A companion piece to Away Lake, in this the jovial Blakes return to the scene of their last fun filled adventures, this time as permanent guests in "the house of astonishments", so dubbed by Portia because of its startling contents. As the summer passes the children begin to know Mrs. Brace-Gldeon, the former owner of their new home, from stories told by neighbors and explorations through the old Victorian mansion. How these modern impish scalawags adapt to the staid old house and incorporate its history and findings into their games and imagination add up to a rollicking story of summer fun to enchant and entrance.
