The author of the Caldecott Award-winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret returns to tell the tale of the Marvels, a theatrical family with a complex history dating back to the 1700s. This inventive book consists of two stand-alone stories. The first story, told through pictures, chronicles the Marvels' rise to fame and eventual fall. The second, told through prose, follows a 13-year-old boarding school runaway named Joseph as he searches for clues to the family’s mysterious past in his uncle Albert’s spooky Victorian house. Brilliantly written and gorgeously illustrated, this book is indeed a marvel. Lexile = 770