The Range of Diana Wynne Jones

This is a post I had been meaning to make for a while now, you might know her as the author of Howl's Moving Castle or the Chrestomamci series, both of which are really good.

I love reading and rereading, and I read around 200 books every year ( 185 in 2025 for reference ). My favorite genre is horror and absurdism and philosophy and my favorite book series of all time is the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett which is why I have become extremely picky about what I enjoy (iykyk),
And I also believe that no one should ever be too old to read a kid's book series. There are some books which have a soul and despite being kid's book/series they are for everyone ( e.g A series of unfortunate events by Lemony Snicket ).

Even among fantasy authors, she stands out to me because of how immersive her stories are. For "kid's/ya fantasy books", the way she writes that feels alive in ways I have not encountered from many writers.

But this year I was surprised to find that this is not all.

As I said Horror is one of my favourite genres.
There is a story by her called The Master, which is so eerie and off putting, even more so because of the expectation I had as a reader going into her work. I did not even know that she wrote in this genre, I wish there was more of the same from her.

Reading her other works, I came to find out she depicts trauma and abuse in such a real and nuanced way.
For example, her book Fire and Hemlock, which captures the lost feeling of having negligent and self- centred parents beyond just a plotline in a fantasy story book,
I came across another book from her that frankly made me miserable, it's called The Time of the Ghost.

I went into this book knowing nothing except what I had previously read from this author.
If you have also read Howl's Moving Castle trilogy or the Chrestomamci series, then you know it's the everything turns out fine in the end type of book series. I was not prepared for this book, without giving any spoilers I can only say that I was sad to learn later that this experience was largely autobiographical.

She has several stories like The Girl Who Loved The Sun, or Howl's Moving Castle or The Castle in the Air which subvert the fantasy/fairytale genre and present it in such a refreshing and entertaining way, there are also several layers to her stories and her characters. Yet it's also contained at the same time.

Diana Wynne Jones' fantasy books, the one's that are widely read, are unique in the way that they don't try to be something else, they just capture the wondrous feeling of being a child surrounded by a confusing world in a raw and real way.

Her stories such as Enna Hittims took me back to my childhood as an over imaginative kid and it truly made me really happy.

So all in all everything I read from this author made me appreciate her craft more and more, It is now my side quest to read everything this author has ever published and I am glad there is a lot left yet.

have you ever come across an author whose range surprised you?