicts (Bonecrusher, Swags and Barkin’) from Grimpen Jail and kidnaps him for an errand they need.
I enjoyed reading Dreadful Acts. It was very interesting and entertaining because everything that seems to be going wrong. My favorite character was the protagonist himself, Eddie Dickens because he survived through all of that drama and became a hero by the end of the story. This book was indeed descriptive. Philip Ardagh has a way with details when it comes to informing his readers. I could visualize every event that happened especially with sketches provided within the pages. An issue this book relates to is how criminals escape from jail and continue their routine of committing thefts and murders.
I would recommend Dreadful Acts for children who would want some sense of adventure and a good laugh before bed. If you liked A Series Of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, you’ll surely like this one because of the attention-grabbing plot followed in this book.
August 18, 2014
" Dreadfull Acts" is the second book in the "Eddie Dickens " trilogy, by Philip Ardagh. Set in the Queen Victorian days "Dreadfull Acts" a english style, tounge and cheek type of childrens book. I must admit this one I enjoyed much more then the first book "Awful End" it reads much easier and not so off the wall, which I do like, but somtimes can be hard to bring across in words.
Eddie's family, (let's see to put it bluntly) are stark raving LONNEY TUNES! While Eddie plays the stright and narrow, he has to deal with "Mad Uncle Jack" who keeps an electric eel in his coat, and for some reason his uncle think's that Eddie fought alongside " Colonel Marley at the fall of St. Geobad." But of course Eddie is only a young boy.
There is"Mad Aunt Maud" (who can never seem to get Eddie's name right)she carries around her stuffed stoat named Malcolm....what is a stoat? Eddie's parents whom according to Eddie smell like "hot water bottles" and have a yellow tint to their skin. Go figure right!
They all live together at the "Awful End" a lodging house where more delightful characters come together in this odd little book.
So if you appreacite silly humor and play on wortds style of writing, and of course we can't forget a referance to "Monty Python" buffoonery this is your book to read to a child or to yourself. I give it four stars!
Eddie's family, (let's see to put it bluntly) are stark raving LONNEY TUNES! While Eddie plays the stright and narrow, he has to deal with "Mad Uncle Jack" who keeps an electric eel in his coat, and for some reason his uncle think's that Eddie fought alongside " Colonel Marley at the fall of St. Geobad." But of course Eddie is only a young boy.
There is"Mad Aunt Maud" (who can never seem to get Eddie's name right)she carries around her stuffed stoat named Malcolm....what is a stoat? Eddie's parents whom according to Eddie smell like "hot water bottles" and have a yellow tint to their skin. Go figure right!
They all live together at the "Awful End" a lodging house where more delightful characters come together in this odd little book.
So if you appreacite silly humor and play on wortds style of writing, and of course we can't forget a referance to "Monty Python" buffoonery this is your book to read to a child or to yourself. I give it four stars!
August 12, 2016
This series is growing on me. While listening to the first book, I initially thought it was just ok, but I wasn't drawn into the story too much (until the talking geese incident). I liked the premise that this trilogy resulted from a series of letters written to a child in weekly installments. Em thinks that is a great idea and she would have been thrilled if someone did that with her. I really enjoyed this second installment much more than the first...probably because I knew the characters better, so their habits became more humorous instead of puzzling. We are starting the third book now because we are hooked and want to see how it ends.
On another note, I really enjoy the letter from the author to his American readers. It sets the tone for the book. With the first one, though, I expected more humor throughout the story. In Dreadful Acts, I got more humor throughout the story. The little ones really enjoyed this book, and liked it better as well.
On another note, I really enjoy the letter from the author to his American readers. It sets the tone for the book. With the first one, though, I expected more humor throughout the story. In Dreadful Acts, I got more humor throughout the story. The little ones really enjoyed this book, and liked it better as well.
June 10, 2009
Okay, this is a kid with problems. Eddie Dickens has crazy aunts and Uncle, weird things happening, and a journey full of wild things. There are lot of different things going on in this book. The only person Eddie can really trust is The Great Zuchinni.
I can relate this to the world because there is a time in your life that you have no one to look after or no one to trust. This is a book that is crazy fiction but part of it is on real life.
I gave this book 4 stars because it was very crazy and confusing throughout the story. The book was good but it was a little weird.
I can relate this to the world because there is a time in your life that you have no one to look after or no one to trust. This is a book that is crazy fiction but part of it is on real life.
I gave this book 4 stars because it was very crazy and confusing throughout the story. The book was good but it was a little weird.
March 12, 2013
Once again poor Eddie Dickens finds himself in hot water with the police, this time when he becomes caught up in the activities of The Great Zucchini, an escapologist who's escape goes horribly wrong.
