The Strange and Wonderful House: Difference between revisions

| aka= The House<br>The Infinite House<br>The Mansion

| also_seen_in= [[PROSE]]: ''[[Jenny Everywhere and the Nowhere Spiral (novel)|Jenny Everywhere and the Nowhere Spiral]]''

}}'''The Strange and Wonderful House''', often referred to as simply '''the House''', and also called '''the Infinite House''' or '''the Mansion''', was a living house of mysterious origins whose interior encompassed an infinite number of rooms, many of them strange or supernatural. [[Jenny Everywhere]] was friends with [[the Architect]] of the House, and had an unusually good understanding of the nature of the House, which she visited in many incarnations, up to and including the day of the House's eventual destruction.

One account suggested that the Strange and Wonderful House's peculiarities stemmed from the fact that it had been built on land that was once part of [[Faerie]], using wood harvested there, such that “something of Faerie” had always lingered within it. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)]]'') Some of the House's inhabitants perceived it as a “work of fiction” they had created as “writers”, which had somehow become real. This included the “modern” [[Master of the House]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 39-II: The Will of the Creator|The Will of the Creator]]'') However, [[Sid]] argued that this was a limiting perspective and the writers had ''not'' really created the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)]]'')

The House was infinite ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Welcome!|Welcome!]]'') and home to many portals to and from other dimensions than [[Universe A (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|the one]] where its original exterior happened to be located. In many cases, transit from one room to another was achieved through portals internal to the house, rather than more conventionally making one's way through the building. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'')

Some rooms could only be entered by specific people or groups of people, including [[#The Stationery Room|the Stationery Room]], limited to the [[Master of the House]] and his guests, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 20: The Stationery Room|The Stationery Room]]'') and [[#The Jenny Everywhere Museum|the Jenny Everywhere Museum]], limited to incarnations of [[Jenny Everywhere]] and their companions. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 18: The Jenny Everywhere Museum|The Jenny Everywhere Museum]]'') A complex multi-step ritual had to be carried out to enter [[#The Vault|the Vault]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 43: The Vault|The Vault]]'')

The House was sentient, with a definite personality of its own. It enjoyed having its residents upgrade its interior, and had the ability to manipulate its own interior to a degree to facilitate their work. For example, when the [[lawn gnome]]s began work to graft [[the Great Glass Elevator]] into the House to supplement [[#The Stairwell|the Stairwell]], it began to make various doorways throughout the House open into as-yet-empty elevator shafts. “Buzzing with excitement and creaking with worry, lurching, stretching, and then settling”, the House's active mood was noticed by the residents, who were forced to hold a “continuous seance” on [[#The 7th floor|the 7th floor]] in order to “keep [[spirit]]s and [[demon]]s out of closets and cupboards”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 21: Elevator|Elevator]]'') The House sometimes made specific requests of its inhabitants, but it quickly learned that asking the [[Artifector]]s anything was pointless: “requests were fastidiously ignored and trying to guide the artifectors was akin to shearing a flock of cats”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-IV: The Lab: The Perpetual Motion Machine (Part 1)|The Lab: The Perpetual Motion Machine (Part 1)]]'')

There were also miscellaneous human, or seemingly human, residents, such as [[Federico Ruiz]] and the other decadent socialites of his Pleasure Pad, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 3: The Pleasure Pad of Federico Ruiz|The Pleasure Pad of Federico Ruiz]]'') and more normal individuals like [[Christopher (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Christopher]], [[Mandy (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Mandy]], and their [[Uncle Jack]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 24: The Cellar|The Cellar]]'') There were also visitors to the House who stayed for years, in some cases dying there. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 19-I: The Right Wrong Questions|The Right Wrong Questions]]'')  

There existed a [[Master of the House]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 20: The Stationery Room|The Stationery Room]]'') He had to negotiate with the [[Goblin King (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Goblin King]] on at least one occasion. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 24-I: Montresor|Montresor]]'') There was also a [[Master of the Fields]], the symbolic leader of the people of the rural towns surrounding [[the Strange and Wonderful House]] in its [[Universe A (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|native universe]]. It was this Master's responsibility to lead the [[Harvest Procession]] that brought victuals to the House for the winter through [[the Great South Gate]] every year on [[Harvest Day]], riding on the lead cart, which was pulled by a team of eight, unblemished black oxen adorned with ribbons.  

