{"product_id":"the-very-fine-clock-9798893380262","title":"The Very Fine Clock","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTwo stars team up--Muriel Spark and Edward Gorey--to bring the charming tale of Ticky the clock to life in this children's classic.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce there was a very fine clock named Ticky, who lived with Professor Horace John Morris and kept perfect time. Each night, at fourteen minutes past ten, his time was used to set the rest of the clocks in the house. When the professor's friends suggest that Ticky be made a professor, too, he explains what really happens during the quiet hours of the day when the professor is out, when all the rooms have been cleaned and dusted, and the clocks talk to one another and tell the stories of their lives. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo artist is better suited to capture Ticky's quiet stateliness and grace than Edward Gorey, who brings this tale masterfully to life through his characteristic pen and ink drawings. Full of wit, wisdom, and affairs of the heart, \u003ci\u003eThe Very Fine Clock\u003c\/i\u003e is a very fine picture book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMuriel Spark\u003c\/b\u003e (1918-2006) was the author of dozens of novels, including \u003ci\u003eThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMemento Mori\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Far Cry from Kensington\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Girls of Slender Means\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Ballad of Peckham Rye\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Driver's Seat\u003c\/i\u003e, and many more. She became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdward Gorey\u003c\/b\u003e (1925-2000) was born in Chicago. In 1953 Gorey published \u003ci\u003eThe Unstrung Harp\u003c\/i\u003e, the first of his more than one hundred books. In addition to illustrating his own stories, Gorey provided drawings for many books for both children and adults. Of these, New York Review Books has published \u003ci\u003eThe Haunted Looking Glass\u003c\/i\u003e, a collection of Gorey's favorite ghost stories; \u003ci\u003eThe War of the Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e by H. G. Wells; \u003ci\u003eMen and Gods\u003c\/i\u003e by Rex Warner; \u003ci\u003eThe Unrest-Cure and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e by Saki; and \u003ci\u003eThree Ladies Beside the Sea\u003c\/i\u003e by Rhoda Levine. He cowrote the NYRB Kids book \u003ci\u003eFletcher and Zenobia\u003c\/i\u003e with Victoria Chess.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Transit Children's Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51690812408082,"sku":"9798893380262","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a0cfba48-7acb-440d-96bb-a73e1433d693.jpg?v=1761748543","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-very-fine-clock-9798893380262","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}