Enchanted Glass

By Diana Wynne Jones

A brilliant, intricate and magical novel from the Godmother of British fantasy.

When Andrew Hope's magician grandfather dies, he leaves his house and field-of-care to his grandson who spent much of his childhood at the house. Andrew has forgotten much of this, but he remembers the very strong-minded staff and the fact that his grandfather used to put the inedibly large vegetables on the roof of the shed, where they'd have vanished in the morning. He also remembers the very colourful stained glass window in the kitchen door, which he knows it is important to protect.

Into this mix comes young Aidan Cain, who turns up from the orphanage asking for safety. Exactly who he is and why he's there is unclear, but a strong connection between the two becomes apparent.

There is a mystery to be solved, and nothing is as it appears to be. But nobody can solve the mystery, until they find out exactly what it is!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Sep 9, 2010
• ISBN: 9780007414963

Diana Wynne Jones

DIANA WYNNE JONES was born in August 1934 in London, where she had a chaotic and unsettled childhood against the background of World War II. The family moved around a lot, finally settling in rural Essex. As children, Diana and her two sisters were deprived of a good, steady supply of books by a father, ‘who could beat Scrooge in a meanness contest’. So, armed with a vivid imagination and an insatiable quest for good books to read, she decided that she would have to write them herself.

Reviews for Enchanted Glass

[ilirwen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

With a couple of exceptions, I quite liked this book. It isn't one of my favorite DWJ books, but it's definitely good enough. Except for a few things that I won't go into, because of potential spoilers. I'll just say that in one case, I believe that many people agree with me, as for the other, it's just a personal opinion of mine. One of the things I did like, is the fact that in books like these - fantasy for kids - the main characters almost always have people on their side, people who stand by them in times of trouble. In real life, that sort of thing is far too rare. In retrospect, the enchanted glass from the title doesn't get enough attention. Sure, it's important, that's clear, but I would have liked to have known more about it and everything behind it. In fact, when I'd finished reading this book, I felt that apart from those two things I can't stand, there was too little of pretty much everything.

[lindaliu-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love DWJ books and this was a good one. Pulled me right in from the start and it only took about 3 days to read! Magical in many senses, with a touch of mystery as always, with lovable characters. Andrew's grandfather dies, leaving him his house and his field-of-care. As Andrew tries to write a book in his new house he is bombarded by multiple distractions, from grumpy housekeeper and gardner, to a youmg boy, Aiden who needs Santuary from mysterious magical creatures that want to kill him. As Andrew gets sucked into Aiden's plight he learns exactly what his grandfather's legacy involves, not least of all keeping Mr Brown at bay. I wasn't so happy with the ending. I didn't think it was so necessary. It's as if Oberon & Puck got in the last laugh.

[Megan Engela · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent writing from a master storyteller. DWJ creates the most amazing worlds.

[kayis813-163108 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not as good as Howl's Moving Castle but I still liked it!

[millilinnea · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

With a couple of exceptions, I quite liked this book. It isn't one of my favorite DWJ books, but it's definitely good enough. Except for a few things that I won't go into, because of potential spoilers. I'll just say that in one case, I believe that many people agree with me, as for the other, it's just a personal opinion of mine. One of the things I did like, is the fact that in books like these - fantasy for kids - the main characters almost always have people on their side, people who stand by them in times of trouble. In real life, that sort of thing is far too rare. In retrospect, the enchanted glass from the title doesn't get enough attention. Sure, it's important, that's clear, but I would have liked to have known more about it and everything behind it. In fact, when I'd finished reading this book, I felt that apart from those two things I can't stand, there was too little of pretty much everything.

[themulhern · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Perfectly good late-period, stand alone, Diana Wynne Jones. Allusions to the faeries of Shakespeare, a mythical Englishness, humor arising from chaos. Since it is late-period the internet and girls playing pick-up soccer make an appearance while teenage pregnancy is mentioned.Fun if you like that kind of thing, and not much fun if you don't.

