Two impoverished children, Edred and Elfrida Arden, inherit the decrepit Arden Castle and search for the lost family fortune that will allow them to rebuild it. With the assistance of the magical Mouldiwarp (mole), they travel back in time to earlier periods of English history, searching for clues. During their journeys into the past, the children encounter several historical events: 1807: Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom, the British military response, and the smuggling around Dymchurch Bay (called "Lymchurch" in the story) ca. 1705: a visit from the "Chevalier St. George" (the Old Pretender) during the reign of Queen Anne 1605: the Gunpowder Plot and a meeting with Sir Walter Raleigh in the Tower of London, from which the children escape using the same stratagem Lady Nithsdale would use in 1717 ca. 1535: a May Day celebration with Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, with premonitions of Anne's execution. The final episode, in which the children rescue their father from a lost civilization in South America, is reminiscent of the legends of El Dorado and other Cities of Gold. 10% of all profits will be donated to charities. ================ KEYWORDS/TAGS: House of Arden, edith Nesbit, childrens fantasy, children’s story, tales, fables, children’s book, Edred, Elfrida, arden’s lord, mouldiwarp, mole, boney’s times, Bonaparte, landing of the French, highwayman, secret panel, key, parlour, guy fawkes, prisoners in the tower, tower of London, white wings, brownie, developments, films, clouds, may-blossom, pearls, find, treasure, Hat, bow, flourish, walk Slowly, Red-Brick, Sidewalk, pavement, Aye, Turning Pages, Quick, Anxious, Carrier’s Cart, Hoity-Toity, Old Lady, witch, gnarled, wizened, Severe; Manners, gift, Tea And Sugar, Mouldiwarp, mole, magic, Little Run, Jump, Catch, invasion, Landing, Fleet, Lymchurch Bay, white clock, Sit Down, Line Of Daisies, New Scarf, Modish, modern, mod, Shoot, Betty, Candle, Voices, Truth, Little Miss, Shake, Big Chair, Fall, E. Talbot, Circling Wings, Lady In Crimson, Ermine, Gold Crown, Tremble And Shake, Crooked, Train, Parrot-Nose, Occupy, Armed Guard, Coach, Nurse, Stream, Low Arch, Stone, Soldiers, Mrs Honeysett, Back Door, Plucking, White Chicken, Old Neale, Admire Busting, Book-Larnin, Book Learning, Twenty One, Richer, Minute Hand, Houses, Great Blocks,

Edith Nesbit (1858 – 1924) was an English poet and author. She is perhaps best remembered for her children's literature, publishing more than 60 such books under the name E. Nesbit. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, which had a significant influence on the Labour Party and British politics in general. “Harding's Luck” is the 1909 sequel to Nesbit's 1908 novel “The House of Arden”. It tells the story of Dickie Harding, an orphan who must use a crutch due to an injured leg. Despite his father having given him an old toy as a good luck charm, Dickie appears to be very much lacking in the good luck department. However, the discovery of a moon-flower which contains magical seeds throws him into a world of magic, romance, suspense, sacrifice, and triumph over adversity. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

The House of Arden A Story For Children: Large print by E. Nesbit "Very well, I shan't go on," said Elfrida. "You got out of bed the wrong side this morning. I've tried to soft-answer you as hard as ever I could all the morning, and I'm not going to try any more, so there." We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

With wit and wonder, #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion in an amazing new trilogy about the use of magic in the Wild West.

Chosen and introduced by Neil Gaiman, this thoroughly beguiling collection of short stories is inhabited by an amazing menagerie of creatures from myth, legend and dark imagination The griffin, the sunbird, manticores, unicorns – all manner of glorious creatures never captured in zoos, museums or photographs are packed vividly into this collection of stories. Neil Gaiman has included some of his own childhood favourites alongside stories classic and modern to spark the imagination of readers young and old. All contributors have given their work free to benefit Dave Eggers' literacy charity, 826DC. Includes stories by: Peter S. Beagle, Anthony Boucher, Avram Davidson, Samuel R. Delany, Neil Gaiman, Maria Dahvana Headley, Nalo Hopkinson, Diana Wynne Jones, Megan Kurashige, E. Nesbit, Larry Niven, Nnedi Okorafor, Saki, Frank R. Stockton, Gahan Wilson, E. Lily Yu.

A Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner “Dazzling.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Charlotte and Emily Brontë enter a fantasy world that they invented in order to rescue their siblings in this “lovely, fanciful” (Booklist, starred review) novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Inside a small Yorkshire parsonage, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne Brontë have invented a game called Glass Town, where their toy soldiers fight Napoleon and no one dies. This make-believe land helps the four escape from a harsh reality: Charlotte and Emily are being sent away to a dangerous boarding school. But then something incredible happens: a train whisks them all away to a real Glass Town, and the children trade the moors for a wonderland all their own. This is their Glass Town…almost. Their Napoleon never rode into battle on a fire-breathing porcelain rooster. And the soldiers can die; wars are fought over a potion that raises the dead, a potion Anne would very much like to bring back to England. But returning is out of the question—Charlotte will never go back to that horrible school. Together the Brontë siblings must battle their own imaginations in this magical celebration of authorship, creativity, and classic literature from award-winning author Catherynne M. Valente.

ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WRITERS TO HAVE EVER LIVED 'Endlessly surprising and inventive' FRANK COTTRELL-BOYCE 'My all-time favourite classic children's author' JACQUELINE WILSON 'She speaks to the reader, and it's almost as though you can hear her voice' QUENTIN BLAKE No matter how hard the Bastable children try to be good, they almost always fail spectacularly. Whether making a disastrous Christmas pudding for charity, spending a dark night in an empty windmill or fortune-telling at a fete, the Bastable children cannot help getting into all sorts of mischief. A collection that will be coveted by children and adults alike, this list is the best in children's literature, curated by Virago. These are timeless tales with beautiful covers, that will be treasured and shared across the generations. Some titles you will already know; some will be new to you, but there are stories for everyone to love, whatever your age. Our list includes Nina Bawden (Carrie's War, The Peppermint Pig), Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse, An Episode of Sparrows), Joan Aiken (The Serial Garden, The Gift Giving), E. Nesbit (The Psammead Trilogy, The Bastable Trilogy, The Railway Children), L. M. Montgomery (The Anne of Green Gables series) and Susan Coolidge (The What Katy Did Trilogy). Discover Virago Children's Classics.

Five Children and IT is a children’s book, no. 1 of The Psammead cycle, written by Edit Nesbit and published in 1902. It has never been out of print since. The story begins when a group of children move from London to the countryside of Kent. The five children are Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother, known as the Lamb. One day they are playing in a gravel pit when they uncover a rather grumpy, ugly, and occasionally malevolent Psammead – an ancient sand-fairy with ability to grant wishes. The Psammead persuades the children to take one wish each day to be shared among them, with the caveat that the wishes will turn to stone at sunset. This, apparently, used to be the rule in the Stone Age, when all that children wished for was food, the bones of which then became fossils. The children's first wish is to be "as beautiful as the day". The wish ends at sunset and its effects simply vanish, leading the Psammead to observe that some wishes are too fanciful to be changed to stone. As expected, all the wishes go comically wrong. The children wish to be beautiful, but the servants do not recognise them and shut them out of the house. They wish to be rich, then find themselves with a gravel-pit full of gold spade guineas that no shop will accept as they were removed from circulation in 1816, so they can't buy anything. A wish for wings seems to be going well, but at sunset the children find themselves stuck on top of a church bell tower with no way down, getting them into trouble with the gamekeeper who must take them home - and so the wishing and the ensuing adventures continue. The book was made into a film in 2004 featuring Freddie Highmore, Jonathan Bailey. Jessica Claridge, Poppy Rogers and Alec Muggleton, with Kenneth Branagh as Uncle Albert and Tara Fitzgerald as the mother. It has won a number of awards and been nominated for a Bafta. 10% of the profit from the sale of this book is donated to charities. ================= KEYWORDS/TAGS: Five children and It, 5, action, adventure, Beautiful, Golden Guineas, Wanted, Wings, Castle, No Dinner, Siege, Bed, Bigger, Baker's Boy, Grown Up, Scalps, Last Wish, Psammead cycle, Glorious Rush, Round the Garden, Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, little lamb, Door, Hutch, Scream, Baby, acknowledgement, Martha, Empty, Toilet-jug, pour Cold Water, falling Rain, Slow Drops, Anthea's Face. Stagger, Mr. Beale, Snatch, Coin, Pocket, Martha, Policeman, Mr Peasemarsh, Lucky Children, Gravel Pit, Poof, Grab, Double-quick Time, Twinkling Legs, Two Gypsy Women, Sand-fairy, Blow, fly over, Rochester, Farmer, Pockets, Fast Asleep, The Keeper, Deep-Chested, Keyhole, Castle, Black, Stately, Drag, Reluctant, Tear, Splash, Moat-water, Leadhole, Sammyadd, Haystack, Strange Sensation, Pony-carriage, Giant, Pale and Trembling, Time's Up, Case, Garden Spade, Tickling His Nose, Twig, Honeysuckle, Bicycle, Punctured State, Evidence, Struggle, Missionary Box, Poker, Pow-wow, Bright Knives, Brandished, Clasp, Loving Arms, Obedient, Burrow, Disappear, Scratching,

Suitable for younger learners Word count 9,295