LUNGDON BY EDWARD CAREY PUBLISHED TOMORROW

LUNGDON by Edward Carey will be published by Hot Key Books on 11 August 2016. LUNGDON is the gloriously ghastly climax to Carey’s gothic IREMONGER TRILOGY. The first book of the trilogy, HEAP HOUSE, was a Kirkus Reviews ‘Best Teen Book of 2014’ and a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice.

The Iremongers are a sinister family dynasty who have made a fortune from a city’s junk. Now they are at large in London, the ruins of Foulsham left burning behind them. They need a new home and they intend to find one. Londoners are beginning to notice bizarre happenings in their city – loved ones disappearing, strange objects appearing and a creeping darkness that seems to swallow up the daylight. The Police have summoned help, but is their cure more deadly than the feared Iremongers? What role will our hero Clod play: returning son or rebel? What of the flame-haired orphan Lucy Pennant? And where are all the rats coming from…?

The Iremonger trilogy is published in thirteen countries. Edward Carey has recently visited the Auckland Festival in New Zealand and toured Italy to talk about his acclaimed trilogy. In Italy he has also had exhibitions of the Iremonger characters and at the Milanesiana Festival he was awarded the Fernanda Pivano Prize, previously won by Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Cunningham, and Michael Chabon, among others.  See some images here.

Praise for Edward Carey and the IREMONGER TRILOGY

‘If this were music, Carey would be Eric Satie. If it were film, he would be Tim Burton.’ – Newsday

‘Edward Carey is one of the strangest writers we are privileged to have in this country. There are echoes in his work of other great idiosyncratics from Angela Carter to Russell Hoban, but he supersedes even them in the downright oddity of his mind.’ – Observer

‘IREMONGER torques and tempers our memories of Dickensian London into a singularly jaunty and creepy tale of agreeable misfits. Read it by gas lamp, with a glass of absinthe at your wrist and a fireplace poker by your knee.’ – Gregory Maguire, author of WICKED.

‘Channels Dickens crossed with Lemony Snicket... a Gothic tale in turns witty, sweet, thoughtful and thrilling—but always off-kilter—and penned with gorgeous, loopy prose. Suspense and horror gradually accumulate into an avalanche of a climax… magnificently creepy.’ —Kirkus Reviews.

More Iremonger Accolades
A New York Times Notable Children’s Book of 2014
Selected in Publisher’s Weekly Best Books of 2014
Selected by Kirkus as one of the Best Teen Books of 2014
On tor.com’s Best Books of 2014 – Reviewer’s Choice
Selected as one of Newsday’s Top Ten Children’s books 2014
Recommended on the Booktrust Christmas Gifts for Children List 2013
Listed by The Sunday Times as one of the Top Children’s Books of 2013
New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice

About Edward Carey

Edward is a novelist, visual artist and playwright. His debut novel OBSERVATORY MANSIONS (with his illustrations) is sold in 14 countries and was described by John Fowles as 'proving the potential brilliance of the novel form'. Born in England, he teaches at the University of Austin, Texas.

Find out more about Edward through Blake Friedmann or on Edward’s website.

Read an excerpt of LUNGDON.

Follow Edward on Twitter.

EDWARD CAREY’S TRANSATLANTIC IREMONGERS

Edward Carey’s FOULSHAM, the second book in his popular Iremonger Trilogy, was published in paperback yesterday in the UK by Hot Key Books and will be published for the first time in the US next Tuesday, 7 July, by Overlook Press.

Overlook published Clod’s previous adventure, HEAP HOUSE, in July 2014, and the book was a roaring success stateside, with The New York Times pronouncing it Notable Book of 2014 and Book Review Editor’s choice, calling it ‘spectacularly weird’. HEAP HOUSE was selected in Publisher’s Weekly Best Books of 2014 and chosen by Kirkus as one of the Best Teen Books of 2014. Kirkus Reviews called it ‘a gothic tale in turns witty, sweet, thoughtful and thrilling — but always off-kilter — and penned with gorgeous, loopy prose.’

In the UK, HEAP HOUSE was recommended on the Book Trust Christmas Gifts for Children List 2013 and described as ‘astonishing and inventive’ by The Sunday Times who also listed it as one of the Best Children’s Books of 2013. Edward’s FOULSHAM continues to uphold the Iremonger’s darkly thrilling reputation, with Kirkus calling it ‘a story wondrous fine, full of terrors and marvels.’

Foulsham, London's great filth repository, is bursting at the seams. In the Iremonger family offices, Grandfather Umbitt Iremonger broods: in his misery and fury at the people of London, he has found a way of making everyday objects assume human shape, and turning real people into objects. Abandoned in the depths of the Heaps, Lucy Pennant has been rescued by a terrifying creature more animal than human, Binadit Iremonger. Lucy is desperate and determined to find Clod. But unbeknownst to her, Clod has become a golden sovereign and is 'lost’. He is being passed as currency from hand to hand all around Foulsham, and yet everywhere people are searching for him, desperate to get hold of this dangerous Iremonger, who, it is believed, has the power to bring the mighty Umbitt down.

