Howl's Moving Castle

"In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one hwo will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes." (First paragraph of Howl's Moving Castle)

Dedication: “The idea for this book was suggested by a boy in a school I was visiting, who asked me to write a book called The Moving Castle. I wrote down his name, and put it in such a safe place, that I have been unable to find it ever since. I would like to thank him very much.” - Diana Wynne Jones

Plot
A young woman named Sophie Hatter is the eldest of three daughters living in the town of Market Chipping in the magical kingdom of Ingary, where many fairytale tropes are accepted ways of life, including that the eldest of three will never be successful. The girls’ lives change when their father suddenly dies and the family must face his debts. Fanny, the mother of Martha and the stepmother of Lettie and Sophie, finds places for the girls (who she treats and loves equally). She arranges for Lettie to become an apprentice at Cesari’s, a large and fancy bakery in Market Chipping, and she finds an apprenticeship with Mrs. Annabel Fairfax (an old friend of hers) for Martha, so she can learn how to be a witch and support herself that way. Sophie, Fanny decides, should stay at the hat shop and eventually take over one day from Fanny, convenient mostly because Sophie is extremely talented with a needle and makes very fashionable and popular hats. As the eldest, she is resigned to the "fact" that she will have no chance of finding her fortune, that she will have a dull life running the family hat shop forever, when she is suddenly paid a visit by the Witch of the Waste who turns her into an old crone. The Witch of the Waste is a powerful and spiteful witch who was offended by one of Sophie's younger sisters (which one is unclear because Lettie and Martha switched places, using magic to disguise themselves, and the witch was looking for a Miss Hatter), and mistook Sophie for her. Now, as an old woman, Sophie leaves the shop and wanders into the hills above Market Chipping. On her way, she stumbles across first a scarecrow which she stands in some bushes, then a dog which she frees from a hedge, and finds a walking stick for herself. She also encounters a shepherd who calls her mother, which she is very indignant about. Night starts to fall as Sophie grows more and more exhausted when suddenly Howl’s Moving Castle comes rumbling toward across the moore her and she decides to board it. 


 * More to follow*

Characters
Sophie Hatter

Lettie Hatter

Martha Hatter

Wizard Howl Pendragon

Calcifer

Michael Fisher

The Witch of the Waste

Fanny Hatter

The King of Ingary

Prince Justin

Mrs. Penstemmon

Wizard Suliman

Mrs. Annabel Fairfax

Lily Angorian

Ingary
Most of the novel is set in a fictional monarchy, Ingary; its capital is Kingsbury. Much of south-western Ingary is harsh wilderness referred to as "The Waste". Ingary is bordered by Strangia to the east and the Sultanates of Rashpuht to the south. Nearby is the country of High Norland; in the middle of the novel, the King of Ingary mentions that Ingary will likely go to war against both Strangia and High Norland soon.

Before the move, the castle wanders over the hills between Market Chipping and Upper Folding in the north. Howl's house is in fact based in a seaside town named Porthaven; Howl also occupies a disguised stable in Kingsbury. Chapter Eleven takes place in Wales (of the world we inhabit). After the move, the castle sits at the edge of the Waste and Howl's house is moved to Sophie's childhood home in Market Chipping; they also occupy a grand but derelict mansion in Vale End (which is in the same valley as Market Chipping).

Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's castle is a tall, black building with four thin turrets. It seems to be made of blocks of coal (a suitable habitat for a fire demon) and is "bespelled to hold together." It has four doors on the outside, although three are made inaccessible by an invisible wall.

The inside of the castle is made of the house where Calcifer is based, which is Howl's house in Porthaven at first, then the house by the hat shop in Market Chipping after the move in Chapter Seventeen. A "square wooden knob above the door, set into the lintel, with a dab of paint on each of its four sides" allows one to open the door into four different locations. Initially these locations are: in the hills above Market Chipping (green) that is, the door to the moving castle, in Porthaven (blue), in Kingsbury (red), and in Wales (black). However, after Howl is forced into hiding he changes the door's destinations to: in Market Chipping (yellow), in Vale End (orange), a garden in the waste (purple), and in Wales (black).

Before the move, the window over the workbench and the one in Michael's front room overlook Porthaven. Afterwards, the downstairs window looks out on a street in Market Chipping. The one in Howl's bedroom overlooks his sister's garden in Wales.