The Magic City (1910) is a children’s fantasy novel by English writer Edith Nesbit. Using elements of magic and mystery familiar to readers of her beloved Bastable and Psammead Trilogies, Nesbit crafts a tale of wonder and adventure for children and adults alike.
Orphaned as a boy, Philip is cared for by his older sister Helen. When she marries and leaves for her honeymoon, Philip is sent to live at a country house known as the Grange with Lucy, his young stepsister. Sullen and out of place, Philip turns to his imagination for comfort, excitement, and adventure. Using whatever he can get his hands on―toys, books, kitchenware―Philip builds a city and invents for himself a fictional world he calls Polistarchia, which contains the city of Polistopolis, the Land of the Dwellers by the Sea, the Island, and the northern kingdom of Somnolentia. As he adds more and more to his city and the surrounding landscape, Philip is magically transported into the world of his creation. Discovered by soldiers, he learns of the fated arrival of two figures―the Deliverer and the Destroyer―and is told that by proving himself through a series of tasks, he will be named Deliverer of the realm. When Lucy arrives, however, he is forced to learn that sharing, though difficult, proves rewarding in the end. The Magic City is a timeless masterpiece of children’s fiction with a powerful message on grief, loneliness, and friendship.
This edition of Edith Nesbit’s The Magic City is a classic of English children’s literature reimagined for modern readers.
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Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) was an English writer of children’s literature. Born in Kennington, Nesbit was raised by her mother following the death of her father―a prominent chemist―when she was only four years old. Due to her sister Mary’s struggle with tuberculosis, the family travelled throughout England, France, Spain, and Germany for years. After Mary passed, Edith and her mother returned to England for good, eventually settling in London where, at eighteen, Edith met her future husband, a bank clerk named Hubert Bland. The two―who became prominent socialists and were founding members of the Fabian Society―had a famously difficult marriage, and both had numerous affairs. Nesbit began her career as a poet, eventually turning to children’s literature and publishing around forty novels, story collections, and picture books. A contemporary of such figures of Lewis Carroll and Kenneth Grahame, Nesbit was notable as a writer who pioneered the children’s adventure story in fiction. Among her most popular works are The Railway Children (1906) and The Story of the Amulet (1906), the former of which was adapted into a 1970 film, and the latter of which served as a profound influence on C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series. A friend and mentor to George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells, Nesbit’s work has inspired and entertained generations of children and adults, including such authors as J.K. Rowling, Noël Coward, and P.L. Travers.