The dramatic final instalment of the trilogy, LUNGDON, will be simultaneously published by Overlook in the US, Hot Key in the UK and HarperCollins Canada in November 2015. The Iremongers have already made their appearance in France, Italy, China, Russia and Brazilian, Bulgarian, Czech and Japanese rights are also sold.

Edward Carey is a novelist, visual artist and playwright. His debut novel OBSERVATORY MANSIONS is sold in 14 countries and was described by John Fowles as 'proving the potential brilliance of the novel form'. Artwork by this prodigiously talented author features in all his books. See more on his website here. 

Praise for Edward Carey

‘Edward Carey is a writer whose books confound and amaze me. …He’s brilliant and precocious and spectacularly imaginative.’ – Katharine Weber, The Readerville Journal

‘The inventions of Edward Carey are constantly astonishing…’ – Livres Hebdo

‘There’s no denying Carey’s ingenuity. His is a voice both fresh and familiar: a writer who will continue to impress himself on our landscape.’ – Review of Contemporary Fiction

HEAP HOUSE out in the US today from Overlook

The Iremongers are let loose in the States today as HEAP HOUSE, the first book in Edward Carey’s acclaimed IREMONGER trilogy, is published in the US by Overlook. It will be published in beautiful hardback with illustrations by the author himself.

The book, which will appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman, Roald Dahl and Mervyn Peake, young and old alike, tells the story of Clod Iremonger and his eccentric family ('kings of mildew, moguls of mould'), all of whom must carry 'birth objects' as a matter of course, and who make their fortune from the collective detritus of a Dickensian London. When Clod begins to hear objects from the heaps speaking out, everything is shifting, and with the arrival of orphan, Lucy Pennant, Clod will have to decide where he belongs.

The book has already received a fantastic review in the New York Times by Pseudonymous Bosch, who wrote:

‘At first glance, you might mistake Edward Carey's HEAP HOUSE for a new edition of Dickens illustrated by Edward Gorey. In fact, the novel's delightfully dour, hand-painted portraits are the work of Carey himself. . . . Carey remains true to his dark, skewed vision all the way to the perverse but perfect end. HEAP HOUSE is weird, yes, Spectacularly so. . . . Here's hoping … [this] talented and original author stay[s] strange.’ 

Kirkus called HEAP HOUSE ‘a gothic tale in turns witty, sweet, thoughtful and thrilling—but always off-kilter—and penned with gorgeous, loopy prose just this side of precious… magnificently creepy’, and Publisher’s Weekly gave it a starred review, writing ‘Full of strange magic, sly humor, and odd, melancholy characters, this trilogy opener, peppered with portraits illustrated by Carey in a style reminiscent of Peake’s own, should appeal to ambitious readers seeking richly imagined and more-than-a-little-sinister fantasy.’, and included it in their Best Indie Books Fall 2014 picks. It has also been listed by Indie Sleepers on their “Big Books From Small Presses 2014” list.

In the UK, HEAP HOUSE was recommended on the Booktrust Christmas Gifts for Children List 2013 and listed by The Sunday Times as one of the Top Children’s Books of 2013. Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton called it ‘delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising, philosophical’ and her ‘favourite novel for children published this year’. The paperback is currently available.

Rights to HEAP HOUSE have been sold in 9 territories, including HarperCollins in Canada who published in March. In the UK, Hot Key have just published the second in the trilogy, FOULSHAM.

Follow Edward on Twitter

Visit the Iremongers on Edward’s website

Praise for HEAP HOUSE:

‘Edward Carey's HEAP HOUSE-- delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising, philosophical, everything that a novel for children should be.’ – Eleanor Catton, author of THE LUMINARIES

‘IREMONGER torques and tempers our memories of Dickensian London into a singularly jaunty and creepy tale of agreeable misfits. Read it by gas lamp, with a glass of absinthe at your wrist and a fireplace poker by your knee. ’    -- Gregory Maguire, author of WICKED

'I cannot recommend HEAP HOUSE by Edward Carey enough. The best book of its kind since GORMENGHAST (& more exciting)' – Gregory Norminton

‘Fabulously strange and in the tradition of Mervyn Peake... Astonishing and inventive, it calls out to be read.' – Sunday Times Best Children’s Books of 2013 

Edward Carey’s FOULSHAM out today from Hot Key

The wait is over. FOULSHAM, the second book in Edward Carey’s much-praised IREMONGER trilogy, is out from Hot Key today in the UK. It is published in a beautiful hardback complete with illustrations by Edward himself.

Foulsham, London's great filth repository, is bursting at the seams. In the Iremonger family offices, Grandfather Umbitt Iremonger broods: in his misery and fury at the people of London, he has found a way of making everyday objects assume human shape, and turning real people into objects. Abandoned in the depths of the Heaps, Lucy Pennant has been rescued by a terrifying creature, Binadit Iremonger – more animal than human. She is desperate and determined to find Clod. But unbeknownst to her, Clod has become a golden sovereign, being passed as currency from hand to hand all around Foulsham. Everywhere people are searching for him, desperate to get hold of this dangerous Iremonger, who, it is believed, has the power to bring the mighty Umbitt down. But all around the city, things, everyday things, are twitching into life...

