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House of Arden #2
Harding's Luck
With the assistance of the magical Mouldiwarp, Edred and Elfrida travel back in time to earlier periods of English history, searching for clues. Harding's Luck is a sequel to The House of Arden, a great favorite of Nesbit fans; it's a story of injustice, poverty, deformity, magic, romance, suspense, sacrifice, and triumph over adversity that comes to its point with a fateful twist. . . .
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1909
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About the author
E. Nesbit
1,030 books997 followers
Edith Nesbit
(married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit.
She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party.
Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading.
At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran.
Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today).
In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party.
Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading.
At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran.
Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today).
In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 24, 2025
Young Dickie Harding, an orphaned cripple living with an abusive aunt in the New Cross area of Edwardian London, falls in with the wandering burglar Mr. Beale in this engaging time-slip adventure from the celebrated E. Nesbit. Becoming fond of this adoptive father figure, he is unprepared when he himself is pressed into service in the robbing of a great house. Eventually finding his way back to London after this incident, he is carried back in time by magic, and finds himself in the shoes of Richard Arden, a son of wealth and privilege in the days of King James I. Although thoroughly enjoying his time in the past, especially the fact that he has the full use of both legs in this period, Dickie ends up traveling back and forth between times, always returning to the present in order to help Mr. Beale start a new life. Eventually he meets up with Elfrida and Edred Arden, two other young time travelers whose adventures were told in
The House of Arden
, and discovers that he has a connection to them, in both past and present. But where and when, in the end, does Dickie himself truly belong...?
Having greatly enjoyed The House of Arden , in which Dickie figures as a secondary character, I was excited to pick up Harding's Luck, and find out more about his back story. On the whole I was not disappointed, enjoying Dickie's adventures in both present and past. I thought the whole sub-plot with Mr. Beale, although highly unlikely—would a young boy have been able to guide and reform someone so many years his elder?—was actually quite moving. Nesbit was a member of the Fabian Society, which advocated democratic socialism, and her concern for the working class and poor is very evident in this part of the book. I also enjoyed encountering more of the magic moles of the Arden family—the Mouldiwarp (first encountered in the previous book), the Mouldierwarp and the Mouldiestwarp—and I thought the magic whereby Dickie got to the past, with its use of the moon seeds, was very interesting. I derived great satisfaction from the fact that the was finally found—something that bothered me about the first book was the lack of resolution of this issue—and I was happy (although not surprised) to discover Dickie's relationship to Elfrida and Edred. All this being said, I wasn't entirely happy with the conclusion here, and felt it was something of a cop-out, so that . I also found myself wondering about the fate of the real Richard Arden on King James I's time. Would the fact that mean that his life had been entirely stolen? Where and when would he be, while ? Leaving this critique aside, I still enjoyed this one, and would recommend it to anyone who had read and enjoyed The House of Arden .
Having greatly enjoyed The House of Arden , in which Dickie figures as a secondary character, I was excited to pick up Harding's Luck, and find out more about his back story. On the whole I was not disappointed, enjoying Dickie's adventures in both present and past. I thought the whole sub-plot with Mr. Beale, although highly unlikely—would a young boy have been able to guide and reform someone so many years his elder?—was actually quite moving. Nesbit was a member of the Fabian Society, which advocated democratic socialism, and her concern for the working class and poor is very evident in this part of the book. I also enjoyed encountering more of the magic moles of the Arden family—the Mouldiwarp (first encountered in the previous book), the Mouldierwarp and the Mouldiestwarp—and I thought the magic whereby Dickie got to the past, with its use of the moon seeds, was very interesting. I derived great satisfaction from the fact that the was finally found—something that bothered me about the first book was the lack of resolution of this issue—and I was happy (although not surprised) to discover Dickie's relationship to Elfrida and Edred. All this being said, I wasn't entirely happy with the conclusion here, and felt it was something of a cop-out, so that . I also found myself wondering about the fate of the real Richard Arden on King James I's time. Would the fact that mean that his life had been entirely stolen? Where and when would he be, while ? Leaving this critique aside, I still enjoyed this one, and would recommend it to anyone who had read and enjoyed The House of Arden .