Add in an explosion at Awful End, the home of his Mad Uncle Jack and even Madder Aunt Maude, a hot air balloon accident, and a run in with a gang of dangerous escaped convicts on the moor, and you get the idea of the craziness in store for young Eddie.
Chalk full of humor and zany characters, the story is delightful for young and old readers alike.
Add in an explosion at Awful End, the home of his Mad Uncle Jack and even Madder Aunt Maude, a hot air balloon accident, and a run in with a gang of dangerous escaped convicts on the moor, and you get the idea of the craziness in store for young Eddie.
Chalk full of humor and zany characters, the story is delightful for young and old readers alike.
September 16, 2011
The second installment in the Dickens trilogy would also get 4 1/2 stars for content like the first one, but I only give it 4 because of the bad binding of the book. As soon as I opened the (newly bought) book for the first time, half of the pages fell out.[return]As for the content, it is just as brilliantly funny as the first one and over way too quickly. Thank God this is a trilogy with more parts than just this one.
January 31, 2018
Eddie falls in love with a gal with a face like a camel, there's a hot air balloon fiasco, running horses, lots of stuff happening and Eddie keeps his cool while all around him others are losing theirs. Cute story.
January 31, 2022
Another hilarious tale of Eddie Dickens. The situations Eddie finds himself in are so ridiculous that I couldn't help but laugh all the way through. His crazy uncle is joined by a cast of strange characters who keep the book with lively twists till the end.
November 10, 2009
A bit more scattered than the first, but still great fun.
October 1, 2017
I love these zany books and the voice of the narrator!
March 28, 2018
Just fun!
November 3, 2020
Maybe not as outrageously funny as the first book in the series, but very enjoyable anyway.
July 6, 2017
Ich liebe die sechs Eddie Dickens Bücher. Sie erinnern mich an meine Kindheit. Habe die Bücher sowohl gelesen als auch immer als Hörspiel gehört. Teile davon kann ich immer noch auswendig. Sowohl das englische Buch als auch das deutsche Hörbuch sind super.
September 10, 2019
This reads as though the author read Lemony Snicket, didn't get ANY of the jokes, and then tried to rewrite Lemony Snicket.
This book is entirely missing the tongue in cheek satire and is instead, well, simply dreadful
This book is entirely missing the tongue in cheek satire and is instead, well, simply dreadful
June 23, 2022
The second in this fun adventure story. Be sure to read this series in order!
July 6, 2023
This book is so strange but so good at the same time
July 27, 2023
“Et tu, Malcom?”
September 30, 2023
Another weird but fun
August 7, 2009
Eddie Dickens's adventures begin with a bang, or rather a boom, as his father accidentally blows a large hole in the house by lighting a match after leaving the gas on. The noise spooks a pair of horses that have mysteriously appeared in the yard, trailing a hearse with a coffin inside. To the boy's horror, the coffin begins to open-and The Great Zucchini, a famous escapologist whose latest trick has gone horribly wrong, emerges. Suddenly, Eddie finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of activity in which he is thrown in jail, kidnapped by escaped convicts, and involved in a mad chase across the moors.
Fans of Snicket's ""A Series of Unfortunate Events" will find it impossible to ignore the similarities to their beloved series about three orphans who undergo much hardship with little hope of relief. For one thing, Ardagh, like Snicket, enjoys spinning an over-the-top Gothic tale.
However, he assumes the voice of a personable, mostly omniscient, sometimes pedantic narrator who is eager to explain the origins of the terms he uses, such as "pitch-black," "unbridled joy," and "nailing" as well as offering a running commentary on the development of his story as he is telling it. Which is where the similarities end and of which I find the most annoying in this book. There is no doubt in my mind that this series is just overrated. Definitely not recommended.
Book Details:
Title Dreadful Acts (The Eddie Dickens Trilogy, Book 2)
Author Philip Ardagh
Reviewed By Purplycookie
Fans of Snicket's ""A Series of Unfortunate Events" will find it impossible to ignore the similarities to their beloved series about three orphans who undergo much hardship with little hope of relief. For one thing, Ardagh, like Snicket, enjoys spinning an over-the-top Gothic tale.
However, he assumes the voice of a personable, mostly omniscient, sometimes pedantic narrator who is eager to explain the origins of the terms he uses, such as "pitch-black," "unbridled joy," and "nailing" as well as offering a running commentary on the development of his story as he is telling it. Which is where the similarities end and of which I find the most annoying in this book. There is no doubt in my mind that this series is just overrated. Definitely not recommended.
