Edward Carey Books In Order

Publication Order of The Iremonger Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Edward Carey is an English playwright and the author of fantasy, literature and fiction books. The author has written various adaptations for the big stage including Pinocchio in Venice and The Pigeon. Carey’s plays include Captain of the Bird and Sulking Thomas.

Carey became a published novelist in 2000 when his debut novel, Observatory Mansions was published. His series, Iremonger Trilogy debuted in 2013 and concluded in 2015 when Lungdon was published.

Heap House

Heap House is Edward’s Carey’s first book in Iremonger series and his first venture into young adult fiction. The author brings his emotionally resonant and quirky style to his Iremonger trilogy debut.

For decades, the Iremonger family has been accountable for the Heaps of trash in an alternate universe London. The narrative has an upstairs and downstairs structure that the articulate masters through the use of two lead characters.

The two main characters in the story are Lucy Pennant, an orphan and Clod Iremonger a gifted outcast. The novel chapters alternate between the two main characters and the stories are intertwined as Lucy and Clod start to unravel Iremonger’s family dark secrets.

Each of the lead characters in the story faces big problems along the way. For example, it is revealed that Clod can eavesdrop the voices of birth objects- these are objects that are assigned to each Iremonger after birth. Clod’s ability only makes his family members shun him off, and he is also bullied by his cousin and is forced to face a fearful coming of age ceremony that involves a planned marriage.

On the other hand, Lucy is abused by the rules that are imposed on the servants, and she struggles to hang on her identity and the memories of her house where she’s looted off everything except the name Iremonger.

Apart from the significant challenges the two main characters face is the bigger challenge of the Heaps themselves which will make every reader think twice about the environmental consequences of our trend of disposable.

The narrative chapters are also accompanied by gloomy and evocative portraits of the residents of Heap House and their birth objects. The illustrations the author adds to the story create an illusion for the readers to walk through the grand hall in Victorian manor filled with family portraits.

Foulsham

Foulsham continues from where it left off, that is, after the transformation of Clod and Lucy. Their adventures continue unabated, in entirely different environments and with the meeting of increasingly bizarre characters.

Lucy, in heaps, becomes acquainted with Binadit, a man who since as child was considered different and in some way dangerous, soon removed from the family. For years he has lived in heaps, a place that considers his home and his refuge.

With objects, it has a particular bond, and they cannot help but follow it, keeping it as close as possible. After so much time spent in solitude, Binadit lost much of the vocabulary he knew and also humanity. Clod, however, passes from hand to hand, making the acquaintance of the most feared and sought-after of Foulsham: the Tailor. A very unattractive man, dry and elongated, who despite his bad reputation drives Clod mad threatening to reveal secrets about his family. The two, separated after the transformation, will do everything to find themselves and it will not be easy.

In Foulsham, the action moves outside Heap House; the reader gets in touch with the inhabitants of the city, poor and subdued by the Iremonger family. New mysteries and secrets that the family concealed for a long time are revealed, and some of them will prove to be of great help for our two protagonists.
Lungdon

The fire destroyed Foulsham, its citizens sought refuge in the Iremonger’s great home but in vain, and now the family is forced to flee. They all go to London, the great and mighty city where the Iremonger’s want to find a new home. After their arrival, however, strange and inexplicable things start to happen: people disappear, objects are found out of place, the sun goes out, and nobody has an answer for these bizarre events.

Only a child of thirteen, Eleanor Cranwell, who lives in the house in front of what the family uses as a shelter and hiding place, sees with her own eyes what happens to her after she has tried to approach one of them. : has been transformed into a lectern. Eleanor finds it hard to believe what she has just seen, but putting it in writing manages to convince her that it is real. This fate will affect many other people in London, but in the meantime, Lucy and Clod continue to look for each other. Clod has returned home, among his family, but does not yet know for sure how to behave.

Since the news of the death of his beloved Lucy has come to him, he has practically lost his mind, destroying everything within reach and discovering, at the same time, new aspects of his power. However, Lucy is alive and, after surviving the fire of Foulsham, she brings the children who are still alive, under the rubble with her, to safety, and they all go to the big city. The police are on their heels; they must find a hiding place quickly and avoid the contagious “disease.” Clod, however, will have to deal with his family, choosing whether to do something to deserve the pants or betray their loved ones.

The events are, as always, narrated by the different characters, but we can identify three that reflect the role of protagonists: Clod, Lucy and Eleanor.
Three different kids, grown up in different realities, who meet and get lost in the course of history, collaborate and betray themselves. Among the members of the Iremonger family, although they are numerous, stand out the most powerful and characteristic figures, who contribute several times to give an unexpected twist to history.

The narrative maintains more points of view, resulting in in the same time sliding and engaging. The illustrations that dot the whole story are always magnificent, an element that I appreciated.

This trilogy, which contains a bizarre and undoubtedly original story, does not have the same level of involvement in all three volumes. I found the first quite confusing and calm, as if it were a presentation of the characters and their lives, with the intrusion of a girl alien to the family as the only upheaval.