Prospective members of [[Household Staff]] were recruited from the people of the Fields on some Harvest Days, as children aged between six and twelve. If chosen, they would spend their whole lives within the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 30: The Great South Gate|The Great South Gate]]'')

Directly under the authority of the “Masters of the abode” were the battle-ready, all-female [[Housekeeping]] corps, who were sworn to clean out every room in the House at least once per year. They were led by a [[Head of Housekeeping|forceful woman]]. They had an enmity with the [[Artifector]]s, eccentric inventors who worked in [[#The Laboratory|the Laboratory]] on devices nominally intended to make the lives of the residents of the House more convenient, although they often did the opposite or else wholly failed to pan out. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 27: The Lab|The Lab]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-I: The Lab: The Alarum Goes Off|The Lab: The Alarum Goes off]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-II: The Lab: Setting The Alarum|The Lab: Setting The Alarum]]'')

Other staff included the guards keeping watch over the door to [[the Conservatory]] from [[the Guardroom]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 12: The Guardroom|The Guardroom]]'') the zookeepers patrolling [[the Zoo]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 29: The Zoo|The Zoo]]'') [[Malthus]] who watched over [[#the morgue|the morgue]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 23: The Rose Cottage|The Rose Cottage]]'') [[Montresor]] the [[Keeper of the Cellar]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 24-I: Montresor|Montresor]]'') the [[man with the crimson cloak]] who distributed invitations for [[#The Ballroom|the Ball]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 34: The Ballroom|The Ballroom]]'') the mysterious [[Sid]] who once led the [[Master of the House]] on a journey through [[the Gardens]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 35: Into the Gardens (Part 1)|Into the Gardens]]'', etc.) and [[Frank the Janitor]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 43: The Vault|The Vault]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 43-I: The Note|The Note]]'')

The Library was extremely dusty, and its floors creaked in a frightening fashion. It was connected by a portal to the Library of [[Hawk Manor]] in [[Universe B (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|one universe]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 5: The Library|The Library]]'') The Library had a bespoke bathroom, which was, surprisingly enough, completely spotless, but for the forgotten book. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 5-II: The Bathroom (of the Library)|The Bathroom (of the Library)]]'') An “[[Elshanor|elegant and studious woman]] stroll[ing] with melancholy through a tattered library” was one of the scenes from across the House glimpsed by another visitor through one of the glass panes in [[#The Conservatory|the Conservatory]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our_Strange_and_Wonderful_House_(novel)#Appendix_13-II:_View_From_a_Jungle|View From a Jungle]]'') Directly above the bathroom of the library was [[#The sideways room|the sideways room]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-III: Heebie Jeebies|Heebie Jeebies]]'')

Like many Victorian manors, the House was home to a theater room. Its players were inhuman beings wearing human faces like masks, however, and getting drawn into the performance was hazardous. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 6: The Theater Room|The Theater Room]]'')

The Observatory was located at the end of [[#Hallway - P13|Hallway - P13]], behind an “elegant door of dark wood” ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 9: Hallway - P13|Hallway - P13]]'') locked by a complex mechanism. The room itself was circular, with a dome that looked out into the night sky. Around the room were dozens of monitors built into consoles with buttons, keyboards, levers and toggles. In the middle sat a “technologically-advanced ”recliner chair with joysticks on both armrests and a helmet on the seat, from which a user could control the House's defensive lasers. According to its A.I. guardian [[Ana]], the purpose of the Observatory was principally to observe “both space ''and'' time”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 10: The Observatory|The Observatory]]'')