[wealhtheowwylfing · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

On the death of his grandfather, Andrew leaves his professorship to run the family home...and the accompanying magical estate. As he grows used to his new responsibilities, he remembers more and more of what his grandfather taught him about magic, and he starts noticing encroachment on his magical lands. Andrew tries to beat back the fairies' slow invasion with the (sometimes inadvertent) help of his fellow villagers.

This is a lovely book, and I absolutely love the way the village, Melstone House, and magic are described. Andrew has a way of thinking about reality as a mere option that I really enjoy. The whole story is a wonderful mix of woodsy magic and old timey village life, with thoughtful and determined main characters I liked as people. I would have adored this book completely, save for two quibbles: 1, I didn't buy the romance between Andrew and Stashe. It seems like they've only known each other for a few weeks before he asks her to marry him, and they never went on dates or really seemed to interact beforehand. The whole thing seemed to come out of nowhere. 2, I didn't like the final twist that Aidan wasn't Oberon's son at all, but Andrew's grandfather's. I quite liked the idea of a half-human boy playing football with the local lads, and I heartily dislike the idea that Aidan's parents are instead an old man and his teenaged distant relation. She was just a teenager in trouble with drugs and drinking when she was sent to stay with him for safety, and for all Oberon claims "The girl Melanie almost certainly threw herself at your grandfather, just as she threw herself at me," the whole situation seems deeply gross and troubling. Whereas it seems like I'm supposed to think it's cozy because it means Aidan and Andrew are more closely related. Ugh.

[turrean_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good, but the end was rushed.

[vinbert-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book, but found the ending to be rather abrupt. I don't know if there's supposed to be a sequel, or what, but it just kind of left you hanging, and there was a lot unexplained about the "enchanted glass" No explanation of how the magic works, and bits and pieces of unexplained things. And also, the implication that the grandfather is the boys father... no... that would not be right.

[clare.davitt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Only a short way in and yet completely in love already. I had read a short story by her in a collection recently (that was edited by Neil Gaiman) and knew I had to find more immediately. Luckily she's written tons of stuff and I get to explore it all. It's a "young adult" book that feels about as all ages as it gets and it's full of magic and life and great images and interesting people and even horses! Can't wait for all the rest!

[lquilter_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable and very, very English village, with the "field of care", and the English faerie myth background.

[davsor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another wonderfully imaginative book by Diana Wynn Jones, which somehow draws you back to read it again and again!

[inky_fingers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reads like DWJ from her peak in the 1980s. The only thing that makes it sound a little off from 2010 is the fact that the primary character seems to be the adult Andrew, and he is the one who solves all the problems at the end. But I do love a cozy world where magic is just so much a part of everyday life.

[kcollett_6 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Andrew inherits Melstone and the field-of-care around it, but doesn’t know what that means. Aidan finds his way to Andrew’s house, pursued by social workers who aren’t really, and more uncanny things. The uncooperative housekeeper and gardener try Andrew’s patience, but the housekeeper’s nephew and the gardener’s secretary niece join the household. To say nothing of the dog.

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of a young orphan boy named Aidan who comes looking for his grandmother's friend after her death. He finds that the friend has died to and the house has been inherited by his grandson Andrew. Aidan can tell that Andrew is full of magic but Andrew doesn't remember what his grandfather taught him as a boy. Andrew needs to remember because his neighbor O. Brown is trying to steal his land and power. And evil forces want Aidan too. Luckily they have friends in the town including a young giant and a weredog named Rolf and a bunch of cranky townspeople who will help them set things to rights. This was an entertaining middle grade fantasy with all sorts of great characters and all sorts of magic too.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In a way, all Diana Wynne Jones' books remind me of each other. There's something very similar in the style of them -- though Enchanted Glass is perhaps a bit more subdued than the others -- and yet also something fresh, every time, something in the tone... A feeling, I suppose, that I wish Diana Wynne Jones would come and tell me bedtime stories, in a way: something about her stories would make my toes curl with glee at the same time as I would know it would be okay to go to sleep.

