Frontispiece showing Peter, Bobbie and Phyllis waving away at a passing train. The Charles Edmund Brock drawings of the original Edwardian edition are utterly charming, and if seeking out an edition for yourself or for gift-giving, I highly recommend finding one of the numerous “deluxe replica” versions.
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit ~ 1906. This edition: Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., Ltd., exact date unknown. Illustrated by C.E. Brock. Hardcover. 184 pages.
They were not railway children to begin with. I don’t suppose they had ever thought about railways except as a means of getting to Maskelyne and Cook’s, the Pantomime, Zoological Gardens, and Madame Tussaud’s. They were just ordinary suburban children, and they lived with their Father and Mother in an ordinary red-brick-fronted villa, with coloured glass in the front door, a tiled passage that was called a hall, a bath-room with hot and cold water, electric bells, French windows, and a good deal of white paint, and ‘every modern convenience’, as the house-agents say.
There were three of them. Roberta was the eldest. Of course, Mothers never have favourites, but if their Mother HAD had a favourite, it might have been Roberta. Next came Peter, who wished to be an Engineer when he grew up; and the youngest was Phyllis, who meant extremely well.
When Father mysteriously disappears one evening after a loudly uncomfortable meeting in the drawing-room with two mysterious men, the tamely predictable lives of Roberta (aka Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis are stood upside down. All sorts of dreadful changes take place, culminating in a removal to a country cottage situated close to a busy rail line, “for the time being”, leaving all of the nicest things back in their city house.
Adventures immediately ensue, as the children learn their new surroundings, figure out how best to help Mother with making do, and eventually endear themselves to pretty well everyone they meet, including an elderly and distinguished Gentleman-on-the-Train, which turns out to be a very good development indeed.
I am of two minds regarding this well-beloved tale. On one hand it is dreadfully sentimental, with everything working out much too good to be true. On the other hand, it’s utterly adorable and even reasonably relatable, as our three young protagonists get into all sorts of difficult situations and muddle around quite realistically before getting things sorted out.
Every time I read it – and I find this has happened quite a number of times, which tells you something right there, doesn’t it? – I start out by telling myself it’s all a little too good to be true, and then I abandon myself to the charm and end up at the end all sniffly with emotion.
Because of course there is an absolutely soppy happy ending.
My rating: hmmm…how about a nice 7.5/10?
Because while it’s perhaps one of the best known, subject of who knows how many adaptations and film versions and such, it’s not my absolute favourite E. Nesbit novel. That one is probably Five Children and It, because I do enjoy a nice time travel tale, especially if incorporating a cranky mythical creature. Or possibly The Treasure-Seekers? Well, any of the Bastable family stories, really.
Or?
An expanded E. Nesbit re-read might well be in order. Maybe after Christmas. We’ll see. Or perhaps during the spring busy-season, when the lightest of fares is in order for those few bedtime minutes of reading time before the eyelids drop down.
P.S. This is a post regarding a book read way back in July, so you don’t need to think that I’m reading-reading-reading morning through night lately. Just playing catch-up for the Century project, and working on condensing my posts (somewhat), because so often I do tend to ramble on, and self-editing is a goal which tends to elude me… 🙂
Leaves & Pages 
Well, I have to say I’m very impressed with how you’ve read all these books over the past few months, and still have them fresh enough in your mind to write up the reviews now. If I don’t jot down all my thoughts and feelings about a book into my book journal in very short order, they tend to fade out. And of course, if I don’t at least jot down the title, it may not even make it into the journal.
I definitely have to do these with the book at hand – I do leaf through and re-read snippets (or whole chapters) to refresh my memory! Tracking down some of the books is the challenge – my husband often reads them after me and where they end up is anybody’s guess – our shelving systems don’t always match, though he does try to be helpful. I find things in the oddest places on occasion!
E Nesbit wrote a number of books for adults too which are worth reading. One of them, ‘The Lark’, is based on her own experience of growing vegetables and flowers to sell in order to bring money in; it’s not as prosaic as it sounds and has elements of magic and the happy ending of her books for children.
E Nesbit was a fascinating woman and led an unconventional life (I have just seen an excellent play about her) so a biography of her is next on my reading list.
Oh! I read The Lark last year. It was quite delightful.
A biography of E. Nesbit would be fascinating; I know she led a rather eventful life.
I binged on E. Nesbit (whose birthday I share, along with Oswald Bastable!) a year or so ago – it was lovely. If you like audiobooks at all, Librivox has some really wonderful readings by Karen Savage and Helen Taylor – and they’re free!
My daughter has just been reading The Railway Children to her daughter as my mother read Nesbit to me, making four generations of Nesbit fans.
Ah, such a wonderful classic. Thanks for the reminder.
I love E. Nesbit – especially The Five Children and It and the two other books about the Five Children. (The Amulet, and I forget the other title.) I agree that The Railway Children is not her best.
I agree: it’s charming, but not her best. But if there ever comes a time when the ending doesn’t make me cry I will know that my heart has turned to stone.
Absolutely! I’m not a big cryer when I read, but that “Daddy!” scene at then chokes me right up, every single time. 🙂