The Iremongers are taking over the Hot Key tumblr this week in celebration – visit to see illustrations by Edward Carey and more!

Be sure to visit Waterstones’ flagship store in Piccadilly for an exclusive chance to see Edward Carey’s illustrations on the chalk board and their brand new illustrators’ gallery.

There will also be two chances for fans to catch Edward Carey at Edinburgh Book Festival this year. He will be talking about creating characters with Nathan Filer and Matthew Quick, and will also be doing a children’s event to tell young readers all about Clod.

Clod last appeared in HEAP HOUSE, published by Hot Key last summer. It was recommended on the Booktrust Christmas Gifts for Children List 2013 and listed by The Sunday Times as one of the Top Children’s Books of 2013. Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton called it ‘delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising, philosophical’ and her ‘favourite novel for children published this year’. The paperback is currently available.

Rights to HEAP HOUSE have been sold in 9 territories. It was published by Harper Collins in Canada in March and recently selected by the Toronto Star in their round-up of summer reads for kids:

'For Gothic unease, try Edward Carey's IREMONGER Book 1: HEAP HOUSE a story of mildew and mould that despite its rubbish heap setting, sparkles with ghoulish interest and Gorey-esque drawings.' - Deidre Baker, The Toronto Star.

Overlook publish HEAP HOUSE in the US in October.

Novelist, visual artist and playwright Edward Carey is the author of two acclaimed novels, published in many countries around the world. OBSERVATORY MANSIONS was shortlisted for the Borders Discover New Writers Award and ALVA AND IRVA was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Literary Award. Both were accompanied by artworks by the author.

Follow Edward on Twitter

Visit the Iremongers on Edward’s website

Praise for HEAP HOUSE:

‘Edward Carey's HEAP HOUSE-- delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising, philosophical, everything that a novel for children should be.’ – Eleanor Catton, author of THE LUMINARIES

‘IREMONGER torques and tempers our memories of Dickensian London into a singularly jaunty and creepy tale of agreeable misfits. Read it by gas lamp, with a glass of absinthe at your wrist and a fireplace poker by your knee. ’    -- Gregory Maguire, author of WICKED

'I cannot recommend HEAP HOUSE by Edward Carey enough. The best book of its kind since GORMENGHAST (& more exciting)' – Gregory Norminton

‘Fabulously strange and in the tradition of Mervyn Peake... Astonishing and inventive, it calls out to be read.' – Sunday Times Best Children’s Books of 2013 

A US home for Edward Carey’s IREMONGERS

Tracy Carns of Overlook has acquired US rights to Edward Carey’s acclaimed IREMONGER TRILOGY. Chosen as a Book of the Year by Booker 2013 winner, Eleanor Catton, the first title in the trilogy, HEAP HOUSE, will be published by Overlook in the US in October 2014 and will include cover images, endpapers and character portraits by its multi-talented author.

Tracy Carns says: “I’m absolutely delighted to be the US publisher of The IREMONGER TRILOGY and among the team of publishers around the world that Isobel is putting together for the darkly brilliant, stunningly talented writer/illustrator Edward Carey. As the publisher of Mervyn Peake, Overlook feels like a particularly apt fit for Clod Iremonger and the rest of Edward’s eccentric and extraordinary Heap House world.”

Edward Carey says: “I am so thrilled to be published by Overlook, the American home of Mervyn Peake and of Walter Moers, two genius writer-illustrators who've inspired me for years. (Overlook's edition of the final part of the Titus books, is so beautiful, they designed it so extraordinarily it looked as if Peake himself had done the cover.) I'm enormously happy that Overlook is taking on the Iremongers, I know they're going to love their new home.”

Isobel Dixon says: “Edward has created an exceptional world and characters readers completely fall in love with. Tracy knows just how to publish this special series and bring it to an eager American readership – I can’t wait for its autumn publication!”

Edward Carey lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and two children.

Visit Edward Carey's website.

Follow him on twitter.

Praise for HEAP HOUSE:

‘Edward Carey's HEAP HOUSE-- delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising, philosophical, everything that a novel for children should be.’ – Eleanor Catton, author of THE LUMINARIES

‘IREMONGER torques and tempers our memories of Dickensian London into a singularly jaunty and creepy tale of agreeable misfits. Read it by gas lamp, with a glass of absinthe at your wrist and a fireplace poker by your knee. ’    -- Gregory Maguire, author of WICKED

'I cannot recommend HEAP HOUSE by Edward Carey enough. The best book of its kind since GORMENGHAST (& more exciting)' – Gregory Norminton

‘Fabulously strange and in the tradition of Mervyn Peake... Astonishing and inventive, it calls out to be read.' – Sunday Times Best Children’s Books of 2013