Discover a new way to read classics with Quick Read. This Quick Read edition includes both the full text and a summary for each chapter. - Reading time of the complete text: about 6 hours - Reading time of the summarized text: 15 minutes "The Enchanted Castle" is a children's fantasy novel by Edith Nesbit, first published in 1907. The story follows three children, Jerry, Jimmy, and Kathy, as they stumble upon a magical country estate during their school holidays. They encounter a "princess" who claims the castle is full of magic, but is later revealed to be the housekeeper's niece. The children discover a magic ring that grants wishes, leading to unexpected and sometimes chaotic results due to imprecise wishes. The novel blends children's imaginative play with a more subdued form of magic compared to Nesbit's other works. In 1979, the BBC adapted "The Enchanted Castle" into a TV miniseries, and it has since been released on DVD in Australia. The book is available in the public domain through various platforms, including Standard Ebooks, Project Gutenberg, and as a LibriVox audiobook.

Discover a new way to read classics with Quick Read. This Quick Read edition includes both the full text and a summary for each chapter. - Reading time of the complete text: about 6 hours - Reading time of the summarized text: 14 minutes "The Phoenix and the Carpet" is a fantasy novel for children, written by E. Nesbit and published in 1904. It follows the adventures of five children who discover a magic carpet that grants them three wishes a day and hatches a talking Phoenix. The story is set in London and features the children's exotic adventures with the Phoenix. The novel explores themes of fire, family, and magic. The characters include Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and the Lamb, along with magical creatures like the Phoenix and the Psammead. The plot involves various adventures, including encounters with burglars, a Christmas pantomime, and a tropical island. The novel also touches on gender roles, social class, and racial issues. The story is known for its realistic portrayal of children and has been adapted into several film and television versions. Overall, "The Phoenix and the Carpet" is a captivating tale of magic, adventure, and the bonds of family.

Discover a new way to read classics with Quick Read. This Quick Read edition includes both the full text and a summary for each chapter. - Reading time of the complete text: about 5 hours - Reading time of the summarized text: 9 minutes "The Railway Children" is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, first published in 1906. The story follows a family who moves from London to a house near a railway after the father is falsely accused of spying and imprisoned. The children befriend an old gentleman who helps prove their father's innocence and reunites the family. The book has been adapted for the screen several times, including a 1970 film version. The story has also been adapted for radio and stage productions. The setting is thought to be inspired by Edith Nesbit's walks to Grove Park nature reserve. The book refers to the Russo-Japanese War and to attitudes taken by British people to the war, dating the setting to the spring, summer, and early autumn of 1905. The story has been accused of plagiarism from "The House by the Railway" by Ada J. Graves. A footpath in Grove Park, Greater London, is named Railway Children Walk to commemorate Nesbit's novel.

This novel describes how Edred and Elfrida Arden and their Aunt Edith embark on a treasure hunt through time - for the famous Arden family treasure. With help from the magical creature Mouldiwarp, they find a whole lot of excitement and adventure. They need to discover the missing fortune before Edred's tenth birthday - or it will never be theirs.

Listen to the book that inspired the upcoming film 'The Railway Children Return' starring Jenny Agutter, John Bradley, Tom Courtenay and BAFTA-winning actress Sheridan Smith. When Roberta, Phyllis and Peter's father is accused of being a spy and sent to prison, the children and their mother are forced to leave their comfortable city life for the countryside. They move into a small cottage called "Three Chimneys" close to a railway station. As the children settle into their new home, the railway soon becomes the centre of their lives: promising new friends, plenty of adventures, and perhaps even the key to bringing their father home... "The Railway Children" is a heart-warming, timeless classic of friendship, family and bravery.

