The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit, Fiction, Fantasy & Magic - Softcover

Nesbit, Edith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1598188313 ISBN 13: 9781598188318

Publisher: Aegypan, 2006

Synopsis

The three kids had to spend their summer vacation at a private school in the country -- but they didn't have to like it. They managed to sneak out onto the grounds, where they found a secret castle set in hidden parkland from a fairy tale. And the park is a maze with an enchantedly sleeping princess. . . .The lake, groves and marble statues, with white towers and turrets in the distance, make a fairy-tale setting, and then in the middle of the maze in the rose garden they find the sleeping fairy-tale princess.

About this title

Review

A plot summary makes this story sound ordinary by children's literature standards: the summer adventures of four children who discover an enchanted castle and a magic ring. But Edith Nesbit's adored classic (written in 1907) is so much more than the description suggests. Right from the start, the author plays with the idea of magic, teasing us with a sleeping princess who turns out to be a fake. Elsewhere, the magic is "real" as can be--in fact, though written nearly 100 years ago, The Enchanted Castle prefigures the magical realism of modern novels in the matter-of-fact way it weaves the uncanny into the children's everyday life. And, while few authors are confident enough to parody bad writing, Nesbit does it hilariously (and ever so gently) through one character's tendency to "talk like a book": "'To brush his hair and his clothes... was to our hero but the work of a moment,' said Gerald." Things turn scary when the Ugly Wuglies, fake people made from painted cardboard masks, old clothes, and broomsticks, come to life. But on the whole this book about enchantment--much praised by such luminaries as H.G. Wells and Noel Coward--is, simply, enchanting. (Ages 6 and older) --Richard Farr

About the Author

Edith Nesbit (1858 - 1924) was an English author and poet. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 books of fiction for children. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organization later affiliated with the Labour Party. Nesbit published approximately 40 books for children, including novels, collections of stories and picture books. Collaborating with others, she published almost as many more.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aegypan
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1598188313
• ISBN 13: 9781598188318
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 168