Eddie Dickens facts for kids
Eddie Dickens is a funny and adventurous character from a series of books. These books were written by the amazing children's author Philip Ardagh. Eddie first appeared in a book called Awful End (which was known as A House Called Awful End in the USA). He has been in a total of six exciting books! Philip Ardagh first created Eddie Dickens in letters he wrote to his nephew, Ben.
Contents
Books About Eddie Dickens
Eddie Dickens stars in these fantastic books:
- Awful End
- Dreadful Acts
- Terrible Times
- Dubious Deeds
- Horrendous Habits
- Final Curtain
Eddie's Quirky Family
Eddie lives with some very unusual relatives. Let's meet them!
Mad Uncle Jack
This is actually Eddie's Mad Great Uncle Jack. He is married to the even crazier Even Madder Aunt Maud. He often gets things a bit mixed up, which leads to lots of laughs.
Even Madder Aunt Maud
She is Mad Uncle Jack's wife and Eddie's Even Madder Great Aunt Maud. She always carries a stuffed stoat (a small animal like a weasel) named Malcolm. Sometimes, she even uses Malcolm like a weapon! Even though she's a bit wild, she tries to explain her strange actions in a sensible way.
Eddie's Parents
Eddie goes to live with his great aunt and great uncle because his parents get a very strange fever. This fever makes them "turn yellow, go a bit crinkly round the edges and smell of old hot water bottles." It's a very peculiar illness!
Eddie's Mother
Eddie's mother is usually called Mrs. Dickens. But in the last book, Final Curtain, we find out her first name is Florinda.
Eddie's Father
Eddie's father is known as Mr. Dickens. Just like his wife, we learn his first name in Final Curtain. His first name is Laudanum.
The Illustrator
The amazing pictures in the Eddie Dickens series were drawn by David Roberts. He created the illustrations for all six books, bringing Eddie's world to life!
About the Author, Philip Ardagh
Philip Ardagh is an English author famous for writing children's books. He has written over 100 books, including stories for adults and non-fiction books for kids. The Eddie Dickens series was one of his first big successes. The very first book was published in the year 2000.
20 Years of Eddie Dickens
The year 2020 marked a special anniversary: 20 years since Eddie Dickens first appeared in print! The first book, Awful End, came out in 2000. To celebrate, a special 20th-anniversary edition of The Eddie Dickens Trilogy was published.
How the Books Are Published Now
Today, the Eddie Dickens stories are published in two larger books. Each of these books contains three of the original stories. They are called The Eddie Dickens Trilogy and The Further Adventures of Eddie Dickens.
Awards for Eddie Dickens
The very first book, Awful End, won an important award! It received the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, which is a famous German literary prize. The German version of the book was translated by Harry Rowohlt, a very respected German translator.
