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The Railway Children (1906)

by E. Nesbit

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
5,837761,704 (3.87)2 / 198
When their father is sent away to prison, three London children move to the country where they keep busy preventing accidents on the nearby railway, making many new friends, and generally learning a good deal about themselves.
  1. 50
    Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (jpers36)
  2. 20
    Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang by Ian Fleming (Inky_Fingers)
    Inky_Fingers: Both about families on a great adventure, though Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has a little more fantasy in it than The Railway Children.
  3. 10
    The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit (Inky_Fingers)
    Inky_Fingers: Both are by E. Nesbit, and both non-fantasy works.
  4. 10
    No Boats on Bannermere by Geoffrey Trease (themulhern)
    themulhern: A family leaves the city and moves to the country and make their way there, overcoming difficulties.
  5. 00
    A Different Kind of Courage by Ellen Howard (bookel)
  6. 00
    Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (bookworm12)
  7. 01
    A Ride with Huey the Engineer by Jesse Stuart (infiniteletters)
  8. 01
    The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis (themulhern)
    themulhern: C. S. Lewis asserted that Nesbit was one of his influences for the Narnia books. In this book, the predicament is a very ill mother, rather than an incarcerated father.
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» See also 198 mentions

English (75)  Dutch (1)  All languages (76)
Showing 1-5 of 75 (next | show all)
When Father is taken away unexpectedly, Roberta, Peter, Phyllis and their mother have to leave their comfortable life in London to go and live in a small cottage in the country. The children seek solace in the nearby railway station, and make friends with Perks the Porter and the Station Master himself. Each day, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis run down the field to the railway track and wave at the passing London train, sending their love to Father. Little do they know that the kindly old gentleman passenger who waves back holds the key to their father's disappearance.
  PlumfieldCH | Dec 28, 2023 |
When Father is taken away unexpectedly, Roberta, Peter, Phyllis and their mother have to leave their comfortable life in London to go and live in a small cottage in the country. The children seek solace in the nearby railway station, and make friends with Perks the Porter and the Station Master himself. Each day, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis run down the field to the railway track and wave at the passing London train, sending their love to Father. Little do they know that the kindly old gentleman passenger who waves back holds the key to their father's disappearance.
  PlumfieldCH | Dec 11, 2023 |
Charming in its way, though more than a little preachy and optimistically naive. Puts me in mind of Keats's opinion that "We hate poetry that has a palpable design upon us." Could have been subtitled "People Will Help You if You're Wealthy and Then Get in Trouble." ( )
  judeprufrock | Jul 4, 2023 |
I have always loved the film, in fact it is probably my favourite family film , the book is very close in content to the film and therefore wonderful and it has the Oh My Daddy bit at the end which always gets me in the film. This is my first time reading the book- loved it. ( )
  LisaBergin | Apr 12, 2023 |
The story of three children. One day men come and take their father away. The children don't know why. Their mother moves the family to a small house near the railway. There they have adventures and make friends. They fight sometimes and sometimes get in trouble. ( )
  nx74defiant | Mar 29, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 75 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (52 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Nesbit, E.primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Agutter, JennyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Aiken, JoanIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brock, C. E.Illustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Collins, TonyCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Courbet, GustaveCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cresswell, HelenIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dryhurst, DinahIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Moore, IngaIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Parker-Naples, AnnaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ruddock, ClaireCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Savage, KarenNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ward, JohannaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wilson, JacquelineIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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Epigraph
[None]
Dedication
To my dear Son
PAUL BLAND
behind whose knowledge of railways
my ignorance confidently shelters
First words
They were not the railway children to begin with.
Quotations
Everything has an end, and you get to it if you only keep on. Which is quite true, if you come to think of it, and a useful thing to remember in seasons of trouble—such as measles, arithmetic, impositions, and those times when you are in disgrace, and feel as though no one would ever love you again, and you could never—never again—love anybody.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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When their father is sent away to prison, three London children move to the country where they keep busy preventing accidents on the nearby railway, making many new friends, and generally learning a good deal about themselves.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
When Father goes away with two strangers one evening, the lives of Roberta, Peter and Phyllis are shattered. They and Mother have to move from their comfortable London home to go and live in a simple country cottage, where Mother writes books to make ends meet. However, they soon come to love the railway that runs near their cottage, and they make a habit of waving every day to the Old Gentleman who rides on it. They befriend the porter Perks, and through him learn railway lore and much else. They have many adventures and when they save a train from disaster, they are helped by the Old Gentleman to solve the mystery of Father's disappearance, and the family is happily reunited.

Available online at The Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/therailway...

Also available at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1874
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Folio Archives 334: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit 1999 in Folio Society Devotees

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Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0141321601, 0141808438

Hachette Book Group

2 editions of this book were published by Hachette Book Group.

Editions: 1587172801, 1587172798

Tantor Media

2 editions of this book were published by Tantor Media.

Editions: 1400101891, 1400108829

 

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