Rachel Wright

Childrens Literature
October 9th, 2013
Beverly Ruberg

ABCs of Diana Wynne Jones

Aesthetic Response
Jones recognizes that children feel big and instant emotions- without the
understanding or power or follow through of adult emotions. It is this
understanding that allows Jones to write so well from the childs perspective
and have her stories resonate with young readers. One of the qualities many
admirers of Jones work have mentioned is that she never talked down to
children but instead talked up to them (Mendlesohn). In her book Reflections:
On the Magic of Writing, Jones stated that she had greater difficulty writing for
adults because she found herself having to explain twice more than usual and
incorporate subtle reminders to her readers in order for them to understand
(Jones, 34). Whereas children, she said, are used to making an effort to
understand. They are asked for this effort every hour of every school day, and
though they may not make the effort willingly they are least expect it (Jones,
34). Therefore childrens ability to solve puzzles and follow complicated plots
allowed them to understand her books more readily than her adult audience.
She challenges her readers with the content in her stories but layers her
stories with themes that are relatable to her audience. Although her stories
are not always set in the real world Diana is still able to evoke connections to
her stories through her exploration of real world themes like self discovery
and identity, family issues, sibling relationships and her witty and humours
writing style. The Ogre Downstairs (1974), a story embracing magic but mostly
centered on the relationships within a blended family, Jones descriptions of
territorial disputes over messy bedrooms, sibling rivalries and the common
hostility towards the father/step-father the Ogre, is one example of how Jones
is able to weave these real world situations into her otherwise completely
fantasy based novels. Neil Gaiman mentioned that one of Dianas best qualities
is that her books change and grow as you do (Jones, XVII). Unlike most
childrens fantasy writers, Diana is able to represent both adults and children

who are able to accept and believe in magical phenomenas and grow through
them (Gross). In turn, this representation allows her readers responses to
fantasy grow and change.

Biographical Response
Diana was born in 1934 in the outskirts of London and grew up during
the madness that was World War II. Her upbringing and lack of a typical
childhood had a huge influence on her stories and their themes. Due to the
danger in London her family moved around quite a bit; staying in big group
home situations, nunneries and boarding schools. To her mother, Diana was
seen as being ugly, semi-delinquent, but bright (Jones 1993) and when she
informed her parents that she wanted to be a writer around the age of 10 her
father laughed and her mother simply told her You havent got it in you
(Jones). To say her parents were unsupportive would be an understatement.
She had two sisters who in her parents view would amount to much
more than herself (The three Hatter sisters in Howls Moving Castle, Sophie,
Lettie and Martha, obviously parallel Diana and her two sisters). Over the
years, Dianas parents had less and less time for their children and they were
constantly left in the care of various others including gardeners, chapel
ministers, and their granny. This clearly influenced Jones in the writing of her
stories which often featured orphaned or parentless protagonists (such as
Gwendolen and Eric Chant in Charmed Life). Having been brought up in such
an extreme family environment Diana doesnt flinch away from portraying
characters that are downright nasty-even if they happen to be your sister,
mother, aunt etc. From her own account, Diana based a lot of her nastiest
character on her own mother. Her willingness to portray these kinds of
unmitigated villains appeals to children and young adults. Her stories are
coldly honest about the cruelties of life. Theres none of that theres good in
everybody which is a definite strand of a lot of childrens fiction. There is also
no sentimentalizing of childhood in her stories (Card 1992) which makes
perfect sense given the harsh reality in which Dianas childhood consisted of;
war, low self esteem and lack of self awareness, as well as unsupportive and
emotionally abusive parents.
The latter half of Dianas life was much more pleasant as she met and
married John Burrow whom along with her three sons taught her more about
ordinary human nature than [she] had learned up to then (Jones 1993) which
allowed her to assimilate her childhood and she was able to start writing. She
was inspired by Tolkien and Lewis who taught her it was possible to write a

long book that was fantasy. As her children grew, she had the opportunity to
read all the childrens books which she never has as a child. She noticed that
the books that her children loved most- full of humour and fantasy but firmly
referring to real life- were the ones she missed most in her own childhood. For
this reason and because Diana was not able to believe in most peoples version
of normal life, she started writing this version of fantasy. In her own words
Diana has stated that each book is an experiment, an attempt to write the
ideal book, the book my children would like, the book I didnt have as a child
myself (Jones 1993).

