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Contents ( 57)
  1. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
  2. Dedication
  3. Contents
  4. Chapter One
  5. IN WHICH SOPHIE TALKS TO HATS
  6. Chapter Two
  7. IN WHICH SOPHIE IS COMPELLED TO SEEK HER FORTUNE
  8. Chapter Three
  9. IN WHICH SOPHIE ENTERS INTO A CASTLE AND A BARGAIN
  10. Chapter Four
  11. IN WHICH SOPHIE DISCOVERS SEVERAL STRANGE THINGS
  12. Chapter Five
  13. WHICH IS FAR TOO FULL OF WASHING
  14. Chapter Six
  15. IN WHICH HOWL EXPRESSES HIS FEELINGS WITH GREEN SLIME
  16. Chapter Seven
  17. IN WHICH A SCARECROW PREVENTS SOPHIE FROM LEAVING THE CASTLE
  18. Chapter Eight
  19. IN WHICH SOPHIE LEAVES THE CASTLE IN SEVERAL DIRECTIONS AT ONCE
  20. Chapter Nine
  21. IN WHICH MICHAEL HAS TROUBLE WITH A SPELL
  22. Chapter Ten
  23. IN WHICH CALCIFER PROMISES SOPHIE A HINT
  24. Chapter Eleven
  25. IN WHICH HOWL GOES TO A STRANGE COUNTRY IN SEARCH OF A SPELL
  26. Chapter Twelve
  27. IN WHICH SOPHIE BECOMES HOWL’S OLD MOTHER
  28. Chapter Thirteen
  29. IN WHICH SOPHIE BLACKENS HOWL’S NAME
  30. Chapter Fourteen
  31. IN WHICH A ROYAL WIZARD CATCHES A COLD
  32. Chapter Fifteen
  33. IN WHICH HOWL GOES TO A FUNERAL IN DISGUISE
  34. Chapter Sixteen
  35. IN WHICH THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF WITCHCRAFT
  36. Chapter Seventeen
  37. IN WHICH THE MOVING CASTLE MOVES HOUSE
  38. Chapter Eighteen
  39. IN WHICH THE SCARECROW AND MISS ANGORIAN REAPPEAR
  40. Chapter Nineteen
  41. IN WHICH SOPHIE EXPRESSES HER FEELINGS WITH WEED-KILLER
  42. Chapter Twenty
  43. IN WHICH SOPHIE FINDS FURTHER DIFFICULTIES IN LEAVING THE CASTLE
  44. Chapter Twenty-One
  45. IN WHICH A CONTRACT IS CONCLUDED BEFORE WITNESSES
  46. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
  47. Read on for an excerpt from The Merlin Conspiracy
  48. I
  49. ONE
  50. Read on for an excerpt from Dark Lord of Derkholm
  51. ONE
  52. Read on for an excerpt from Archer’s Goon
  53. Chapter One
  54. About the Author
  55. Credits
  56. Copyright
  57. About the Publisher

6. Were you surprised by Hayao Miyazaki’s vision of the castle and characters of Howl’s Moving Castle?

I was surprised by Miyazaki’s Moving Castle, because I had not thought of the castle having feet. In the book I wrote, the castle is more like a hovercraft and floats an inch or so above the ground. But I am very fond of Miyazaki’s castle. I have several models of it around the house. As for Howl and Sophie, both of them are gentler and more noble than the characters in my books. But I wasn’t surprised by this. Movies are always different. I have several models of Howl and Sophie around the house too, and quite a few Calcifers, one of which sits in the fireplace.

7. Howl doesn’t appear in his usual, perfectly groomed form in most of Castle in the Air or House of Many Ways. Did you know that as you began writing those two books, or was it a surprise?

I was not surprised that Howl was different in Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways. Both books started out, more or less, by my imagining what Howl might be like if he were in another shape and wondering how his personality would come through then. The fact is, his shape may change, but his personality is always the same vain and impulsive one, with a tendency to do the opposite of what you might expect.

8. None of the heroes in these books are conventional ones; in fact, they are all quite flawed. Is a hero more compelling when he or she isn’t too perfect?

I think people who don’t have faults are very boring. Your faults are a large part of what you are like as a person. And my aim is always to make what I write interesting. If I can’t be interested in people with no faults, then neither can you. Charmain interested me because she is both very fierce and a bookworm—and you must admit that this is an odd combination. Peter interested me too because he is so madly sure of himself. And of course Howl is interesting because you never know what he’s going to do next.

9. Why do you think Howl has to trick himself into being brave? Or that so many other characters are almost unwillingly—or unknowingly—brave?

Everyone has to trick him/herself into doing what they think is against their nature. Think of the many times you have promised yourself a treat of some kind once you have done a chore that you hate. This is the most normal way of tricking yourself. But how many times also have you sauntered over to the jar of cookies, telling yourself that you are not really going to eat one? This is another way of tricking yourself. Howl is an extreme case of this because he has convinced himself he is a terrible coward. The fact is that he is quite brave in some directions and only frightened when he is face to face with someone whose powers are equal to his own. Then he has to trick himself into dealing with them.