7 h 9 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 9 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your nursery carpet could carry you anywhere—but you still had to explain the mess to your parents?
Cyril, Anthea, Robert, and Jane find an egg inside their new nursery carpet. When it falls into the fire, a phoenix hatches. Soon, the four siblings have an ancient talking companion and a carpet that makes extraordinary journeys possible. Their experience with magic does not make them especially careful.
In E. Nesbit’s The Phoenix and the Carpet, grand possibilities meet meals, money, and grown-ups who may notice too much. The phoenix offers knowledge, advice, and plenty of pride. Cyril’s confidence and Anthea’s practical judgment meet fresh tests, while Robert and Jane share the excitement and worry. Even the carpet has limits: its fabric suffers from use.
What you’ll discover
- An egg in the fire An unexpected discovery turns the nursery into the starting point for magical adventures.
- A proud feathered guide Meet a talking phoenix whose ancient knowledge comes with a troublesome understanding of the world.
- Four siblings sharing trouble Follow Cyril, Anthea, Robert, and Jane as bold plans create problems they must face together.
- Magic meets everyday life Enjoy impossible journeys tangled with ordinary questions about meals, money, and what parents might notice.
- A carpet with limits Discover why the condition of an extraordinary object matters as much as its magical powers.
Who will love it
This book suits anyone who loves a funny family adventure, a vain and charming magical creature, and wishes that go comically wrong. It will delight readers of fairy tales, fans of old London, and families who like a story to share aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Cheap fireworks and a carpet with a secret
- A game of magic hatches a Phoenix
- The topless tower teaches the three wish rule
- Cook is crowned queen of a sunny island
- Indian treasures, invisibility, and Mrs Biddle
- The Phoenix visits its own temple
- A good deed in France with a buried treasure
- Persian cats and a policeman at the door
- A burglar milks the cow and finds a bride
- Holes, a roof, and a theatre full of smoke
- What the story is about and how Nesbit tells it
Who’s who
- CyrilThe eldest, called Squirrel, is quick with plans and rules, and he wants real adventure instead of homework and wet afternoons.
- AntheaCalled Panther, she is the kind one, who tries to do right and tell Mother the truth about the carpet.
- RobertCalled Bobs, he is steady and practical, and he is the Phoenix's favourite since he put its egg in the fire.
- JaneCalled Pussy, the youngest of the four, she wishes rashly but speaks kindly to burglars and cooks.
- The PhoenixA golden bird from the desert, vain, polite and wise, who hopes for homage and grants the children advice.
- The LambThe baby brother, who plays Noah's Ark with his sisters and speaks in nonsense that may mean more than it seems.
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The Phoenix and the Carpet
by E. Nesbit · 1904
Four London children hatch a golden Phoenix from an egg in their nursery fire and ride a wishing carpet.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What would you do if a nursery carpet came with a golden egg rolled up inside it? In The Phoenix and the Carpet, four London children toss that egg into the fire by accident, and out steps a talking bird very sure of its own beauty.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Cheap fireworks and a carpet with a secret
The story opens on a wet afternoon just before the Fifth of November. Cyril, Robert, Anthea and Jane are cross and restless. Robert fears their cheap fireworks will not go off, and the neighbours, the Prosser children, would laugh.
Robert decides to test the fireworks, so each child draws one blindly. Jane draws a Jack-in-the-box that will not light. Anthea pours paraffin on the tray, and a pillar of flame leaps to the ceiling. The boys kick the carpet over the fire, and the firework bangs inside it until Mother rushes in. The nursery carpet is ruined, and the children go to bed in disgrace.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1904
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Nesbit, E. The Phoenix and the Carpet. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-phoenix-and-the-carpet.
Nesbit, E. (2026). The phoenix and the carpet. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-phoenix-and-the-carpet (Original work published 1904)
Nesbit, E. The Phoenix and the Carpet. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-phoenix-and-the-carpet.
@book{nesbit2026phoenix,
author = {Nesbit, E.},
title = {The Phoenix and the Carpet},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-phoenix-and-the-carpet},
note = {First published 1904}
}
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What is The Phoenix and the Carpet about?
Four London children find a golden egg in a new carpet. A Phoenix hatches from it, and the carpet has the power to grant wishes. They travel to many places and get into funny trouble.
Who is the Psammead in The Phoenix and the Carpet?
The Psammead is the sand fairy from Five Children and It. The Phoenix visits it for wishes that help the children, so you can enjoy this book on its own.
Do I need to read Five Children and It first?
No. Nesbit explains the earlier adventure briefly and tells you what you need. Each chapter here is its own adventure, and the story is easy to follow.
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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