The Doom of the Haunted Opera.

BELLAIRS, John.

ISBN 10: 0803714645 / ISBN 13: 9780803714649

Published by Dial Press,, NY:, 1995

About this Item

Completed by Brad Strickland. Dust jacket art and frontispiece by Edward Gorey. First printing. Very good in a very good (minor edge wear at the spine ends and corners) dust jacket.

Seller Inventory # 45733

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Doom of the Haunted Opera.
• Publisher: Dial Press,, NY:
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803714645
• ISBN 13: 9780803714649
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Children's Literature II

About this title

Synopsis

After Lewis and Rose ignore an omen regarding the opera score they find in an abandoned theater, Henry Vanderhelm, the grandson of the composer, suddenly appears and brings with him a plan to enslave the world and awaken the dead. Reprint.

Reviews

Grade 5-8?A delightful, spooky mystery starring Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita Pottinger, heroes of several earlier novels. A school assignment leads these 1950s teens to an abandoned theater in the heart of their hometown, New Zebedee, where Lewis finds sheet music inside an old piano?and a ghost, who warns him, "Beware the doom of the haunted opera!" The whole town gets involved in staging the opera, and a stranger shows up to watch the action. Henry Vanderhelm claims to be the composer's grandson, but when New Zebedee is suddenly cut off from the outside world, a horrid suspicion dawns on Lewis. Vanderhelm is the composer himself?and the opera is really an elaborate spell designed to make him King of the Dead and enable him to take over the world. Lewis and Rose Rita are bright and likable protagonists. Other characters are equally well drawn, especially the evil Vanderhelm and the mistake-prone would-be magician, Mrs. Jaeger, a neighbor who helps the young people. The action moves quickly; tension escalates nicely, and Lewis gets a boost of confidence from a surprising source when things look bleakest. A great addition to the mystery shelf.?Mary Jo Drungil, Niles Public Library District, IL
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4^-6. Bellairs fans will welcome the return of Lewis Barnavelt and his buddy Rose Rita Pottinger. In this story, completed by Strickland after Bellairs' death, the two young people discover an unpublished opera in an abandoned theater and let lose an evil spirit that takes over the town and wants to rule the world. Splashes of character comedy leaven creepy scenes and ghostly encounters, at which Bellairs and Strickland certainly excel, and the accompanying artwork by Edward Gorey perfectly matches the story's tone. That good magic will win out over evil is understood, but it's still a tense race to the finish. This is not as tightly structured as The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie , but the authors' ability to fashion people and a place at once ordinary and special is still a great drawing card for readers. Stephanie Zvirin