The Iremonger Trilogy Series by Edward Carey

The extensive Iremonger family of Filching ("kings of mildew, moguls of mould") has made a fortune from junk, building a dark and sprawling mansion from salvage scrap. Heap House is surrounded by the dangerous, noxious, shifting Heaps that stretch beyond its bounds, while within its walls, certain objects begin to display strange signs of life... moreThe extensive Iremonger family of Filching ("kings of mildew, moguls of mould") has made a fortune from junk, building a dark and sprawling mansion from salvage scrap. Heap House is surrounded by the dangerous, noxious, shifting Heaps that stretch beyond its bounds, while within its walls, certain objects begin to display strange signs of life.Young Clod Iremonger is on the cusp of being "trousered" and betrothed (unhappily) to his cousin Pinalippy when he meets the plucky orphan servant Lucy Pennant, with whose help he begins to uncover the dark secrets of his family's empire. Mystery, romance and the perils of the Heaps await!Gorgeously and ghoulishly illustrated by the author, the novel is peopled with unforgettable characters--anxious, animal-loving Tummis with his pet seagull, menacing cousin Moorcus, dreadful Aunt Rosamud and more. As Carey writes, "Every life is thick with rubbish, but the Iremongers did it with a difference . . ." less

Heap House, the acclaimed first volume in the Iremonger Trilogy, introduced young Clod Iremonger, who lives with his eccentric family at their crumbling mansion on the Heaps, a collection of garbage and curios. To be an Iremonger means you have a birth object you must keep with you at all times. Clod’s is a bath plug. Plucky orphan servant girl Lucy Pennant makes an appearance. The objects in the house are showing signs of life... moreHeap House, the acclaimed first volume in the Iremonger Trilogy, introduced young Clod Iremonger, who lives with his eccentric family at their crumbling mansion on the Heaps, a collection of garbage and curios. To be an Iremonger means you have a birth object you must keep with you at all times. Clod’s is a bath plug. Plucky orphan servant girl Lucy Pennant makes an appearance. The objects in the house are showing signs of life. And Clod can hear the objects speak!Foulsham opens at the Iremonger family offices in the aptly named borough of Foulsham, London’s great repository of filth. Grandfather Umbitt Iremonger has found a way to turn objects into people and people into objects. Clod, whom he sees as a threat, has been turned into a gold coin and is being passed as currency from hand-to-hand through the town. Meanwhile, Lucy Pennant has been discarded as a clay button, abandonded in the depths of the Heaps. Will they be found and retunred to human form? All around the city, thing—ordinary things—are twitching into life, and the reader is held in breathless suspense as questions of life and death, value and disposability, and the fate of Clod and Lucy rumble through this thrillingly dark and gloriously illustrated book. less

The delightfully macabre, astonishingly original trilogy reaches its thrilling conclusionThe dirt town of Foulsham has been destroyed, its ashes still smoldering. Darkness lies heavily over the city, the sun has not come up for days, and inside the houses of people throughout the capital, ordinary objects have begun to move. Strange new people run through the darkened streets. There are rumours of a terrible contagion. From the richest mansion to the poorest slum people have disappeared... moreThe delightfully macabre, astonishingly original trilogy reaches its thrilling conclusionThe dirt town of Foulsham has been destroyed, its ashes still smoldering. Darkness lies heavily over the city, the sun has not come up for days, and inside the houses of people throughout the capital, ordinary objects have begun to move. Strange new people run through the darkened streets. There are rumours of a terrible contagion. From the richest mansion to the poorest slum people have disappeared. The police have been instructed to carry arms. And rats—there are rats everywhere.Someone has stolen a certain plug.Someone is lighting a certain box of matches.All will come tumbling down.The Iremongers are in London. less