House of Many Ways is a fantasy novel for children and young adults written by British author Diana Wynne Jones. It was first published in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins in 2008 and in the United States by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt the same year.
The novel is set in the fictional town of Carrigurn and follows the story of Charmain, a young orphan who takes a job as a house‑keeper for the eccentric wizard Anghammarad. Anghammarad’s residence, known as the House of Many Ways, is a magical building that constantly reconfigures its interior layout, making navigation difficult for anyone unfamiliar with its shifting corridors and secret chambers. As the plot progresses, Charmain, together with a group of allies—including the mischievous trainee wizard Edward and the elderly sorcerer Gwendolyn—must prevent the house from falling into the hands of the malevolent wizard Maltravers, who seeks to exploit its properties for his own ends.
House of Many Ways is part of Jones’s broader Chrestomanci series, though it can be read as a stand‑alone work. The novel incorporates recurring themes found in Jones’s oeuvre, such as the subversion of conventional fantasy tropes, the exploration of personal identity, and the interplay between mundane responsibilities and magical possibilities.
Critical reception was generally positive. Reviewers highlighted Jones’s inventive world‑building and her skill in blending humor with more serious themes. The book was noted for its appeal to both younger readers and adult fans of Jones’s earlier works, such as Howl’s Moving Castle and The Lives of Christopher Chant.
The novel has been reprinted in paperback editions and included in several collections of Jones’s works. It continues to be discussed in scholarly analyses of contemporary children’s fantasy literature for its treatment of magical realism and the concept of a mutable environment as a narrative device.
