6 h 4 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
Six children, a worried father, and a shabby London house: surely a fortune is waiting somewhere?
The Bastable children mean to put things right. Their mother has died, their father's business has gone wrong, and money is short. In E. Nesbit's The Story of the Treasure Seekers, sensible Dora, proud Oswald, practical Dicky, brave Alice, dreamy Noel, and little H. O. decide that rescuing the family is their job.
Digging for buried treasure seems a good start. Being bandits offers another possibility, while Noel hopes his poems might earn something. Each chapter brings a fresh scheme and a fresh mistake. Oswald tells the story without admitting who he is, dropping clues and praising himself as the children's good intentions lead them into funny, touching trouble.
What you’ll discover
- A storyteller worth watching Enjoy Oswald's proud, kindly account, where his own words reveal more than he intends.
- Plans with comic consequences Follow treasure digging and outlaw schemes as hopeful ideas go amusingly wrong.
- Six distinct adventurers Meet children whose practical sense, poetry, courage, and opinions give each plan its spark.
- A shabby London home Step into Victorian childhood, where family worries sit beside bold plans for a fortune.
- More than buried gold Beneath the jokes, consider the book's gentle question about what treasure really means.
Who will love it
For families who love reading aloud, adults who remember loving childhood adventures, and anyone who enjoys a comic narrator, treasure-hunting schemes and siblings determined to help their family.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Six children decide to rescue the family
- Digging and detective work go wrong
- Bandits, editors and a young poet
- Rescues, strangers and the people who help
- What the treasure really is
- A narrator who gives himself away
Who’s who
- Oswald BastableThe second child and the storyteller, who leads the schemes and praises himself while trying to keep his identity a secret.
- DoraThe eldest, sensible and fond of giving orders, who worries about doing right and keeping the younger ones out of trouble.
- AliceNoel's twin, brave and lively, often eager to join an adventure and to speak up for the others.
- NoelThe dreamy twin and family poet, who hopes that his verses may earn some money and who makes friends easily.
- H. O.The youngest Bastable, short for Horace Octavius, who joins in many schemes and suggests ideas of his own.
- Albert next doorA neighbour boy the Bastables find dull at first, though he and his family come to matter to them.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 4 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.
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Les Chercheurs de trésors
by E. Nesbit · 1899
Six London children set out to rescue their father's fortunes, but every scheme brings fresh comic trouble.
Easy read5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Story of the Treasure Seekers is a children's book by E. Nesbit, first published in 1899.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Six children decide to rescue the family
The Bastable family has six children. Dora is the eldest and the most sensible, and she never lets anyone forget it. Oswald comes next and is the one telling the story. Dicky follows him, then Alice and Noel, who are twins, and last of all the youngest, H. O., whose name is short for Horace Octavius. Their father is a kind man, but he is sad and busy, and the household has no money to spare.
The children remember how things used to be. There were servants, a fine house and a mother who is now gone. Their father's business partner leaves for Spain, and their father struggles with money. The children do not understand every detail, but they understand the result. The house is dull, the meals are plain, and Father has little time to spend with them.
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What is The Story of the Treasure Seekers about?
It follows the six Bastable children, whose father has lost money. They try one scheme after another to find a fortune and restore the family, from digging for treasure to playing detective, and each attempt brings comic trouble.
Who tells the story in The Story of the Treasure Seekers?
The narrator is one of the Bastable children, and he keeps his name secret at first. He praises Oswald so often that readers soon guess he is Oswald himself, which becomes a running joke.
When was The Story of the Treasure Seekers written?
E. Nesbit published it in 1899. It is a made-up story, though it draws on the real texture of middle-class Victorian family life in and around London.
The author
E. Nesbit
1858–1924 · English children's writer and poet
Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) was an English author and poet who published as E. Nesbit. She was born in London and later lived in Kent. Her children’s books include The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899), Five Children and It (1902), The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904), and The Railway Children (1906).
More by E. Nesbit
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