Summary
Summary of The Story of the Amulet
The Story of the Amulet at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 4 h 35 min3 h 40 min fast, 5 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 65,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1906by E. Nesbit
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
Free for 3 months
Get the full summary of The Story of the Amulet, free
- 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
- Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A rescue begins the adventure
With Father away reporting on a war and Mother recovering in Madeira, Cyril, Robert, Anthea and Jane feel miserable in Old Nurse's rooms. A walk through London brings them to an animal shop, where a familiar voice begs for help. Their old friend the Psammead is trapped in a hutch, disguised as a mangy monkey.
Anthea wishes for money, and the shopkeeper unknowingly makes the wish possible by repeating it. The children carry their friend home. Their adventure begins with kindness toward a creature in trouble.
Key idea 2
Half a charm offers hope
The rescued Psammead can no longer grant the children's wishes, but it knows another way to seek their heart's desire: bringing Father and Mother safely home.
Start free to read
Key idea 3
The past opens under strict rules
When Anthea speaks the Amulet's name, London disappears into silence and a strange voice answers the children.
Start free to read
Key idea 4
Careless boldness leads to captivity
In Babylon, the children enter a world of orchards, royal hospitality and torchlit feasting.
Start free to read
Key idea 5
Good intentions can still cause chaos
The Queen of Babylon wishes to visit the children's country, and the Psammead cannot refuse her.
Start free to read
Key idea 6
Every journey touches other lives
The children take the learned gentleman to Atlantis, where golden baths and a mammoth ride give way to danger from an enormous wave.
Start free to read
Key idea 7
The future cannot explain everything
Cyril hopes that visiting the future will reveal how they find the Amulet.
Start free to read
Key idea 8
Care matters more than magical power
Beneath the journeys, the story keeps returning to small acts of care.
Start free to read
Key idea 9
Humor stays close to serious concerns
The search for the missing charm carries the children through many times and places, but the people they meet matter as much as the magic.
Start free to read
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest free
Who it’s for
You will love this book if you enjoy time travel, ancient Egypt and Babylon, grumpy magical creatures, and funny family adventures with a warm heart.
What this book is
What would you do if a creature that grants wishes turned up in a pet shop, captive and begging to be bought? Four London children spot an old friend, the sand-fairy called the Psammead, in a hutch among the animals, and rescue it with magically supplied money.
E. Nesbit wrote The Story of the Amulet in 1906 as the third of her tales about these children. Father is away reporting on a war, Mother is ill in Madeira, and the children are stuck at Old Nurse's house. The Psammead cannot grant their wishes any more, but it can point them to half of a red charm that opens doors into the Past. You will visit a Stone Age village, Babylon, Atlantis and the court of Pharaoh, told by a narrator who chats straight to you.
In this summary
- 1A rescue begins the adventureFree
- 2Half a charm offers hope
- 3The past opens under strict rules
- 4Careless boldness leads to captivity
- 5Good intentions can still cause chaos
- 6Every journey touches other lives
- 7The future cannot explain everything
- 8Care matters more than magical power
- 9Humor stays close to serious concerns
A rescue in a London pet shop
The story opens with a gloomy farewell. Father has gone to report on the war, Mother is recovering in Madeira with the baby, and Cyril, Robert, Anthea and Jane are left with Old Nurse in her rooms in Fitzroy Street. The children cry once Father's cab has gone.
Anthea tries to lift the mood, as Mother asked her to. The children go out alone to see the sights of London and wander into a street of animal shops. Then a small voice speaks from a hutch and begs to be bought. It is the Psammead, thinner and dirtier than they remember, hiding as a mangy monkey.
The shopkeeper names a price the children cannot pay. Anthea wishes aloud for the money, and the shopkeeper unwittingly echoes her wish, allowing the Psammead to grant it. Five half-sovereigns appear under her hand, and they carry the creature home in a paper bag.
Kindness to a creature in trouble can open the door to the whole adventure.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Take this summary with you
Send to Kindle downloads the file and opens Amazon's page: drop the file there.
Check yourself
Why do the children seek the missing half of the Amulet?
Right. “The Story of the Amulet follows four children who must find the missing half of a magic charm in order to bring their parents home.”Not quite. “The Story of the Amulet follows four children who must find the missing half of a magic charm in order to bring their parents home.”
Why must the children search in the Past?
Right. “The voice tells them it was ground to dust long ago and scattered across many lands and seas.”Not quite. “The voice tells them it was ground to dust long ago and scattered across many lands and seas.”
What lesson does the story draw from the power of wishes?
Right. “A wish needs wisdom behind it.”Not quite. “A wish needs wisdom behind it.”
Go deeper: the whole of The Story of the Amulet
About 4 h 40 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
Who’s who
- Cyril
- The eldest child, full of schemes and plans, who wants to find the Amulet and bring his parents home.
- Robert
- A bold, rash boy who loves facts and gadgets and sometimes speaks before he thinks.
- Anthea
- The kind eldest girl who looks after the others and the learned gentleman, and misses her mother dearly.
- Jane
- The youngest, easily frightened but loyal, who often carries the charm and speaks its name.
- The Psammead
- An ancient, bad-tempered sand-fairy who guides the children while grumbling about water, politics and their lack of sense.
- The learned gentleman
- A lonely scholar of Egypt and Babylon, called Jimmy by the children, who thinks their adventures are dreams.
- Rekh-marā
- A clever Egyptian priest of Amen Rā who wants the Amulet for himself and pretends to be a friend.
- Old Nurse
- The warm, hardworking woman who looks after the children in Fitzroy Street and loves them without being thanked.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 65,300 words
- Reading timeAbout 4 h 35 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about The Story of the Amulet
What is The Story of the Amulet about?
Four London children, helped by a grumpy sand-fairy called the Psammead, buy half of a magic charm and use it to travel into the past, hoping to find the missing half and bring their parents home.
Do I need to read Five Children and It first?
No. The opening chapter explains who the Psammead is and what happened before, so you can start here, though the earlier books add extra fun for readers who know them.
Who is the learned gentleman?
He is a kind, lonely scholar of ancient Egypt and Babylon who lives upstairs in Fitzroy Street. The children call him Jimmy, and he believes their stories are dreams.
What does Ur Hekau Setcheh mean in the book?
It is the Name of Power written on the Amulet. When a child says it aloud, the charm grows into an arch that carries them to another time and place.
Is The Story of the Amulet a good read for children today?
Yes, it works well. It has short chapters, lively talk, funny scenes and many places to visit, and it is easy to enjoy aloud with family or by yourself.
Cite this edition
Nesbit, E. The Story of the Amulet. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-the-amulet.
Nesbit, E. (2026). The story of the amulet. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-the-amulet (Original work published 1906)
Nesbit, E. The Story of the Amulet. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-the-amulet.
@book{nesbit2026story,
author = {Nesbit, E.},
title = {The Story of the Amulet},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-the-amulet},
note = {First published 1906}
}
Free for 3 months
Get the full summary of The Story of the Amulet, free
- 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
- Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