April 21, 2012
Are Edith Nesbit's novels where J. K. Rowling got the idea for her Harry Potter series in which magical witches and wizards live secretly among normal humdrum people (muggles)? It was Nesbit, who wrote 60 children's novels, that first started writing about everyday English children discovering magical people, charms, and spells in their midst. One of the founding members of the Fabian Society, Nesbit was famous in her time for her Socialist beliefs and friends. However, presently it is her children's books that are her enduring legacy.
Harding's Luck is the second of a pair of novels about Dickie Harding a young orphan in 1906 London who uses a crutch because his left leg doesn't work. When his father died he left Dickie an old toy that was to bring him luck, but as the story opens there is little luck or joy in the child's life.
Nesbit's Socialist beliefs are strongly represented in her portrayal of Dickie's poverty. She describes life for the poor of the time as follows. "...All the green trees are gone, and good work is gone, and people do bad work for just so much as will keep together their worn bodies and desolate souls. And sometimes they starve to death." She also portrays a society strictly divided by class in which Dickie is poor but has noble blood which elevates him above those around him.
The magic of the story is a spell involving the toy his father gave him that puts him in contact with a trio of magical moles called Mouldiwarps and a nursemaid witch. This group transport him back 300 years to the time of King James I where he is Richard Arden, a young boy of noble family who has two healthy legs. He travels back and forth between his London and that of James I with the help of the Mouldiwarps. In the process he saves the Arden family's fortune and has to decide between his present-day London and that of 300 years ago.
Nesbit is a wonderful storyteller and the plot is full of detail and adventure that make it a delight to read. Her use of the street language of the time makes this a difficult book for young readers of today, but adults who like children's literature will find it a delightful glimpse of English life. H. R. Millar's 16 original drawings help bring the tale to life. This Books of Wonder edition suffers from bad proofreading. I found over a dozen misspellings that should have been caught in the editing process. Although this is one of a two volume series, it can be read alone with no problem.
Harding's Luck is the second of a pair of novels about Dickie Harding a young orphan in 1906 London who uses a crutch because his left leg doesn't work. When his father died he left Dickie an old toy that was to bring him luck, but as the story opens there is little luck or joy in the child's life.
Nesbit's Socialist beliefs are strongly represented in her portrayal of Dickie's poverty. She describes life for the poor of the time as follows. "...All the green trees are gone, and good work is gone, and people do bad work for just so much as will keep together their worn bodies and desolate souls. And sometimes they starve to death." She also portrays a society strictly divided by class in which Dickie is poor but has noble blood which elevates him above those around him.
The magic of the story is a spell involving the toy his father gave him that puts him in contact with a trio of magical moles called Mouldiwarps and a nursemaid witch. This group transport him back 300 years to the time of King James I where he is Richard Arden, a young boy of noble family who has two healthy legs. He travels back and forth between his London and that of James I with the help of the Mouldiwarps. In the process he saves the Arden family's fortune and has to decide between his present-day London and that of 300 years ago.
Nesbit is a wonderful storyteller and the plot is full of detail and adventure that make it a delight to read. Her use of the street language of the time makes this a difficult book for young readers of today, but adults who like children's literature will find it a delightful glimpse of English life. H. R. Millar's 16 original drawings help bring the tale to life. This Books of Wonder edition suffers from bad proofreading. I found over a dozen misspellings that should have been caught in the editing process. Although this is one of a two volume series, it can be read alone with no problem.
July 26, 2015
Well-written but somewhat off-balance children's fantasy novel. Although it is a sequel to The House of Arden the connection isn't made explicit until over halfway through. The first half is free of magical elements and reads as a fairly realistic story of a poor London boy living first in a squalid house with his unloving aunt, and then on the road with a tramp who takes him on thinking his lameness will get them more charity.
February 24, 2016
Oh, so good to read an undiscovered Nesbit! Makes me feel seven years old again. Something about her ability to put you in places, complete with scents and cool breezes and warm sunlight through your shirt - without mentioning any of these things, is a sort of magic I will always be in awe of.
April 10, 2025
Convoluted in the extreme. I did find the initial presentation interesting - which is the dream? It was not so satisfying in how everything resolves.
Lots of dialect (poorly executed) made the LibraVox audio version unappealing. I did better with print.
Lots of dialect (poorly executed) made the LibraVox audio version unappealing. I did better with print.
May 28, 2017
The story of a courageous and noble young boy.
(The ending made me feel sad:(((
(The ending made me feel sad:(((
July 21, 2012
Read it.
December 31, 2020
Arrrgggg, I did not realize this was a sequel to another book of hers until I was halfway done. So maddening. To be honest, I didn't really need to read the first one to understand this one but still....I like things in order.
Just like all her other kids books I've read, this one was great. I love her style, her writer's voice, really everything she does. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I didn't love it quite as much as some of her other books. Dickie can be a bit too goody goody, like a Dickens character. I prefer the more naughty children in her books, like Oswald Bastable.
Now I've got to go hunt down the first book in this series. But first, a few bits I enjoyed reading:
Mr Beale was confused by the two desires which make it difficult to confess anything truthfully - the desire to tell the worst of oneself and the desire to do full justice to oneself at the same time. It is so very hard not to blacken the blackness, or whiten the whiteness, when one comes to trying to tell the truth about oneself.
Let him feel a little bit of a hero, since that was what indeed he was, even though, of course, all right-minded children are modest and humble, and fully sensible of their own intense unimportance, no matter how heroically they may happen to be behaving.
The difference between being rich and poor is as great as the difference between being warm and cold.
"We call him Rosinante because he is so fat" and he laughed, but Dickie did not understand the joke. He had not read Don Quixote as you, no doubt, have.
If you think there are not so many shades of white, try to paper a room with white paper and get it from five different shops.
I am told the correct plural is chrysalides, but life would be dull indeed if one always used the correct plural.
Just like all her other kids books I've read, this one was great. I love her style, her writer's voice, really everything she does. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I didn't love it quite as much as some of her other books. Dickie can be a bit too goody goody, like a Dickens character. I prefer the more naughty children in her books, like Oswald Bastable.
Now I've got to go hunt down the first book in this series. But first, a few bits I enjoyed reading:
Mr Beale was confused by the two desires which make it difficult to confess anything truthfully - the desire to tell the worst of oneself and the desire to do full justice to oneself at the same time. It is so very hard not to blacken the blackness, or whiten the whiteness, when one comes to trying to tell the truth about oneself.
Let him feel a little bit of a hero, since that was what indeed he was, even though, of course, all right-minded children are modest and humble, and fully sensible of their own intense unimportance, no matter how heroically they may happen to be behaving.
The difference between being rich and poor is as great as the difference between being warm and cold.
"We call him Rosinante because he is so fat" and he laughed, but Dickie did not understand the joke. He had not read Don Quixote as you, no doubt, have.
If you think there are not so many shades of white, try to paper a room with white paper and get it from five different shops.
I am told the correct plural is chrysalides, but life would be dull indeed if one always used the correct plural.
July 26, 2016
I definitely recommend reading the first book in the series before this one. It was very enjoyable, but I dropped a star because I didn't like the ending.
April 26, 2014
I really enjoyed reading E. Nesbit's House of Arden. In House of Arden, Edred and Elfrida meet a young boy, Richard Arden, on one of their trips to the past. They get along with their cousin very well. He seems to understand them and accept them. They even learn that he has "seen" the world they come from, that he knows things he couldn't possibly know unless he had also visited the future. In Harding's Luck, a companion novel, readers learn more about "Richard Arden." The story follows the adventures of Dickie Harding, a poor, "crippled", orphan boy who is unhappy living with his "aunt." He is "adopted" by a stranger, Mr. Beale. Together they tramp along in city and country alike. But Dickie isn't exactly happy with the begging life. And some of Mr. Beale's friends, well, Dickie doesn't trust them at all. He's afraid that begging will become outright burglary. But Dickie is about to discover he is no ordinary boy. He finds his own magic, perhaps. The details are a bit messy perhaps, but he discovers a way to travel back in time to the days of King James. In the past, he is Richard Arden. He has a family; he has a home; he's loved; and, he's not lame. He loves, loves, loves living in the past. But he can't help remaining loyal to his "father," Mr. Beale. If only there were a way for him to take care of Mr. Beale, to get him in a better position for living life, and to stay happily in the past too...
I absolutely loved the hero! I did. This one was very enjoyable! I would not say it is a perfect read, but, it is oh-so-good.
I absolutely loved the hero! I did. This one was very enjoyable! I would not say it is a perfect read, but, it is oh-so-good.
November 3, 2012
This was one of my favourites of E. Nesbit's books when I was a child - though I had to keep getting it out of the library because it wasn't one of the ones that gets infinitely reprinted.
Having just re-read it...yep, still a favourite.
I love how Dickie's time-travelling happens via his "moonseeds" and family talismans. I love how he loves Beale, who is almost the first person in his life to be kind to him, and how he recognises that Beale needs someone to "keep him straight", and how he takes on that task. I love how he gets together with Edred and Elfrida and offers to use his magic to finish what they were hoping to do. And I love his final decision, because it's hard, and some might say unnecessary, but it makes absolute sense and also allows everyone to have a happy ending.
Somewhere in me there is a yearning for silver sunflower seeds. This book is why.
Having just re-read it...yep, still a favourite.
I love how Dickie's time-travelling happens via his "moonseeds" and family talismans. I love how he loves Beale, who is almost the first person in his life to be kind to him, and how he recognises that Beale needs someone to "keep him straight", and how he takes on that task. I love how he gets together with Edred and Elfrida and offers to use his magic to finish what they were hoping to do. And I love his final decision, because it's hard, and some might say unnecessary, but it makes absolute sense and also allows everyone to have a happy ending.
Somewhere in me there is a yearning for silver sunflower seeds. This book is why.
October 16, 2018
3.5 stars-- I enjoyed this more than "House of Arden," but I doubt I will ever want to revisit it. Dickie was a dear, though. Not crazy about the ending, but at the same time I'm glad he got to be happy... yet I don't entirely understand what happened to the first Dickie who was there.
June 19, 2008
One of my favorite Nesbits... (sequel to The House of Arden).
April 24, 2020
Harding’s Luck is the second book in Edith Nesbit’s House of Arden series. It has been so long since I read the first book that I had forgotten most of it, but it didn’t really matter. There are a couple of characters from the first book, but Nesbit does a great job of filling in the reader on their past. Dickie Harding is being raised by his auntie (not really his aunt) and she is a cruel, hard woman who doesn’t hesitate to punish poor Dickie for the least infraction. Dickie is 5-years old, lame and living in poverty in London during the early 1900’s. Dickie ends up taking off with a tramp, time traveling back 300 years and being adopted into a wealthy family.
One of the reasons I like Edith Nesbit’s fantasies so much is that they are grounded in reality. The books usually feature children who are orphans or semi-orphans that have unlimited freedom to explore and have adventures. I always learn a little about British history from her books. I also like her little side comments to readers.
Harding’s Luck was a little slow to start and I had some trouble understanding Dickie’s London dialect. Not one of my favorite Nesbit books, but still a charming story.
One of the reasons I like Edith Nesbit’s fantasies so much is that they are grounded in reality. The books usually feature children who are orphans or semi-orphans that have unlimited freedom to explore and have adventures. I always learn a little about British history from her books. I also like her little side comments to readers.
Harding’s Luck was a little slow to start and I had some trouble understanding Dickie’s London dialect. Not one of my favorite Nesbit books, but still a charming story.
January 27, 2025
After finishing The House of Arden, I knew I had to read the sequel. You can read my review of that one here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
As much as I enjoyed the first one, I think I liked this one even more. I feel like Dickie has a lot more personality than Edred and Elfrida, and the stakes were a lot higher, which made things more interesting. Overall, it was a much more mature and emotional story, which I'm always a fan of.
I did really like the book though, and I will definitely be reading more E. Nesbit in the near future.
As much as I enjoyed the first one, I think I liked this one even more. I feel like Dickie has a lot more personality than Edred and Elfrida, and the stakes were a lot higher, which made things more interesting. Overall, it was a much more mature and emotional story, which I'm always a fan of.
I did really like the book though, and I will definitely be reading more E. Nesbit in the near future.
December 23, 2020
2.5 stars. A little confusing for younger kids because the “magic” isn’t understood to be magic by the main character until about halfway through the book. While this book eventually ties in to the first novel, it took a long time. Also, the ending wasn’t what I thought it should have been.
October 30, 2021
I was glad I had read House of Arden first. I didn't realize that this was connected to it. Nicely fit together the two of them. A lovely old-fashioned book. I enjoyed it. I will share it with my friends in the Vintage Book Circle.
January 29, 2022
A little bit of a leisurely pace, but as much strange magic as its predecessor. Dickie is an admirable character, always doing what he believes to be right even if it’s difficult. Definitely read House of Arden first!
July 25, 2022
Aussortiert
Sprachlich angenehm, trotz dem Alter.
Geschichte an manchen Stellen bedenklich als Kinderlektüre (v.a. aus heutiger Sicht), z.B. man geht nicht mit fremden mit!
Traumgeschichten scheinen nicht meine Lieblinge zu werden.
Sprachlich angenehm, trotz dem Alter.
Geschichte an manchen Stellen bedenklich als Kinderlektüre (v.a. aus heutiger Sicht), z.B. man geht nicht mit fremden mit!
Traumgeschichten scheinen nicht meine Lieblinge zu werden.
October 30, 2025
I normally love E Nesbitt and have very fond memories of being read the Psammead books as a child, but this one just didn't click for me. maybe as I'm older the cultural clashes spoiled it more, but I also didn't really love the story.
August 18, 2020
Read this on my Kindle. Delightful. E. Nesbit never disappoints.
October 11, 2022
Great book love ending love characters love new Lord Arden
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2025
I didn't realize this was a sequel! Good thing I'd read The House of Arden a few months ago...
Decent book, almost like Oliver Twist. I didn't like the ending much.
Decent book, almost like Oliver Twist. I didn't like the ending much.
May 24, 2013
Picture yourself a resident of the 1908 "Downton Abbey" world, and receiving this volume as a birthday gift. You would first become acquainted with an "Oliver Twist"-like character, Dickie, an orphan who has never known a mother and whose father left him only a plaything as a legacy with the parting words, "Keep this, it will bring you luck."
Nesbit weaves a tale that is part Dickens, part Burnett (as in Little Lord Fauntleroy), and part Ruskin (as in "magical"). The magical turn comes as a completely unexpected jolt a third of the way into the story. As a reader I was, "okay, I'll go along with this, as it's where the author is taking the story". As luck would have it, I had previously read aloud to my children the companion volume "The House of Arden" which is referenced repeatedly about 2/3rd's of the way through the tale and which combines characters and elements from both tales and neatly weaves them together to a somewhat satisfying conclusion.
I have heard it said that the first part of our learning must be composed of what Oliver DeMille in his "Thomas Jefferson Education" calls the "core phase" or learning right from wrong, etc. This little volume does a nice job of it without being heavy hitting. Bear in mind that there was a prejudice at the time this book was written that blue blood was best and that it would out. Another thing I couldn't help considering as the book concluded was that the author couldn't have known that WWI was just around the corner and whatever bucolic world she placed her little ten year old hero in was soon to be gone forever, and just in time for him to come of age and perhaps perish as a result.
Nesbit weaves a tale that is part Dickens, part Burnett (as in Little Lord Fauntleroy), and part Ruskin (as in "magical"). The magical turn comes as a completely unexpected jolt a third of the way into the story. As a reader I was, "okay, I'll go along with this, as it's where the author is taking the story". As luck would have it, I had previously read aloud to my children the companion volume "The House of Arden" which is referenced repeatedly about 2/3rd's of the way through the tale and which combines characters and elements from both tales and neatly weaves them together to a somewhat satisfying conclusion.
I have heard it said that the first part of our learning must be composed of what Oliver DeMille in his "Thomas Jefferson Education" calls the "core phase" or learning right from wrong, etc. This little volume does a nice job of it without being heavy hitting. Bear in mind that there was a prejudice at the time this book was written that blue blood was best and that it would out. Another thing I couldn't help considering as the book concluded was that the author couldn't have known that WWI was just around the corner and whatever bucolic world she placed her little ten year old hero in was soon to be gone forever, and just in time for him to come of age and perhaps perish as a result.
November 24, 2012
This book, a sequel to "The House of Arden", tells of Dickie, a little boy who leaves his harsh caretaker only to take up with a traveling beggar. Somehow, the boy manages to travel back in time and meet up with the Arden family. Nesbit does a lovely job of connecting the children from the first book (Edred and Elfrida) and their adventures with the Dickie's adventures. Together, the children manage to find the Arden's lost treasure, enabling them to do good to the family estate and the country people living around it.
Dickie later tries to talk of his time-traveling adventures with his old nurse, but when he mentions his dreams, she cuts him off. "Forget them," she says; "dreams go to the making of all proper men. But now thou art a man; forget the dreams of thy childhood, and play the man to the glory of God and of the house of Arden. And let thy dreams be of the life to come, compared to which all lives on earth are only dreams. And in that life all those who have loved shall met and be together forevermore, in that life when all the dear and noble dreams of the earthly life shall at last and forever be something more than dreams." (Isn't that lovely?!!? Doesn't it remind you of Narnia?!!!)
Dickie later tries to talk of his time-traveling adventures with his old nurse, but when he mentions his dreams, she cuts him off. "Forget them," she says; "dreams go to the making of all proper men. But now thou art a man; forget the dreams of thy childhood, and play the man to the glory of God and of the house of Arden. And let thy dreams be of the life to come, compared to which all lives on earth are only dreams. And in that life all those who have loved shall met and be together forevermore, in that life when all the dear and noble dreams of the earthly life shall at last and forever be something more than dreams." (Isn't that lovely?!!? Doesn't it remind you of Narnia?!!!)
October 31, 2012
It's thought-provoking to read and, in some cases, re-read E. Nesbit's stories, seeing all the aspects of them that might well have directly inspired later, more widely known series, like the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. Adventures in other worlds. Fairy-tales twining with real life. Talking animals and children taking charge and getting things done while the adults muddle about in the middle-distance.
Harding's Luck is definitely not the smoothest of E. Nesbit's stories. The section that refers to adventures detailed in the first book "The House of Arden" is jarring if you have not read that already. Dickie, after his initial fling as a ne'er-do-well, is too much sweetness-and-light for my tastes.
As usual E.Nesbit is progressive for her time, with some of her ideas about gender roles coming through clearly. Elfrida is braver than her brother! Go, Elfrida! None of this stuff about only boys having interesting adventures, and girls staying behind because it's too dangerous.
Harding's Luck is definitely not the smoothest of E. Nesbit's stories. The section that refers to adventures detailed in the first book "The House of Arden" is jarring if you have not read that already. Dickie, after his initial fling as a ne'er-do-well, is too much sweetness-and-light for my tastes.
As usual E.Nesbit is progressive for her time, with some of her ideas about gender roles coming through clearly. Elfrida is braver than her brother! Go, Elfrida! None of this stuff about only boys having interesting adventures, and girls staying behind because it's too dangerous.
June 8, 2016
Sweet book, probably my favorite of E. Nesbit's that I've read. Very clear descriptions and great characters.
There is a bit in the middle that's a bit lacking. This book is a "sequel" to another book, The House of Arden, which I have not read, and for a bit the events of the two books overlap, and this book goes into a brief summary of the events of the other book for the duration. I found this a little confusing, but ultimately it seems like this part isn't important to this story and I don't seem to have lost anything.
There is a bit in the middle that's a bit lacking. This book is a "sequel" to another book, The House of Arden, which I have not read, and for a bit the events of the two books overlap, and this book goes into a brief summary of the events of the other book for the duration. I found this a little confusing, but ultimately it seems like this part isn't important to this story and I don't seem to have lost anything.
November 12, 2014
Before there was JK Rowling, there was E. Nesbit, who turned out a remarkable number of good books involving children and magic.
I enjoyed this, but only realized a third of the way through that it's the second in a trilogy. Back to square one.
I enjoyed this, but only realized a third of the way through that it's the second in a trilogy. Back to square one.
July 20, 2016
Another great Nesbit, sequel to House of Arden. The tone occasionally gets too earnest for me (Dickie's goodness is slightly over the top) but still a wonderful story.
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