6 h 55 minAudiobook5 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 55 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 170 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 170 pagesAbout this book
When Father vanishes from home, a railway line becomes three children's path toward friendship, courage, and hope.
In E. Nesbit's The Railway Children, Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis leave their comfortable London home for Three Chimneys, a small country cottage. Nobody explains why Father is away. Money is tight, Mother writes stories to support them, and the children must find their feet in a world of stations, porters, and steam trains.
A wave at a passing train begins a friendship. Perks, the proud, kindly station porter, welcomes the children into railway life. But their adventures bring more than excitement: strangers need help, danger calls for courage, and even a birthday present raises questions about kindness and pride. Beneath it all lies their longing for Father.
What you’ll discover
- Three distinct young heroes Meet thoughtful Bobbie, practical Peter, and warmhearted Phyllis as hardship draws them closer.
- Courage beside the tracks Discover the tense scene where red petticoats help stop a speeding train.
- Kindness with unexpected challenges Follow the children's efforts to help Perks without wounding his sense of pride.
- A mother's quiet strength See Mother earn money through stories while keeping hope alive at home.
- Warmth without hurry Enjoy gentle humour and country adventures told by a narrator who speaks directly to you.
Who will love it
For readers who love gentle family stories, trains and children who meet trouble with courage and kindness, and for parents looking for a warm book to share aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A happy home ends in one night
- Three Chimneys and a world of trains
- Waving at the train brings a friend
- Peter's coal and a lesson in honesty
- Red petticoats stop a speeding train
- Perks's birthday and the problem of pride
- A stranger from Russia and a boy in the tunnel
- What the story is really about
- How Nesbit tells the story
Who’s who
- Roberta (Bobbie)The eldest child, thoughtful and loyal, who senses her mother's worry and tries to ease it while longing for her father.
- PeterThe middle child, who loves engines and mechanical things, has a hot temper and wants to help the family in practical ways.
- PhyllisThe youngest, warm hearted and quick to feel for others, who follows her sister in brave deeds.
- MotherA gentle, resourceful woman who writes stories to earn money and keeps the family cheerful despite hardship.
- PerksThe station porter, proud and kind, who teaches the children about the railway and becomes their loyal friend.
- The Old GentlemanA kindly passenger on the 9:15 train who waves to the children each day and becomes a friend to them.
- The Russian strangerA writer far from home, who arrives at the station in distress and longs to find his family.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 55 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 5 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 170 pages: 8,95 USD when you start free, 14,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 170 pages: 17,95 USD when you start free, 23,95 USD on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in, 256 pages: 12,95 USD when you start free, 18,95 USD on its own.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in, 256 pages: 20,95 USD when you start free, 26,95 USD on its own.
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Read and hear The Railway Children 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.
The Railway Children
by E. Nesbit · 1906
Three children lose their comfortable London life and find friendship and adventures beside a countryside railway.
Easy read5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What would you do if your whole comfortable life vanished in a single evening? That is what happens to Roberta, Peter and Phyllis in E.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A happy home ends in one night
The children seem to have everything. Bobbie is thoughtful, Peter loves machines and Phyllis is soft hearted. They have a villa, toys and a gentle mother.
One evening two strangers speak with Father, whose voice sounds louder than usual, and he leaves with them. Mother turns pale. Soon she says only that Father is away on business and that money will be short.
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What is The Railway Children about?
It tells of three children whose comfortable London life ends when their father is taken away. They move with their mother to a cottage near a railway, where they make friends and have adventures.
Who are the railway children in the book?
They are Roberta, called Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis. Bobbie is the eldest, Peter loves engines, and Phyllis is the youngest. Their mother and father complete the family.
When was The Railway Children written?
E. Nesbit wrote it in the early 1900s. It appeared in a magazine in 1905 and was published as a book in 1906. It is fiction, but it draws on real railway life of that time.
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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