Terrible Times

In the third book of the Eddie Dickens trilogy, Eddie once again faces obstacles from within his family and without, as he is delegated to rescue a floundering family newspaper in America. One might wonder how this is possible with the likes of Mad Uncle Jack planning the voyage, Lady Constance Bustle and Swags as traveling companions, and Even Madder Aunt Maud as a stowaway. Yet Ardagh, with his flair for the absurd and his backward and forward storytelling, brings Eddie home. Martin Rayner takes the characters and convoluted story line in stride. Using pauses and chatty familiarity, he manages Ardagh's frequent asides and parenthetical matter, enabling the listener to keep track of the threads of the story. The sense of a personally related family story is palpable. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

September 1, 2003
This fall marks the return of many favorite characters. Philip Ardagh wraps up the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, illus. by David Roberts, with Terrible Times, in which Eddie, in the care of Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud (if one can call it that), sets out for America and washes overboard-will he ever cross the pond? PW said in a starred review of the series' launch, A House Called Awful End, "Kids who lap up Lemony Snicket's series will take quickly to this tale and clamor for the next."