14 h 51 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it take for a boy with no family to make his way through a hard world?
Mick has no parents to protect him and little to call his own. In Foundling Mick, Jules Verne follows this young orphan across nineteenth-century Ireland, a country of beauty and hardship. On the road, the boy meets people who offer food, shelter or work—and others who make his struggle harder.
This adventure stays close to the ground: poverty, work and learning shape Mick's search for a better life. Verne moves him from place to place with a traveller's eye for detail. At its heart is a child who refuses to give up, facing a world where kindness matters and a chance to earn his keep can mean hope.
What you’ll discover
- A boy worth following Meet Mick, whose determination gives this journey through hardship its human heart.
- Ireland along the road Travel through an Ireland that Verne presents with both beauty and hardship.
- Kindness against cruelty Discover how the people Mick meets can offer help or deepen his difficulties.
- The hope of work Explore the place of effort and learning in a child's struggle to rise.
- Another side of Verne Find an adventure rooted in ordinary needs rather than machines and distant voyages.
Who will love it
For readers who love a young hero who earns his place, and for anyone drawn to old Ireland, adventure on the road, loyal friendships and the quiet thrill of a small business growing.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A hidden child powers the puppet show
- The ragged school teaches him who to trust
- A fire and an actress change his life
- Kerwan Farm gives him a real family
- Eviction sends him back onto the road
- Honesty at a castle teaches him to wait
- Bob and Grip help him find a direction
- Little Pockets shows how a boy builds a shop
- The book asks what a poor child can become
- A narrator who talks to you and counts the coins
Who’s who
- Foundling MickAn abandoned boy also called P'tit-Bonhomme who refuses to beg or steal and dreams of earning his own fortune through trade.
- GripA tall, kind helper from the ragged school who protects Mick and later works as a stoker on a steamer.
- BobA cheerful orphan Mick rescues from a river, who becomes his younger partner and has a gift for clever ideas.
- BirkA brave sheepdog from Kerwan Farm who stays loyal to Mick and pulls his cart.
- KatThe castle laundress who befriends Mick, hides Birk for him and later keeps his house.
- Mr. O'BrienA retired merchant who rents Mick his shop and advises him to go slowly and carefully.
- Martin Mac CarthyA hardworking tenant farmer in County Kerry who takes Mick in and pays him a pebble each evening.
- Count AshtonThe spoiled heir of Trelingar Castle who treats his young groom as a toy.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 51 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Mick el expósito in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Mick el expósito
by Julio Verne · 1893
A boy shut in a puppeteer's cart turns a crank for pennies on the roads of Connaught.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
A puppet show comes to a sleepy Irish town, and the figures move because a child is hidden in the box beneath them. This is Foundling Mick, a novel by Jules Verne about an orphan with no name and no family who must earn his own way.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hidden child powers the puppet show
The story opens in Westport in Connaught on Sunday, June 17, 1875. A puppeteer named Thornpipe pushes a cart pulled by a thin spaniel and shouts that he has royal puppets to show. On a tiny stage painted as a palace, Queen Victoria moves her head and scepter while Gladstone bows and O'Connell advances.
The dance depends on a secret. Whenever the figures slow down, Thornpipe lashes the box from below, and a groan answers. The priest, the baker and the druggist grow suspicious, and the druggist squeezes between the wheels and pulls out a pale boy of about three, his legs striped with whip marks. The crowd drives the showman out of town.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Mick el expósito
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Foundling Mick about?
It tells of an abandoned Irish boy, first used in a puppet show, who moves through a ragged school, a farm and a castle. He finally builds a business in Dublin with the help of friends.
Who is Grip in Foundling Mick?
Grip is a kind helper at the Galway ragged school who protects young Mick and saves him in a fire. He later becomes a stoker on a steamer and Mick's closest friend.
Why does Mick collect pebbles?
At Kerwan Farm he asks for a pebble each evening instead of wages. The pebbles count his days with the family and stand for loyalty, thrift and a promise that Mr. Martin will turn them into coins.
The author
Jules Verne
1828–1905 · French adventure novelist
Jules Verne was a French writer born in Nantes in 1828. He lived in Paris and later in Amiens, where he died in 1905. His novels include Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).
More by Julio Verne
All 23 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