Do you believe in magic? Caroline, Charles and Charlotte do, and nothing that happens during their summer holiday at their great uncle's house does anything to diminish that belief. There the Three C.'s find a wonderful garden and some very old books, resulting in escapades which do not necessarily please the grown-ups.E. Nesbit, as usual, transports us back to the hazy summer days of a well-to-do Edwardian childhood, liberally spiced with magic, humour and lessons learned.Published exactly 100 years ago, this is one of her least-known children's books, out of print for many years, and with no text available online at the time of recording. Yes, it's dated. Yes, it's politically incorrect. But it is delightful nonetheless. As Gore Vidal once wrote: "...though a reading of E. Nesbit is hardly going to change the pattern of a nation, there is some evidence that the child who reads her will never be quite the same again, and that is probably a good thing." No online text is currently available. The reader read from her own copy of the 1911 1st edition.

When their father mysteriously goes away, three children and their story-writing mother leave their comfortable life in London and move to a little house, Three Chimneys, in the country. Free to roam the countryside, Peter, Bobbie, and Phil make friends and enjoy adventures in and around the nearby railway station, and wave to the passing train each day, asking it to send their love to Father. There are no magical adventures in this Nesbit story, but as usual her child characters are so realistic that you feel they are your friends!

The Story of the Amulet is a novel for children, written in 1906 by E. Nesbit. It is the final part of a trilogy of novels that also includes Five Children and It and The Phoenix and the Carpet . In it the children re-encounter the Psammead-the "it" in Five Children and It. As it no longer grants wishes to the children, however, its capacity is mainly advisory in relation to the children's other discovery, the Amulet, thus following a formula successfully established in The Phoenix and the Carpet.

Talking cats, birds, fish and bells, wicked fairies, uglified princesses - adventure, magic, and more magic. A delightful collection of stories for children of all ages. The Magic World is an influential collection of twelve short stories by E. Nesbit. It was first published in book form in 1912 by Macmillan and Co. Ltd., with illustrations by H. R. Millar and Gerald Spencer Pryse. The stories, previously printed in magazines , are typical of Nesbit's arch, ironic, clever fantasies for children.

Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice. Like other E. Nesbit stories, The Phoenix and the Carpet was initially published in The Strand Magazine. While The Railway Children or Five Children and It proved more popular, Phoenix has still been adapted into three BBC TV series and a film. The story picks up some time after the events of Five Children and It. The children are back in London and encounter another ancient, magical creature: this time a noble, beautiful, arrogant, and vain Phoenix. He comes with a magic carpet which the gang uses to go on adventures around the world. Some things don't go as planned, but there are still opportunities to make others happy. As a female British author of children stories, E. Nesbit was not a typical early 20th century woman. Described as tomboy during her childhood, she grew up a staunch supporter of democratic socialism in a time when many were crushed under poverty. She was a founding member of the Fabian Society, and dedicated herself to charity work, so much so that she almost ended up in poverty. Nesbit's stories continue to fascinate readers. Her dry wit and respect with which she engages children ensures that adults can also enjoy her tales. Her depiction of magic-how it follows rules which must be taught or learned, and the painful consequences when they are forgotten-has influenced the works of other writers such as P. L. Travers, C. S. Lewis, and J. K. Rowling.

Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice. In this conclusion to the Psammead Trilogy, Cyril, Anthea, Robert, and Jane are reunited with the cantankerous Sandfairy. While the old creature can't grant them wishes anymore, it points them towards an old Egyptian amulet that can grant their hearts' desire-in this case the return of their parents and baby brother. While their amulet is only half of a whole, it still acts as a time portal which they use to visit locales like Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Atlantis, and even a utopian future in search of the missing other half. Perhaps one of E. Nesbit's most personal works, The Story of the Amulet benefited from her interest in the ancient world, particularly Egypt. With the help of A. E. Wallis Budge, to whom the book is dedicated-then Head of the Assyrian Departments of the British Museum and translator of the Egyptian Book of the Dead-she conducted extensive research on the topic and is thus able to bring an exquisite attention to detail. For example, the titular amulet is shaped after the tyet, an Egyptian symbol also known as the "knot of Isis." Likewise, the inscription at the back of the amulet is written in authentic Egyptian hieroglyphs. A staunch supporter of democratic socialism and a founding member of the Fabian Society, E. Nesbit cultivated friendships with other likeminded writers, such as George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells, whose influence on this book is easy to notice. She practiced what she preached, so much so that despite her literary successes, her acts of charity brought her close to bankruptcy. These political beliefs are prominently displayed in the book. The children encounter memorable characters during their adventures, chief among them the Queen of Babylon, who causes quite a stir when she later pays them a call in their contemporary London. When the visiting Queen witnesses the squalid living conditions of the London working class, she's amazed at how poorly they're treated compared to the slaves of her own Babylon. Likewise, the utopian future-which features a wink to her friend H. G. Wells, the "great reformer"-is a striking contrast in terms of the happiness, care, and education of the general populace. The book's legacy can be found in the works of other writers. Most notably, C. S. Lewis incorporated several elements in his Chronicles of Narnia: the Calormene civilization of The Horse and His Boy draws heavily from The Amulet's Babylon, and the episode in The Magician's Nephew where Jadis, the White Witch, causes chaos during her short stay in London is also a direct homage to the aforementioned visit from the Queen. The format of these stories, where a group of people take their audience on adventures through time and space to learn about distant cultures, is an uncanny precursor to the popular British TV series Doctor Who.

Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice. Wet Magic was the last novel for children published by E. Nesbit. It was originally serialized in The Strand Magazine in 1912, with a book version published in 1913. In the book, four brothers and sisters are on their way to a holiday at the beach. While traveling on a train, they're excited to read about the purported sighting of a mermaid near the coastal town where they'll be staying, and agree among themselves to join the hunt for this mythical creature. But when they arrive, they discover that the mermaid has been captured and put on show at a circus at the local fairground. After the older children encounter another mermaid in the sea, who implores them to help, they agree they must do what they can to free the captured one. This leads them on to strange adventures. While Wet Magic has much of Nesbit's characteristic charm and humor, it doesn't appear to have been received as well as her other books, nor has it been as frequently reprinted.

Although Edith Nesbit is best known for her innovative children's books and classic ghost stories, she was at heart a poet. She began writing poetry at the age of 14 and published over 20 volumes of poetry during her lifetime. Her poetry was praised by authors and poets such as Algernon Swinburne, Oscar Wilde, and literary critic, Andrew Lang. Although her timeless poetry is little read today, she still ranks at 323 of the top 500 poets. - Summary by AnnaLisa

A collection of gentle stories that draw us into that hidden world where fear is just around the next corner, and where loving hands can touch across the boundaries of death. (Summary by Peter Yearsley)

Nine original and, yes, unlikely fairy-tales, which include stories of the arithmetic fairy, the king who became a charming villa-residence and the dreadful automatic nagging machine.All are classic-Nesbit: charming, novel and not afraid to squeeze in a moral or two -- told with proper fairy-tale style.Summary by Cori

Three children, forced to remain at school during the holidays, go in search of adventure. What they find is a magic castle straight out of a fairy tale, complete with an enchanted princess at the center of a maze. Or is it? The castle turns out to be just a country estate, and the princess is only the housekeeper's niece, playing at dressing up. But the magic ring she shows them proves -- to her surprise and horror -- to really be magic. Soon they are caught in an adventure where statues come alive, lost lovers are reunited, and wishes can be granted -- but always for a price. (Summary by Peter Eastman)

This is the story of the Bastable children and their attempts to help the family finances by searching for treasure. (Summary by Karen Savage)

When their father mysteriously goes away, three children and their story-writing mother leave their comfortable life in London and move to a little house, Three Chimneys, in the country. Free to roam the countryside, Peter, Bobbie, and Phil make friends and enjoy adventures in and around the nearby railway station, and wave to the passing train each day, asking it to send their love to Father. There are no magical adventures in this Nesbit story, but as usual her child characters are so realistic that you feel they are your friends!