Book Details:
Title Dreadful Acts (The Eddie Dickens Trilogy, Book 2)
Author Philip Ardagh
Reviewed By Purplycookie
June 12, 2009
Life has never been easy for Eddie Dickens. In this second installment of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, he barely avoids being blown up, trampled by horses, hit by a hot air balloon, and falsely imprisoned only to find himself “heels over head” for a girl with a face like a camel and falling “kneecaps over elbows” into the hands of murderous criminals. It seems they have “a little job” for him to do. All of the old favorites and a bunch of new good characters show up in this sequel to A House Called Awful End.
The author did a good job with making the book funny. He did that by using a text-to-world connection. The author originally wrote these books as letters to a kid in boarding school to try and make him laugh. If the author had just been trying to write a random book with no purpose, and make it funny, it probably wouldn't have been as good.
I gave this book three stars. I thought that the story could have definitely been longer, and a tiny bit more serious, but over all it was a pretty good book. I would recommend this book to a young person, probably a boy. Also I would say that if you're going to read it, read it for fun and with an open mind.
The author did a good job with making the book funny. He did that by using a text-to-world connection. The author originally wrote these books as letters to a kid in boarding school to try and make him laugh. If the author had just been trying to write a random book with no purpose, and make it funny, it probably wouldn't have been as good.
I gave this book three stars. I thought that the story could have definitely been longer, and a tiny bit more serious, but over all it was a pretty good book. I would recommend this book to a young person, probably a boy. Also I would say that if you're going to read it, read it for fun and with an open mind.
July 15, 2012
The action and hilarity continue for Eddie Dickens in Dreadful Acts, which introduces a magician, his lovely drool-worthy assistant and a host of escaped criminals hiding on the moors. Eddie, of course, finds himself in the middle of the action.
Ardagh continues to provide really great sentences that Rayner takes even further with his wonderful narration. Readers (or listeners) will delight in his witty writing, oddball characters and the way nothing is exactly what it seems.
I love the way that Ardagh acknowledges the wonderful art of writing throughout his book and gives nods towards the readers as they follow the action and make guesses at the plot.
I would recommend this book for anyone going on a short (or long) road trip. It is very captivating and funny and I'm sure the whole family would enjoy it. The book is also contained on 3 discs so it is not too long for those who don't like leaving things hanging.
Ardagh continues to provide really great sentences that Rayner takes even further with his wonderful narration. Readers (or listeners) will delight in his witty writing, oddball characters and the way nothing is exactly what it seems.
I love the way that Ardagh acknowledges the wonderful art of writing throughout his book and gives nods towards the readers as they follow the action and make guesses at the plot.
I would recommend this book for anyone going on a short (or long) road trip. It is very captivating and funny and I'm sure the whole family would enjoy it. The book is also contained on 3 discs so it is not too long for those who don't like leaving things hanging.
January 24, 2009
Now living at Awful End with his Mad Uncle Max and Even Madder Aunt Maud, Eddie’s life continues right on with the crazy. Awoken early one morning by his uncle to come down and see the driver-less hearse in the driveway, Eddie has no idea what to think. And before he can decide, an even bigger catastrophe happens.
While recovering from that, Eddie and not-Mr. Collins are nearly hit by a crashing hot air balloon, which does in fact hit his Mad aunt Maud, who labels it quite an exciting experience.
From there things just get crazier, as Eddie is arrested, set free, gets lost on the moors, falls in with some convicts and wonders how anything will get set right again.
While recovering from that, Eddie and not-Mr. Collins are nearly hit by a crashing hot air balloon, which does in fact hit his Mad aunt Maud, who labels it quite an exciting experience.
From there things just get crazier, as Eddie is arrested, set free, gets lost on the moors, falls in with some convicts and wonders how anything will get set right again.
June 11, 2009
This book is about the boy Eddie Dickens his life has so far been terrible. He also has a lot of major problems in his life. The only thing he can trust is a zuchinni and he was thrown in jail for a crime he didn't even commit and he is an orphan.
I can connect this book to any kid who feels that he\she has had a bad life. Well you really can't have it worse than this kid. I mean this kid was thrown in jail when he wasn't even wasn't a teenager yet! Trust me no one can have it worse than this kid.
I give this book 3 stars because of it's funny parts and how the author really created a dreadful life for Eddie.
I can connect this book to any kid who feels that he\she has had a bad life. Well you really can't have it worse than this kid. I mean this kid was thrown in jail when he wasn't even wasn't a teenager yet! Trust me no one can have it worse than this kid.
I give this book 3 stars because of it's funny parts and how the author really created a dreadful life for Eddie.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews