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House of Arden #1
The House of Arden
The famous Arden family treasure has been missing for generations, and the last members of the Arden line, Edred, Elfrida, and their Aunt Edith, have nothing to their names but the crumbling castle they live in. Just before his tenth birthday, Edred inherits the title of Lord Arden; he also learns that the missing fortune will be his if—and only if—he can find it before he turns ten. With no time to lose, Edred and Elfrida secure the help of a magical talking creature, the temperamental Mouldiwarp, who leads them on a treasure hunt through the ages. Together, brother and sister visit some of the most thrilling periods of history and test their wits against real witches, highwaymen, and renegades. They find plenty of adventure, but will they find the treasure before Edred’s birthday?
242 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1908
34 people are currently reading
1352 people want to read
About the author
E. Nesbit
1,031 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 102 reviews
July 4, 2023
Much overlooked E. Nesbit series. This is followed by Harding’s Luck. One of my favorites.
February 25, 2019
This story started so well we regretted not reading this sooner. Edred and Elfrida are orphans and visit their ancestral castle only to learn of a rhyme that if said before your 8th birthday can reveal the missing treasure. Being poor orphans they decide to find the treasure and restore the Arden house to it's former glory.
This book starts really well, we love the brother/sister relationship and the way the challenge of being nice to each other for a whole day was unachievable. There was a lovely humour and fast pace to the story. But then the story begins to be exactly like The Time Garden by Edward Eager, even the fact that there was a carpet of thyme and the time travel, obviously The House of Arden came first.After that we began to lose interest and the rest of the book was a 3 star or less for us.
This book starts really well, we love the brother/sister relationship and the way the challenge of being nice to each other for a whole day was unachievable. There was a lovely humour and fast pace to the story. But then the story begins to be exactly like The Time Garden by Edward Eager, even the fact that there was a carpet of thyme and the time travel, obviously The House of Arden came first.After that we began to lose interest and the rest of the book was a 3 star or less for us.
October 16, 2012
American mid-twentieth-century author Edward Eager was so smitten by Edwardian British author E. Nesbit that, in middle of his classic magical adventures, he would stop the action and encourage his young readers to investigate her books. It was from Nesbit's interlocking tales of time-travel, The House of Arden and Harding's Luck, that he paid homage to Nesbit by playing around with the central premise of the two works, when the adventures of one of his sets of protagonists dovetail with the adventures of children who would become the focus of later, as yet unwritten novels.
It was The House of Arden that had inspired this timey-wimey twist that wouldn't have been inappropriate in a Doctor Who serial. Edred and Elfrida's adventures into their household's past brush up against the adventures of 'Cousin Dick,' another time traveler like themselves, whose tale and whose contrasting perspectives on some of the same events were told in the later-published Harding's Luck.
It's something of a shame that The House of Arden is much the lesser of the novels. It's difficult not to contrast the two. Edred and Elfrida come from decidedly posher circumstances, while Dick is a vagrant. Dick has control of his magic, in his story; Edred and Elfrida are reduced to composing effete stanzas of verse and hoping their magic warden, the Mouldiwarp, is in a mood to transport them into the past or back to the future. Dick's search for a place to call home is touching and noble; it makes Edred and Elfrida's grubbing about the past for a cash gain look self-serving and greedy.
Most annoyingly, while Cousin Dick is adventurous and resourceful, Edred and Elfrida are simps in comparison, and too much of The House of Arden and its magic depends on them minding their manners and resolving not to quarrel—reducing the Mouldiwarp to a tetchy nanny not half as engaging as as any that P. L. Travers penned.
It's still a good romp, though, especially when taken as the lead-in to a much-superior sequel from which it can't fully be separated.
It was The House of Arden that had inspired this timey-wimey twist that wouldn't have been inappropriate in a Doctor Who serial. Edred and Elfrida's adventures into their household's past brush up against the adventures of 'Cousin Dick,' another time traveler like themselves, whose tale and whose contrasting perspectives on some of the same events were told in the later-published Harding's Luck.
It's something of a shame that The House of Arden is much the lesser of the novels. It's difficult not to contrast the two. Edred and Elfrida come from decidedly posher circumstances, while Dick is a vagrant. Dick has control of his magic, in his story; Edred and Elfrida are reduced to composing effete stanzas of verse and hoping their magic warden, the Mouldiwarp, is in a mood to transport them into the past or back to the future. Dick's search for a place to call home is touching and noble; it makes Edred and Elfrida's grubbing about the past for a cash gain look self-serving and greedy.
Most annoyingly, while Cousin Dick is adventurous and resourceful, Edred and Elfrida are simps in comparison, and too much of The House of Arden and its magic depends on them minding their manners and resolving not to quarrel—reducing the Mouldiwarp to a tetchy nanny not half as engaging as as any that P. L. Travers penned.
It's still a good romp, though, especially when taken as the lead-in to a much-superior sequel from which it can't fully be separated.
November 3, 2012
This is one of E. Nesbit's less well-known books, though I must say I prefer it to, say, "The Treasure-Seekers'.
Edred and Elfrida Arden, aged 10 and 12 respectively, find themselves the last heirs of the noble house of Arden, which is a step up from being the children of a seaside lodging house, but not as much of a step up as it might be, given all the Arden lands have long since been sold, and basically what they (or rather Edred) have inherited is a ruined castle and a couple of fields.
But there is magic, which can come to the rescue! If Edred and Elfrida can work things just right, they can find the lost treasure of their family and restore it and its holdings to their ancient glory. Which is a good excuse to take them gallivanting about through time, and there are various slight but pleasing vignettes in times past (which to the modern reader are as interesting for the early-20th-century-view of as for themselves).
One of the things I love about E. Nesbit is her ability to portray children, and sibling relationships, believably. Edred and Elfrida bicker and squabble much as I remember doing with my brother. And when the magic won't work until they've been three days without quarrelling...
And in the end, Edred and Elfrida have to make a choice, which an observant reader, or a reader familiar with late-Victorian tropes, probably saw coming several miles off, but it's no less difficult or frightening for that.
I do think this book and its sequel should be better-known.
Edred and Elfrida Arden, aged 10 and 12 respectively, find themselves the last heirs of the noble house of Arden, which is a step up from being the children of a seaside lodging house, but not as much of a step up as it might be, given all the Arden lands have long since been sold, and basically what they (or rather Edred) have inherited is a ruined castle and a couple of fields.
But there is magic, which can come to the rescue! If Edred and Elfrida can work things just right, they can find the lost treasure of their family and restore it and its holdings to their ancient glory. Which is a good excuse to take them gallivanting about through time, and there are various slight but pleasing vignettes in times past (which to the modern reader are as interesting for the early-20th-century-view of as for themselves).
One of the things I love about E. Nesbit is her ability to portray children, and sibling relationships, believably. Edred and Elfrida bicker and squabble much as I remember doing with my brother. And when the magic won't work until they've been three days without quarrelling...
And in the end, Edred and Elfrida have to make a choice, which an observant reader, or a reader familiar with late-Victorian tropes, probably saw coming several miles off, but it's no less difficult or frightening for that.
I do think this book and its sequel should be better-known.
May 1, 2021
There's something intriguing about reading a book that is over 100 years old, and about two children who go back in time, first 100 years from their point in time, then even further back. They see the past in comparison to their 'modern' perspective, whereas from our perspective their present is now 100 years in the past ...
She writes that it is hard for us to understand the fear that those who lived in the time of the Napoleonic Wars did - that they could be invaded any day. Our perspective knows that sadly a few decades after when it was written English children would sadly be able to understand the feel of fear of invaders and war.
With this strangeness of their 'modern' perspective now being as far back as the times they first travelled back to, I also find it interesting how the front cover of my edition (published in the late 40s) has tried to modernise the children to that time's 'present'. One of the original illustrations has been recreated on the front cover to show children in what was the current fashion then ... which of course has now become dated ...
As usual for Nesbit this is gentle, magical read, which has acquired a little extra magic as the reader now has to time travel back into the past to when the book was written too!
She writes that it is hard for us to understand the fear that those who lived in the time of the Napoleonic Wars did - that they could be invaded any day. Our perspective knows that sadly a few decades after when it was written English children would sadly be able to understand the feel of fear of invaders and war.
With this strangeness of their 'modern' perspective now being as far back as the times they first travelled back to, I also find it interesting how the front cover of my edition (published in the late 40s) has tried to modernise the children to that time's 'present'. One of the original illustrations has been recreated on the front cover to show children in what was the current fashion then ... which of course has now become dated ...
As usual for Nesbit this is gentle, magical read, which has acquired a little extra magic as the reader now has to time travel back into the past to when the book was written too!
November 12, 2009
Edred and Elfrida are the last of their line, the proud House of Arden, and are too young to have previously understood the family has fallen on hard times financially. Once they realize it is up to them to find the legendary treasure that will restore the family fortunes, they embark on a series of magical adventures with the help of the dour Mouldiwarp. Along with Harding's Luck, a related novel, these are my favorite Nesbits.
February 16, 2012
A kid's book from the turn of the last century. Nesbit deserves a wider audience a hundred years on, and hopefully this edition from the New York Review of Books will help. Nesbit's slightly ornate style, uncramped by the strictures of Strunk and White, flows beautifully. For best results, read out loud.
March 1, 2025
A bit convoluted. I am glad to have read this (finally) as it enhances appreciation of the Edward Eager series.
Nesbit seems to flit from here to there and all over and would probably be improved with a better over-arching plot. She has her underlying setup of seeking lost treasure and eventually the mechanisms to do time travel, but she could have made better use of characters such as Richard and Betty Lovell, who appear a couple of times, but not consistently. A villain might help to create some urgency - either just in the world of 1908 or perhaps chasing them through time. As it is, they just sort of randomly travel at their leisure without much intention.
I also felt that technology could have been handled better - it was nice to have the Kodak Brownie (I hadn't realized it was introduced in 1900) and be able to bring back photos to develop, but I think there is more that could be done in this realm.
Anyway - I like Nesbit's general writing style, though I am a bit shocked that she reused the dramatic ending quote from The Railway Children to conclude this book (just two years later). Was she trying to popularize a catchphrase or was she just lazy or what?
Nesbit seems to flit from here to there and all over and would probably be improved with a better over-arching plot. She has her underlying setup of seeking lost treasure and eventually the mechanisms to do time travel, but she could have made better use of characters such as Richard and Betty Lovell, who appear a couple of times, but not consistently. A villain might help to create some urgency - either just in the world of 1908 or perhaps chasing them through time. As it is, they just sort of randomly travel at their leisure without much intention.
I also felt that technology could have been handled better - it was nice to have the Kodak Brownie (I hadn't realized it was introduced in 1900) and be able to bring back photos to develop, but I think there is more that could be done in this realm.
Anyway - I like Nesbit's general writing style, though I am a bit shocked that she reused the dramatic ending quote from The Railway Children to conclude this book (just two years later). Was she trying to popularize a catchphrase or was she just lazy or what?
February 20, 2009
If I had to list my favorite books as a child, or even my favorite Childrens Books today, this novel wouldn't make the cut. That said, of all the books I read as a child, this one most influenced my literary preferences. It was the first time travel story I ever read. I was completely fascinated by the Guy Fawkes rhyme being important political intelligence.
Ever after I have been, and will always be, a fan of the genre.
Ever after I have been, and will always be, a fan of the genre.
April 4, 2024
Not as compelling or well-developed as the Psammead books, but not bad, either. I doubt many kids today would have the patience to get through this; it's been on my bookcase since I was a kid, and now I'm finally getting around to reading it at 33. It's one of the key weaknesses of stories where people go back in time: if the book is around long enough, the "present" of the story seems like an awfully big leap into the past already, and when they go back in time from there it loses a lot of its wonder.
April 12, 2014
The House of Arden is a delightful fantasy novel. The big surprise for Nesbit fans may be that it stars just two siblings: Edred and Elfrida.
Nesbit provides readers with some family background, introduces the siblings and their aunt guardian, and then the magic begins. Edred has just learned that he is Lord Arden, he's inherited the run-down estate with crumbling-castle. (He's also recently learned that his father has died.) The good news? There are stories, legends, about the place, about treasure. The children are determined to explore the place thoroughly, learn what they can, and find that treasure! It seems providential.
Edred and Elfrida discover they are not alone. There is a magical mole (Mouldiwarp). He can be summoned several ways, but, most commonly by poetry--original poetry. He will help the two children, but, he has his conditions. The magical adventures, in a way, depend on them not arguing with one another. The magical adventures start in an attic that they can only find when they haven't quarreled recently. The attic is full in trunks, they open one trunk at a time, for the most part. What they find are a lot of clothes, clothes that seem very very strange to these contemporary characters. When they put on these clothes from the past, they discover the time-traveling aspect of the magic. Traveling to the past may give them all they need to know to find the treasure in the present day.
I liked the time traveling. I did. I liked the time periods explored. I liked the characterization. I liked meeting various people in the past. I liked how this fantasy all fit together. Most of all, I enjoyed the writing!
Some of my favorite bits:
"Edred and Elfrida went to school every day and learned reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, history, spelling, and useful knowledge, all of which they hated quite impartially, which means they hated the whole lot–one thing as much as another... The only part of lessons they liked was the home-work, when, if Aunt Edith had time to help them, geography became like adventures, history like story-books, and even arithmetic suddenly seemed to mean something."
"“Spelling next,” said Aunt Edith. “How do you spell ‘disagreeable’?” “Which of us?” asked Edred acutely. “Both,” said Aunt Edith, trying to look very severe."
"But it is much more difficult than you would think to be really nice to your brother or sister for a whole day. Three days passed before the two Ardens could succeed in this seemingly so simple thing. The days were not dull ones at all. There were beautiful things in them that I wish I had time to tell you about–such as climbings and discoveries and books with pictures, and a bureau with a secret drawer. It had nothing in it but a farthing and a bit of red tape–secret drawers never have–but it was a very nice secret drawer for all that... It is wonderful how much more polite you can be to outsiders than you can to your relations, who are, when all’s said and done, the people you really love... After tea they decided to read, so as to lessen the chances of failure. They both wanted the same book–”Treasure Island” it was–and for a moment the niceness of both hung in the balance. Then, with one accord, each said, “No–you have it!” and the matter ended in each taking a quite different book that it didn’t particularly want to read."
"It is always difficult to remember exactly where one is when one happens to get into a century that is not one’s own."
"THEY both meant what they said. And yet, of course, it is nonsense to promise that you will never do anything again, because, of course, you must do something, if it’s only simple subtraction or eating poached eggs and sausages. You will, of course, understand that what they meant was that they would never again do anything to cause Mrs. Honeysett a moment’s uneasiness, and in order to make this possible the first thing to do was, of course, to find out how to set the clock back."
"What do you usually do when you are shut up in a secret room, with no chance of getting out for hours? As for me, I always say poetry to myself. It is one of the uses of poetry–one says it to oneself in distressing circumstances of that kind, or when one has to wait at railway stations, or when one cannot get to sleep at night. You will find poetry most useful for this purpose. So learn plenty of it, and be sure it is the best kind, because this is most useful as well as most agreeable."
Nesbit provides readers with some family background, introduces the siblings and their aunt guardian, and then the magic begins. Edred has just learned that he is Lord Arden, he's inherited the run-down estate with crumbling-castle. (He's also recently learned that his father has died.) The good news? There are stories, legends, about the place, about treasure. The children are determined to explore the place thoroughly, learn what they can, and find that treasure! It seems providential.
Edred and Elfrida discover they are not alone. There is a magical mole (Mouldiwarp). He can be summoned several ways, but, most commonly by poetry--original poetry. He will help the two children, but, he has his conditions. The magical adventures, in a way, depend on them not arguing with one another. The magical adventures start in an attic that they can only find when they haven't quarreled recently. The attic is full in trunks, they open one trunk at a time, for the most part. What they find are a lot of clothes, clothes that seem very very strange to these contemporary characters. When they put on these clothes from the past, they discover the time-traveling aspect of the magic. Traveling to the past may give them all they need to know to find the treasure in the present day.
I liked the time traveling. I did. I liked the time periods explored. I liked the characterization. I liked meeting various people in the past. I liked how this fantasy all fit together. Most of all, I enjoyed the writing!
Some of my favorite bits:
"Edred and Elfrida went to school every day and learned reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, history, spelling, and useful knowledge, all of which they hated quite impartially, which means they hated the whole lot–one thing as much as another... The only part of lessons they liked was the home-work, when, if Aunt Edith had time to help them, geography became like adventures, history like story-books, and even arithmetic suddenly seemed to mean something."
"“Spelling next,” said Aunt Edith. “How do you spell ‘disagreeable’?” “Which of us?” asked Edred acutely. “Both,” said Aunt Edith, trying to look very severe."
"But it is much more difficult than you would think to be really nice to your brother or sister for a whole day. Three days passed before the two Ardens could succeed in this seemingly so simple thing. The days were not dull ones at all. There were beautiful things in them that I wish I had time to tell you about–such as climbings and discoveries and books with pictures, and a bureau with a secret drawer. It had nothing in it but a farthing and a bit of red tape–secret drawers never have–but it was a very nice secret drawer for all that... It is wonderful how much more polite you can be to outsiders than you can to your relations, who are, when all’s said and done, the people you really love... After tea they decided to read, so as to lessen the chances of failure. They both wanted the same book–”Treasure Island” it was–and for a moment the niceness of both hung in the balance. Then, with one accord, each said, “No–you have it!” and the matter ended in each taking a quite different book that it didn’t particularly want to read."
"It is always difficult to remember exactly where one is when one happens to get into a century that is not one’s own."
"THEY both meant what they said. And yet, of course, it is nonsense to promise that you will never do anything again, because, of course, you must do something, if it’s only simple subtraction or eating poached eggs and sausages. You will, of course, understand that what they meant was that they would never again do anything to cause Mrs. Honeysett a moment’s uneasiness, and in order to make this possible the first thing to do was, of course, to find out how to set the clock back."
"What do you usually do when you are shut up in a secret room, with no chance of getting out for hours? As for me, I always say poetry to myself. It is one of the uses of poetry–one says it to oneself in distressing circumstances of that kind, or when one has to wait at railway stations, or when one cannot get to sleep at night. You will find poetry most useful for this purpose. So learn plenty of it, and be sure it is the best kind, because this is most useful as well as most agreeable."
May 27, 2017
This is the fourth time I have read this book about two children time-traveling to different historic periods, by means of magic, to find a lost treasure.
As always, I found the last two chapters un-readable. I also don't like that the children are always meeting other people (a witch and a cousin) who are time-traveling on their own. Furthermore the cousin is a Fabian who takes the advantage to preach the socialist gospel to the children.
The best part -for me- was the second time-travel, where the girl ends up in Queen Anne's reign, in the time of the Old Pretender (a.k.a. James III), perhaps because this part has less historical elements than any other.
As always, I found the last two chapters un-readable. I also don't like that the children are always meeting other people (a witch and a cousin) who are time-traveling on their own. Furthermore the cousin is a Fabian who takes the advantage to preach the socialist gospel to the children.
The best part -for me- was the second time-travel, where the girl ends up in Queen Anne's reign, in the time of the Old Pretender (a.k.a. James III), perhaps because this part has less historical elements than any other.
August 13, 2017
There's nothing quite like an E. Nesbit novel. This one features an impoverished brother and sister who inherit a dilapidated castle and must endeavor to find a hidden treasure via time-travel magic that only works when they can remain civil to one another for an entire day. It's funny and charming and full of the perilous hijinks you would expect from a children's book, and the writing just sings. I can't overemphasize what a joy it is to read well-written dialogue in a children's book, and for the children to have real personalities.
July 2, 2024
what a delightful tale. the word “mouldiwarpiness” is a new favorite, the theme of poetry/the author’s voice throughout is wonderful (“What do you usually do when you are shut up in a secret room, with no chance of getting out for hours? As for me, I always say poetry to myself. It is one of the uses of poetry - one says it to oneself in distressing circumstances of that kind, or when one has to wait at railway stations, or when one cannot get to sleep at night. You will find poetry most useful for this purpose. So learn plenty of it, and be sure it is the best kind, because this is most useful as well as most agreeable.”) and I can’t wait to read it aloud to my kids who I imagine will love the magical elements and debate about the ethical implications of time travel.
December 10, 2025
Charming story of the adventures of 12-year-old Elfrida and her 10-year old brother, traveling through time (from their starting point in 1908) with the help of a magic creature and a witch. It's a wonderful book, grabbed me from the start and I couldn't stop until I finished.
First published in 1908, this book has 156 editions, so I chose the hardcover NYRB edition because it showed up first, and I wasn't willing to hunt until I found the paperback NYRB edition I actually read.
First published in 1908, this book has 156 editions, so I chose the hardcover NYRB edition because it showed up first, and I wasn't willing to hunt until I found the paperback NYRB edition I actually read.
January 7, 2024
Fun fantasy read with time travel by Edith Nesbit. I only recently heard of this book and enjoyed the read. Evidently there is a follow up book, which I hope to track down. But the book does end in a completed way, so this book stands alone.
November 8, 2023
Delightful
August 3, 2025
I really like E Nesbit's books, but this was probably my favorite of those I've read.
October 5, 2018
A bit slow to start, but became more interesting as it went along. Not Nesbit's strongest work, but had some charming moments and was a good beginning to my autumn tour of her major series. :)
May 31, 2020
Not her best work, but still a good Nesbit.
September 26, 2024
This was my favorite book by Nesbit after the Railway Children.
I enjoyed the snippets of history of England, the exploring of the old castle, and above all the finding of the treasure.
I enjoyed the snippets of history of England, the exploring of the old castle, and above all the finding of the treasure.
September 2, 2024
Hard to beat Nesbit!
AO Y8 Free Read ✔️
AO Y8 Free Read ✔️
June 3, 2015
While not quite as well constructed as her other books, I did enjoy this story from E. Nesbit. My favourite part remains the voice of the author that offers us such important reminders throughout our journey with her. Here are some quotes that I really appreciated:
"The rooms that the lodgers had were furnished with a new sort of furniture that had no stories belonging to it such as belonged to the old polished oak tables and bureaux that were in the basement parlour."
"'What is the letter about, Auntie?" Elfrida asked anxiously; "is it the taxes?" It had been the taxes once, and Elfrida had never forgotten. (If you don't understand what this means, ask your poorest relations, who are also likely to be your nicest, and if they don't know, ask the washerwoman.)"
"Well, then," said the old man. "you see the Ardens was always great gentry. I've heard say there's always been Ardens here since before William the Conker, whoever he was."
"It's almost impossible for even the most grown up and clever of us to know how women used to be treated - and not so very long ago either - if they were once suspected of being witches. It generally began by the old woman's being cleverer than her neighbours, having more wit to find out what was the matter with sick people, and most still to cure them. Then her extra cleverness would help her to foretell storms and gales and frosts, and to find water by the divining rod - a very mysterious business. And when once you can find out where water is by just carrying a forked hazel twig between your hands and walking across a meadow, you can most likely find out a good many things that your stupid neighbours would never dream of. And in those long ago days - which really aren't so very long ago - your being so much cleverer that your neighbours would be quite enough. You would soon be known as the 'wise woman' - and from 'wise woman' to witch was a very short step indeed."
"We live so safely now; we have nothing to be afraid of. When we have wars they are not in our won country. The police look after burglars, and even thunder is attended to by lightning rods. It is not easy for us to understand the frantic terror of those times, when, from day to day, every man, woman, and child trembled in its shoes for fear lest 'the French should come' - the French, led by Boney. Boney, to us, is Napoleon Buonaparte, a little person in a cocked hat out of the history books. To those who lived in England when he was a man alive, he was ' the Terror that walked by night,' making children afraid to go to bed, and causing strong men to sleep in their boots, with sword and pistol by the bedhead, within easy reach of a newly wakened hand." (Interesting to note that this book was written in 1907….)
"What do you usually do when you are shut up in a secret room, with no chance of getting out for hours? As for me, I always say poetry to myself. It is one of the uses of poetry - one says it to oneself in distressing circumstances of that kind or when one has to wait at railway stations, or when one cannot get to sleep at night. You will find poetry most useful for this purpose. So learn plenty of it, and be sure it is the best kind, because this is most useful as well as agreeable."
"When you say a lady is a 'true daughter of Eve' you mean that she is inquisitive."
"Now if you sit perfectly silent for a long time and look at the sea, or the running water or a river, something happens to you - a sort of magic. Not the violent magic that makes the kind of adventure that I have been telling you about, but a kind of gentle but very strong inside magic, that makes things clear, and shows you what things are important, and what are not. You try it next time you are in a very bad temper, or when you think someone has been very unjust to you, or when you are very disappointed and hurt about anything."
"That's right," said the magic mole. "You shouldn't change your wishes; but there's no rule against enlarging them!"
"It is all very wonderful and mysterious, as all life is apt to be if you go a little below the crust, and are not content just to read newspapers and go by the Tube Railway, and buy all your clothes ready-made, and think nothing can be true unless it is uninteresting."
"The rooms that the lodgers had were furnished with a new sort of furniture that had no stories belonging to it such as belonged to the old polished oak tables and bureaux that were in the basement parlour."
"'What is the letter about, Auntie?" Elfrida asked anxiously; "is it the taxes?" It had been the taxes once, and Elfrida had never forgotten. (If you don't understand what this means, ask your poorest relations, who are also likely to be your nicest, and if they don't know, ask the washerwoman.)"
"Well, then," said the old man. "you see the Ardens was always great gentry. I've heard say there's always been Ardens here since before William the Conker, whoever he was."
"It's almost impossible for even the most grown up and clever of us to know how women used to be treated - and not so very long ago either - if they were once suspected of being witches. It generally began by the old woman's being cleverer than her neighbours, having more wit to find out what was the matter with sick people, and most still to cure them. Then her extra cleverness would help her to foretell storms and gales and frosts, and to find water by the divining rod - a very mysterious business. And when once you can find out where water is by just carrying a forked hazel twig between your hands and walking across a meadow, you can most likely find out a good many things that your stupid neighbours would never dream of. And in those long ago days - which really aren't so very long ago - your being so much cleverer that your neighbours would be quite enough. You would soon be known as the 'wise woman' - and from 'wise woman' to witch was a very short step indeed."
"We live so safely now; we have nothing to be afraid of. When we have wars they are not in our won country. The police look after burglars, and even thunder is attended to by lightning rods. It is not easy for us to understand the frantic terror of those times, when, from day to day, every man, woman, and child trembled in its shoes for fear lest 'the French should come' - the French, led by Boney. Boney, to us, is Napoleon Buonaparte, a little person in a cocked hat out of the history books. To those who lived in England when he was a man alive, he was ' the Terror that walked by night,' making children afraid to go to bed, and causing strong men to sleep in their boots, with sword and pistol by the bedhead, within easy reach of a newly wakened hand." (Interesting to note that this book was written in 1907….)
"What do you usually do when you are shut up in a secret room, with no chance of getting out for hours? As for me, I always say poetry to myself. It is one of the uses of poetry - one says it to oneself in distressing circumstances of that kind or when one has to wait at railway stations, or when one cannot get to sleep at night. You will find poetry most useful for this purpose. So learn plenty of it, and be sure it is the best kind, because this is most useful as well as agreeable."
"When you say a lady is a 'true daughter of Eve' you mean that she is inquisitive."
"Now if you sit perfectly silent for a long time and look at the sea, or the running water or a river, something happens to you - a sort of magic. Not the violent magic that makes the kind of adventure that I have been telling you about, but a kind of gentle but very strong inside magic, that makes things clear, and shows you what things are important, and what are not. You try it next time you are in a very bad temper, or when you think someone has been very unjust to you, or when you are very disappointed and hurt about anything."
"That's right," said the magic mole. "You shouldn't change your wishes; but there's no rule against enlarging them!"
"It is all very wonderful and mysterious, as all life is apt to be if you go a little below the crust, and are not content just to read newspapers and go by the Tube Railway, and buy all your clothes ready-made, and think nothing can be true unless it is uninteresting."
August 2, 2010
This book was great. It was pretty funny, playful and adventurous, with some morals thrown in (e.g. about quarreling and such). I liked the Mouldiwarp, although, somehow I think if they made this into a movie, they would ruin that character by making him all computerized and giving him a voice that few would take seriously. I thought the narrators in the audiobook did him justice, though (as well as the other characters).
Yes, this is a time-travel story, but don't let that deter you if you don't like such. The focus isn't really on the time-travel, even though it happens a lot (and it is children's fantasy—not adult sci-fi).
Anyway, the story focuses on two children who find a magical white mole (if you read the story, you may agree that this is where all these newfangled polar bears in fantasy have their roots, although I think they should have remained white moles, personally—there's just something hilarious and cool about magical white moles). The mole is supposed to help the brother become brave, wise, etc.—and to recover the family treasure. It would spoil things to say much more.
E. Nesbit involves poetry in the magic in this one, much as she does in Wet Magic (although there's not as much foreshadowing and an impending sense of magic in this one, although there is more humor, and probably more actual magic, unless you count the stuff that happens after they go under the sea in Wet Magic).
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Harding's Luck (I've heard good things about that one).
Yes, this is a time-travel story, but don't let that deter you if you don't like such. The focus isn't really on the time-travel, even though it happens a lot (and it is children's fantasy—not adult sci-fi).
Anyway, the story focuses on two children who find a magical white mole (if you read the story, you may agree that this is where all these newfangled polar bears in fantasy have their roots, although I think they should have remained white moles, personally—there's just something hilarious and cool about magical white moles). The mole is supposed to help the brother become brave, wise, etc.—and to recover the family treasure. It would spoil things to say much more.
E. Nesbit involves poetry in the magic in this one, much as she does in Wet Magic (although there's not as much foreshadowing and an impending sense of magic in this one, although there is more humor, and probably more actual magic, unless you count the stuff that happens after they go under the sea in Wet Magic).
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Harding's Luck (I've heard good things about that one).
May 11, 2010
This is an old 'children's' book, published in 1908 and republished in 1986 with the tag line "this exciting story will be enjoyed as much today as when it was first published..." I have to disagree, unless it wasn't very well liked in 1908
The story ideas are interesting. There is time travel, which is handled well. But when authors try to explain, or explore, the issue of whether or not the time travelers can or do change history, it bogs the story down, interrupts the story, muddles things, and I wish they wouldn't do that.
My problems here: the language was odd. Yes, I realize I am dealing with something written a long time ago, but I don't think that was the problem. When you read Dickens and Austen and all those others, you can get into the flow of the language. This book has sentences that just basically put the brakes on the flow of the text with awkward word order. I found it odd.
I also wouldn't recommend it to preteens because of the archaic attitudes toward women/girls. While Nesbit shows that women/girls are just as smart and capable as men through the actions of the women/girls in the story, she repeatedly voices the belief that women are second class citizens and lesser beings than men. Maybe this was the thinking of that time. It would take a savvy and insightful preteen to see and understand the juxtaposition of the words and the actions. The overall book wasn't worth the risk of the possible negative message.
I found myself wondering why I wasn't getting through the story faster - not a good sign.
The story ideas are interesting. There is time travel, which is handled well. But when authors try to explain, or explore, the issue of whether or not the time travelers can or do change history, it bogs the story down, interrupts the story, muddles things, and I wish they wouldn't do that.
My problems here: the language was odd. Yes, I realize I am dealing with something written a long time ago, but I don't think that was the problem. When you read Dickens and Austen and all those others, you can get into the flow of the language. This book has sentences that just basically put the brakes on the flow of the text with awkward word order. I found it odd.
I also wouldn't recommend it to preteens because of the archaic attitudes toward women/girls. While Nesbit shows that women/girls are just as smart and capable as men through the actions of the women/girls in the story, she repeatedly voices the belief that women are second class citizens and lesser beings than men. Maybe this was the thinking of that time. It would take a savvy and insightful preteen to see and understand the juxtaposition of the words and the actions. The overall book wasn't worth the risk of the possible negative message.
I found myself wondering why I wasn't getting through the story faster - not a good sign.
January 3, 2015
This was only okay, not very fast-moving although it did have its moments. I probably only finished it because I was on vacation and didn't have any other books on hand.
BUT I do want to point out something that really stood out to me. So, the book was first published in 1908-- so while reading this story about time traveling it's actually kind of weird because you are sort of time traveling just reading it, it being written for kids more than a hundred years ago. But that's not the part that stuck out. The part that stuck out was when the girl goes back in time to a time (forgot when exactly) when the people were really worried about being attacked by pirates or vikings or whoever it was they were afraid of (forgot who exactly) and the author really makes a point of saying how very very afraid these people were and how it's almost unimaginable for us -the readers, as well as the girl who had time traveled there- to understand just how huge their fear was, because people in our day and age never have to worry about fighting. Sure there are wars, but they're always fought in some far-away place, never in your own home-country or home town, so that you'd have to be afraid while you're in your own bed. But of course think of all the little kids in Great Britain during WWII that had bombs going off above their heads!!! And they had to run to bomb shelters or get carted off to the country. Trippy.
BUT I do want to point out something that really stood out to me. So, the book was first published in 1908-- so while reading this story about time traveling it's actually kind of weird because you are sort of time traveling just reading it, it being written for kids more than a hundred years ago. But that's not the part that stuck out. The part that stuck out was when the girl goes back in time to a time (forgot when exactly) when the people were really worried about being attacked by pirates or vikings or whoever it was they were afraid of (forgot who exactly) and the author really makes a point of saying how very very afraid these people were and how it's almost unimaginable for us -the readers, as well as the girl who had time traveled there- to understand just how huge their fear was, because people in our day and age never have to worry about fighting. Sure there are wars, but they're always fought in some far-away place, never in your own home-country or home town, so that you'd have to be afraid while you're in your own bed. But of course think of all the little kids in Great Britain during WWII that had bombs going off above their heads!!! And they had to run to bomb shelters or get carted off to the country. Trippy.
January 13, 2019
It's always fascinating to me how some books manage to transcend time. E. Nesbit's books do perhaps move a bit slower than today's titles, but not remarkably so. Her tone reminds me--surprisingly--of Lemony Snicket. The humor, although not quite so pointed, is much the same style (although the book ends on a more cheerful note!). Although certainly not the first time-travel novel, this story is one of the earliest time-travel novels written for children, and I was surprised to find that Nesbit did more than simply pop her main characters in and out of historical settings. She actually dealt with some of the scientific/ethical consequences of time-travel, such as whether it is too risky to attempt to change things that happen in the past, even if it means saving a life. Quite impressed!
November 13, 2012
I bought this book at a library sale, and it has been around here for a few years. The title put me off; it sounded like a dreary Gothic tale of a dynasty's downfall, a version of the Fall of the House of Usher! But Dempsey just read it recently, and seeing as how it went well with our history studies, I decided to read it myself. The plot centers on two young children from the Arden line who live with their aunt in the ruined family estate. Their father is missing, and their only hope to improve their lot is to locate the missing family treasure. They are able to travel back to the past with the help of the Mouldiwarp, a white mole. Hoping to find the location of the treasure, they meet up with Sir Walter Raleigh and Henry VIII and other characters from England's history. This was a sweet story about True Treasure and hope and courage!
June 29, 2018
Quirky, fun, and so very magical. I loved the Mouldiwarp and the time travel most of all. I mean, how could I not love a sassy, magical mole that can time travel and whom you summon with poetry? And I do seem to have a thing for children's books with time travel. Although several comments are made over the course of the story that date it quite a bit, in this case I do think actions speak louder than words. Although Elfrida is repeatedly told she's "only a girl" or "just a girl," she's portrayed to be just as clever, bold, and resourceful as her brother Edred. I thought she should have been the main character myself. But you know. This was so close to being a 5 star read for me. So close, y'all. If only the ending hadn't felt a bit preachy.
Want to read
May 9, 2015WHY: I and Logan have loved the E. Nesbit books, but this title, reissued by the New York Review, is unfamiliar to me. The famous Arden family treasure has been missing for generations, and the last members of the Arden line, Edred, Elfrida, and their Aunt Edith, have nothing to their names but the crumbling castle they live in. With time travel, the help of a magical talking creature (the temperamental Mouldiwarp), and adventures involving witches, highwaymen, and renegades, they attempt to save their family home. Sounds fun.
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