Charley Sutherland is a literary scholar and prodigy with a secret gift: he can bring characters from books to life. As fun as a visit from the Cat in the Hat or teatime with Sherlock Holmes might sound, Charley's older brother, Rob, knows better--it always means trouble. But Uriah Heep from David Copperfield appears as one of Rob's law firm interns, and the brothers later discover an entire Dickensian street filled with characters Charley swears he didn't create. Suddenly what used to be a nuisance turns into a dangerous adventure as they realize other summoners exist.
Charley attempts to understand the origin of the street, the threat of a rumored fictional "new world" and the identity of the other summoner (all while surviving attacks from the Jabberwocky and the Hound of the Baskervilles, among others). Meanwhile, Rob digs further into reality and discovers even deeper mysteries surrounding their own family. It comes down to whimsical Charley, practical Rob and a wild cast of literary characters brought to life to save the real world from complete fictional takeover.
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, H.G. Parry's debut novel, is a Dickensian booklover's delight, filled with the most popular characters from Western literature, from Heathcliff, Dorian Gray and five brooding Mr. Darcys to more modern characters like Matilda and the Implied Reader, all navigating their own stories as well as the real world they've come to inhabit. Anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with the Artful Dodger or to hold the legendary Excalibur in their hands will be in excellent company in the pages of this delightful literary fantasy. As one fictional creation puts it: "I think we've found ourselves in the middle of an adventure." --Jennifer Oleinik, freelance writer and editor