Critical Response
Jones work features many realistic and fantasy based themes that can be
explored in the classroom. As discussed earlier, family relationships play a
huge role in almost all of Dianas novels. Sibling rivalries are central in The
Ogre Downstairs, The Time of the Ghost (1996), and Charmed Life (1977). Her
novels are usually set within some sort of family situation and depict the
delicate balance of family dynamics (Gross). Jones novels are also always
deeply concerned with growth of self knowledge or self discovery within her
child protagonists and often in adult characters as well (Gross). Her characters
grow and change, as Sophie Hatter did in Howls Moving Castle both literally
when she was transformed into an old woman by a spell but also
metaphorically by the end of the novel. Her novels are journeys into identity
and self-discovery (Gross) as her characters not only unravel the mystery of
the plot but also develop a deeper understanding of themselves and the world
they inhabit. In these more realistic themes, the fantasy of the story is an
effective tool to deliver the underlying message. However, Dianas book feature
interesting fantasy based themes as well that could serve as examples in a
literature circle or fantasy unit. Time travel is featured in Fire and Hemlock
(1984), Archers Goon (1984), and Hexwood (1993) and other worlds are featured
in almost all of her novels, most notably in the Chrestomanci series, The Power
of Three (1976), and the Howls Moving Castle series(1986). Although Dianas
novels feature the common fantasy trope of good vs. evil, it is not so black and
white. Her characters are neither wholly good nor bad but complex and richly

layered. Diana has a very distinct witty and humorous writing which brings
her characters and settings to life while engaging her readers.

Instructional Ideas
Keeping these previously mentioned themes in mind, teachers could use
Dianas books to explore the fantasy genre as well as teach students how to be
effective engaging writers. Looking at the themes in Dianas books could lead to
class discussions of how students might incorporate these themes into their
own creative fantasy writing. This could then lead to a unit where students
would have to write their own fantasy story. These books are meant for an older
audience, between Grades 5 and 7, but some could be read aloud to younger
students such as Howl`s Moving Castle and could be accompanied by the
anime movie which was made in 2004. In older classrooms, you could do the
same thing but have students make more in depth comparisons between the
movie adaption and the book. Dianas books could also be used in literature
circles for more advanced readers as they are considered difficult which
according to Neil Gaiman does not make them less pleasurable but only makes
you work harder as a reader (2012). As a student, Dianas books introduced
me into the world of fantasy books, and so her books would be a perfect
addition to any classroom library for those students who are becoming bored or
not challenged enough by other literature. Students who choose one of Dianas
books as a novel study could write character profiles as well as create their own
character who they think would fit into the fantastical world. Dianas work
feature many interesting and elaborate settings and characters, as an art
project or response to literature, students could illustrate one element of her
story that really resonated with them. It might be a challenge to incorporate

Dianas novels into the classroom if there are students in the classroom whose
parents are against books that centre on magic. Dianas books would be a
refreshing alternative or accompaniment to the Harry Potter novels.
References
Card, Orson Scott (February 1992), "Books to Look For", The Magazine of Fantasy & Science
Fiction, retrieved 10/1/2008
Gross, Roslyn Kopel (August 1991). "Diana Wynne Jones: An Overview". In Bruce Gillespie. SF
Commentary (71/72)
Jones, Diana W. (1993) Something about the Author, vol. 70 (Detorit: Gale), internet version
used.
Jones, Diana W. (2012). Reflections: On the Magic of Writing. David Fickling Books.
Mendlesohn, Farah. (2011). Diana Wynne Jones. www.tor.com/blogs/2011/03/diana-wynnejones