Enchanted Glass has the same sort of pitfalls as most of her other stuff: somewhere in the last few chapters, everything that got kinked up straightens out with a jerk. And then there's a happy end. I've sort of got used to it, started seeing the signs, so when the rug starts to go from under my feet, I go with it. So now I can't really judge what effect that moment would have on the unsuspecting. If you're a fan of Diana Wynne Jones' work, though, it won't be a problem.

I finished my exams today. This was a perfect book to unwind with. I loved Andrew most of all -- the mildness of him, I think, so different to the manic energy of Howl or the wizards from the Chrestomanci books. I liked the people of the village, perhaps especially Tarquin, and had such a soft spot for Shaun.

My favourite part was when Aidan used Excalibur as a verb (yes, I'm predictable). "I seem to have excalibured this knife," indeed.

It's -- fun. Not earth shaking or heart-breaking or even so very funny. But it's fun, and easy, and familiar.

[lindap69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

fantastic array of characters, humor and her always amazing storytelling - another winner!

[comixminx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ahahah! Me beauty, I gotcha after the disappointing weekend where it wasn't in anywhere. Yay! A good rip-roaring DWJ with lots to chew on. I look forward to re-reading many times.

[raschneid_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was intriguing because it was set in such a very, very big world. So much of what was going on seemed to extend beyond the pages of the book, including the characters themselves. The feeling of a book uninterested in conforming to readers' expectations was also communicated by the fact that we have an adult protagonist as well as a child.

It was also a very enjoyable Magical Contemporary Britain (where magic resides in small villages and on the edges of fields, and ordinary people blink and keep walking). And I ADORED the doubles. To turn literary doubles and parallels into an actual magical phenomenon is nothing short of brilliant.

[bunwat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I happened to have this sitting on my shelf with some other library books when I heard Diana Wynne Jones died. I have been a considerable fan of her fiction since I first read Charmed Life back in the late 70's. She seemed to have this great gift for making magic worlds where the magic felt as real as a sunset or a tree in bloom, without ever becoming mundane, pedestrian or .. well, unmagical.

Not all of her fiction was particularly polished. Sometimes it could be a little bit of a homemade cake - still delicious but a little bit wonky on one side and with few crumbs in the frosting. But I kind of liked that about her. She felt to me like a workmanlike storyteller, a craftsperson. Nothing particularly precious about DWJ.

Among the obits and memoriams printed this month there was one that said She was amused by the considerable academic attention her work attracted; reading in one paper that her work was "rooted in fluidity", she remarked: "Obviously hydroponic, probably a lettuce, possibly a cabbage."

There's Diana, wry, funny, never above her company or seduced by others into thinking herself either better or worse than she actually was. Feet firmly on the ground, head firmly in the clouds. So. To Enchanted Glass. Its a lovely cabbage.

In fact some parts of it concern cabbages. And village fetes, and incursions from Elfland, and computers, and werepuppies, and lost heirs and housekeepers who will insist on moving the furniture and messing up the filing system so nobody can find the spell to fix the leak in the roof. Its not the best thing she's ever written, its not the worst. Its right in the center of her wheelhouse, and so an ideal book really, with which to comfort myself in the week in which she left us.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With a somewhat slow start this sucked me in after a few pages. Andre Hope's grandfather was a magician and when he dies he leaves his house and field-of-care to his grandson. Andrew has forgotten most of what he knew, dismissing it as flights of fancy but this is important stuff and Andrew's life is about to change. When Aidan Gain joins them, having run away from his foster home, things start to move and Andrew is going to have to acknowledge the magic to save everyone he cares for.I liked this story, I loved the way taking off the glasses changed perspective (possibly because I sometimes think of it like that). and how true sight was different from sight through your glasses. I also liked how Andrew had to grow to fill his place in the magical world. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mrs Stock won't stay as housekeeper for very long after the story ends!

