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The House of Dies Drear (Dies Drear Chronicles, #1)

Virginia Hamilton

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Feb 22, 2020 Werner rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, mystery-crime-fiction

Published in 1968, the year the author turned 32, The House of Dies Drear is set mainly in a small fictional community in southern Ohio, the area where Hamilton herself grew up, and where her ancestors had settled in the 1850s after escaping from slavery via the Underground Railroad. (Ohio was a key state in the latter operation, some 40,000 escaping slaves passing through or settling there just in the years 1810-1850.) That legacy bulks large in this novel; the titular house was a station on th Published in 1968, the year the author turned 32, The House of Dies Drear is set mainly in a small fictional community in southern Ohio, the area where Hamilton herself grew up, and where her ancestors had settled in the 1850s after escaping from slavery via the Underground Railroad. (Ohio was a key state in the latter operation, some 40,000 escaping slaves passing through or settling there just in the years 1810-1850.) That legacy bulks large in this novel; the titular house was a station on the "railroad," and its owner and builder, abolitionist Dies Drear, was murdered there (probably at the instigation of slave owners) soon after three escaped slaves who'd been at the house were caught, and two of them killed. Said to be haunted, the house now belongs to a historical foundation that leases it to tenants --but none of those have ever stayed in it long. The newest tenants are the Small family, of which 13-year-old protagonist Thomas (the book opens on his birthday) is the oldest son; his father, an historian, is going to be teaching in the local college. But from the beginning, an aura of mystery and secrets envelops the house and its long-time caretaker, old Mr. "Pluto" (nicknamed for the lord of the underworld in classical mythology).

At 246 pages, this is a pretty quick read, with a brisk narrative pace; the plot spans just four days, and Hamilton packs quite a bit into them. (It's set in the spring, around Easter, since the public schools are "still having Easter vacation.") A strongly Gothic vibe is effectively conjured from the very first sight of the ill-regarded house, honeycombed by secret entrances and underground tunnels. (The title itself deliberately evokes mental associations with death and dreariness.) Hamilton's prose style and plotting is literate without being stilted or opaque, suitable for older kids (and free of bad language), but not so simplistic and dumbed-down that adults can't also appreciate it. (In one respect, her writing here resembles that of Henry James in the stress in places on intuited impressions and unspoken nuances in conversations, etc.) Thomas is a barely-fledged teen, but he's an intelligent one who's spent more time around adults or alone in the woods than with other kids his age (I could relate to him very well!), and most of the other important characters are adults. (We occasionally get glimpses into their perceptions, though we're mostly in Thomas' head.) All in all, this a masterfully-told tale that held my interest throughout.

A word might be in order about the 1984 movie adaptation (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264696/ ), which I watched on TV back in the 90s, and which initially put the book on my radar. The film basically resembles the book in essential plotting and characterizations, though it's been so long since I watched it that I can't do a detailed comparison/contrast. However, I can say that there are certain significant differences. The Darrows are introduced much earlier and more directly in the movie. While in the book, the child Pesty is clearly much younger than Thomas and he has two very small brothers, a set of twins (who don't do much, because they're still young enough to nurse out of bottles), in the movie the twins don't appear at all, and Pesty is Thomas' age and plays a larger role. (IMO, that's actually a plus for the movie, but that's just me!) Mrs. Small also plays a more prominent part in the movie than in the book.

Virginia Hamilton had already written one novel, also marketed for younger readers (as were all of her works), to considerable acclaim before this one. She would go on to write 41 books altogether, winning the coveted Newbery Award in 1975. (That wasn't for this book, but this one did garner the mystery genre's prestigious Edgar Award.) Sadly, she passed away from breast cancer in 2002. ...more

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