The Railway Children

The Railway Children

by E. Nesbit
The Railway Children

The Railway Children

by E. Nesbit

Paperback

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Overview

Three children, forced to alter their comfortable lifestyle when their father is taken away by strangers, move with their mother to a simple cottage near a railway station where their days are filled with excitement and adventure. First published in 1906, this beloved children's classic has charmed generations of readers and more recently, has delighted TV and motion picture audiences.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781537531540
Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date: 09/07/2016
Pages: 212
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.45(d)
Lexile: 840L (what's this?)
Age Range: 5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Edith Nesbit was a mischievous child who grew up into an unconventional adult. With her husband, Hubert Bland, she was one of the founder members of the socialist Fabian Society; their household became a centre of the socialist and literary circles of the times. E. Nesbit turned late to children's writing. Her first children's book, The Treasure Seekers, was published in 1899 to great acclaim. Other books featuring the Bastable children followed, and a series of magical fantasy books, including Five Children and It also became very popular. The Railway Children was first published monthly in the London Magazine in 1905, and published as a book in 1906, which has been in print ever since.

Read an Excerpt

They were not railway children to begin with. I don't suppose they had ever thought about railways except as a means of getting to Maskelyne and cook's, the Pantomime, Zoological Gardens and Madame Tussaud's. They were just ordinary suburban children, and they lived with their Father and Mother in an ordinary red-brick-fronted villa, with coloured glass in the front door, a tiled passage that was called a hall, a bathroom with hot and cold water, electric bells, French windows, and a good deal of white paint, and 'every modern convenience', as the house-agents say.There were three of them. Roberta was the eldest. Of course, Mothers never have favourites, but if their Mother had a favourite, it might have been Roberta. Next came Peter, who wished to be an Engineer when he grew up; and the youngest was Phyllis, who meant extremely well.Mother did not spend all her time in paying dull calls to dull ladies, and sitting dully at home waiting for dull ladies to pay calls to her. She was almost always there, ready to play with the children, and read to them, and help them to do their home-lessons. Besides this she used to write stories for them while they were at school, and read them aloud after tea, and she always made up funny pieces of poetry for their birthdays  and for other great occasions, such as the christening of new kittens, or the furnishing of the dolls house, or the time when they were getting over the mumps.These three lucky children always had everything they needed: pretty clothes, good fires, a lovely nursery with heaps of toys, and a Mother Goose wallpaper. They had a kind and merry nursemaid, and a dog who was called James and who was their very own. They also had a Father who was just perfect - never cross, never unjust, and always ready for a game - at least, if at any time he was not ready, he always had an excellent reason for it, and explained the reason to the children so interestingly and funnily that they felt sure he couldn't help himself.You will think that they ought to have been very happy. And so they were, but they did not know how happy till the pretty life in Edgecombe Villa was over and done with, and they had to live a very different life indeed...  

(Continues…)



Excerpted from "The Railway Children"
by .
Copyright © 2011 E. Nesbit.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

1 The Beginning of Things 1

2 Peter's Coalmine 24

3 The Old Gentleman 52

4 The Engine-Burglar 76

5 Prisoners and Captives 103

6 Saviours of the Train 122

7 For Valour 143

8 The Amateur Fireman 167

9 The Pride of Perks 188

10 The Terrible Secret 211

11 The Hound in the Red Jersey 231

12 What Bobbie Brought Home 257

13 The Hound's Grandfather 277

14 The End 300

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"They were not railway children to begin with. I don't suppose they had ever thought about railways except as a means of getting to Maskelyne and Cook's, the Pantomime, Zoological Gardens, and Madame Tussaud's. They were just ordinary suburban children, and they lived with their Father and Mother in an ordinary red-brick-fronted villa, with colored glass in the front door, a tiled passage that was called a hall, a bathroom with hot and cold water, electric bells, French windows, and a good deal of white paint, and 'every modern convenience', as the house-agents say."

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