[soybean7soybean · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

as always, dwj's books grab my interest thoroughly

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story - like most of Diana's, it presented an entirely new way of seeing things that could be real and unnoticed. Oberon etc were very interesting, the idea of the counterparts was fascinating (though not explicitly tied in to the knacks), both Andrew and Aidan were neat - the only problem with it is that it doesn't have a sequel, and won't (waaah! Diana gone! Selfish, but real). It ends rather abruptly and just after a couple new ideas have been presented...Still excellent, and no real loose ends, but I wish there could be more.

[phh333 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun book. Has humor, adventure and magic - who could as for anything more!

[francescadefreitas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

 I am so sorry to finish one of my last new Diana Wynne Jones stories. A great deal of my love of literature has roots in early reading of her books. And this book was in flying form - a quiet story with hazy memory and hazy vision, where kind people softly battle monsters, and domestic rituals have unsuspected power. I enjoyed every moment in this village, while Andrew and Aiden come to terms with their inheritances.

[navelos · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An enjoyable read, but I kept waiting for something to happen and not very much ever did. The characters were likable enough but they seemed a little hollow. The whole book felt as though it needed fleshing out. Even the title seems a little half baked, sure the glass is enchanted and it matters to the story but really the story is about Andrew coming into his inheritance and figuring out who Aiden is.

[yarmando_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Andrew has inherited his grandfather's "field of care," a responsibility he doesn't understand. Soon he is giving refuge to Aiden, a boy stalked by mysterious beings since his grandmother's death.Why I picked it up: There doesn't exist a Diana Wynne Jones novel I won't read. I shall miss her a great deal.Why I finished it: Jones frequently drew inspiration from classical myth and folklore, using puns and name corruptions to tease us toward the source. Some of these (Eight Days of Luke) are more successful than others (Hexwood). This one kept me interested.I'd give it to: Lin, who will like this audio production as much as I did.

[chinquapin_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enchanted Glass is a whimsical, witty children's fantasy filled with quirky characters. The plot is bizarre, yet engaging. Andrew, a typical absent-minded professor inherits his grandfather's old home and estate. It turns out that his grandfather was a magician and that he was in charge of a field-of-care that is now going awry. But Andrew doesn't recall any of the stuff that his grandfather had tried to teach him about magic and the field-of-care when he was a boy because he dismissed it as nonsense. Then, when things start getting terribly weird, young Aidan shows up, whose own magical Grandmother, with a field-of-care in London, has recently passed away. He is running away from some evil creatures called The Stalkers. Somehow, with a lot of humorous twists and turns, Andrew and Aidan figure out how to get control of the field-of-care that is now in Andrew's hands. A great part of the appeal to the book for me were all the strange and quirky characters...a gardener who gets revenge by bringing Andrew baskets of enormous, oversized vegetables; a housekeeper who expresses her disapproval by endlessly rearranging furniture and making cauliflower cheese which both Andrew and Aidan detest; and a secretary who makes predictions based on the names of the horses who won races the day before at the track; a dog who is not really a dog at all. I enjoyed the story and I regret that Diana Wynne Jones has passed away and now cannot continue their adventures in a sequel.

[citizenjoyce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a lovely book with gentle people putting up with rather bossy and intrusive people yet everyone works together. There's magic and danger, fairies, druids, shapeshifters and the stereotypical absent minded professor. The women are very bossy and competent. I don't know whether or not that is typical for DWJ, I'll have to read more of her work. I'm sure had she lived this would have been the start to a fine series.

[leov_81 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Andrew Hope has inherited his grandfather's house, the unusual staff, and responsibility for his 'field of care'. As he is coming to terms with this a young boy, Aiden, turns up on his doorstep asking for his help. Unusual things begin to happen that bring back memories of Andrew's childhood and threaten Aiden and Andrew's inheritance.A fantastic book from an author that knows how to spin a gripping story. I recommend this to children fro about 9 to young teens