The Tarn was located behind the House. The backdoor of [[#The Conservatory|the Conservatory]] led out of the House and onto a path passing between [[#The Dark Wood|the Dark Wood]] and the Tarn, leading to [[#The Ruined Chapel|the Ruined Chapel]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 19: The Ruined Chapel|The Ruined Chapel]]'') The [[Wandering mendicant (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|wandering mendicant]] who spent his final years near the Chapel drew “a meager sustenance of wild root and clear water” from the tarn. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 19-I: The Right Wrong Questions|The Right Wrong Questions]]'') One legend about the origins of the House claimed that the “curse” of the Tarn originated when [[the Architect]] drowned himself in it after being spurned by [[Woman in the Painting|the woman he loved]], but serious historians of the House believed that this was nonsense and the Tarn and its curse predated the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 33: The Painting|The Painting]]'')

The Airing Cupboard was located on [[#The fourth floor|the fourth floor]] down [[#The east wing|the east wing]], and apparently held a terrible secret. It ceased to be used as an actual airing cupboard in the Victorian era, when a parlour maid “discovered its true nature”, which prompted “the [[Master of the House]] at that time” to conceal the entrance by placing a life-sized portrait of [[Master of the House's mistress|his mistress]] over it. Reportedly, his [[Master of the House's wife|wife]] was so outraged she left [[The Strange and Wonderful House|the House]] forever, moving to the continent, only to die of jealousy “a mere fortnight after”.

It contained anything from bushes to “great trees”, and somewhere within its depths was [[the Bodhi Tree]]. There was a shortcut to [[#The Warrens|the Warrens]] through the Gardens, which was often used by certain [[Hares In Charge of All Vegetation|parkour enthusiasts]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 36: Into the Gardens (Part 2)|Into the Gardens (Part 2)]]'') Generally speaking, the orchards and vegetable gardens were “nearest to the House”, but “a determined person could appear anywhere in the garden if they so desired”. Notable subdivisions of the Gardens included [[#The Topiary Veranda|the Topiary Veranda]] and [[#The hedge maze|a hedge maze]] designed by [[I. T. Haze]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 37: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 1)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 1)]]'') The Gardens also contained a location which, “depending on [one's] perspective”, also simultaneously existed in [[China]] and in [[Japan]], where thick bamboo stalks stood in pools of stagnant water. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)]]'')

=== The Perpetual Motion Machine ===

A woman with very striking blue eyes once visited [[the Rock Room]] for the second time while “[[Le Fox]]” was about to perform. She was surprised that the Room looked different from how it had the previous day, and was told about its, and the House's, mercurial nature by a long-term patron. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 41: The ‘Rock Room’|The ‘Rock Room’]]'')

While she was debating replacing a book — ''[[Les Misérables]]'' — which had been neglectfully left in the bathroom in question, she heard a creaking noise behind her, signaling the presence of someone or something else in the Library. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 5-II: The Bathroom (of the Library)|The Bathroom (of the Library)]]'') She hid out in the bathroom until she received an SOS from the [[Artifector]]s in [[the Laboratory]]. She lifted up a ceiling tile and hoisted herself up to the floor above the Library and bathroom, finding herself in [[#The sideways room|the sideways room]]. There, doing her best not to anger the [[Hares In Charge of All Vegetation]] who were having a meeting, she slid down to the plain wooden door — avoiding the rabbit hole — and ended up in the hallway, where she met the [[Housekeeping]] party who were trying to forcibly clean the Lab. She convinced them to leave the Artifectors alone for now and clean the Library instead. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-III: Heebie Jeebies|Heebie Jeebies]]'')

A resident of the House once lay ahead in bed at 3 a.m., unable to slip as thoughts swirled through his head. Getting up, he wandered the corridors until he found [[#The Zen Garden|the Zen Garden]] for the first time, and slowly began to rake. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 42: Zen Garden|Zen Garden]]'')