9 h 8 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 8 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A quiet town, a mysterious house, and children who need courage before they can feel at home.
In Robin Redbreast, Mrs. Molesworth brings us to Thetford as three children arrive by carriage with their young uncle, Marmy. They wear mourning clothes and face an unfamiliar welcome. Francie and her older sister long to join their parents, while Miss Alison Mildmay receives the visitors with kindness but little outward warmth.
Nearby stands a red house with ivy along its wings and round windows that catch the evening light. Its owner, Lady Myrtle Goodacre, keeps largely to herself, giving the place an air of mystery. Around these homes, the story explores friendship, family, and the patience that growing up asks of children.
What you’ll discover
- An uncertain welcome Step into Miss Alison Mildmay’s spare drawing room, where a reserved greeting meets the children’s sadness.
- A house with character Discover a former inn whose old bird sign still lies tucked away upstairs.
- Kindness in small gestures Hear Marmy reassure the girls as they wait outside an unfamiliar door.
- A town of distinctions Meet the Scarlett and Green sisters, whose schools serve different circles of Thetford society.
- The courage to grow Explore a gentle family story where patience and friendship matter more than daring adventures.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like warm Victorian family stories, sisters who quarrel and make up, old houses with gardens, and quiet questions about pride and honesty.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A new home without their parents
- A name opens the gate
- Friendship brings a heavy promise
- Affection begins to look like fortune
- Comfort and need move apart
- Their mother speaks for the Harpers
- A generous offer tests the family
- Honesty reaches beyond avoiding lies
- Conscience grows through other people's example
Who’s who
- Jacinth MildmayThe older sister, reserved, proud and orderly, who longs for a grand home and must learn that honesty matters more than comfort.
- Frances MildmayHer younger sister, warm, blunt and quick to cry, who stays loyal to her friends the Harpers whatever it costs.
- Eugene MildmayThe little brother, greedy for cake and bad at saying hungry and thirsty, whose thirst brings the family to Robin Redbreast.
- Lady Myrtle GoodacreThe stately old owner of Robin Redbreast, lonely and generous, who sees her lost friend in Jacinth and holds an old family grudge.
- Miss Alison MildmayThe children's aunt, strict, fair and busy with charity, who does her duty without knowing how to show affection.
- Bessie HarperA bright, brave schoolgirl who guards her family's pride and will do anything to help her sick father.
- Margaret HarperBessie's gentle, delicate sister, who tells Frances the family secret and worries over everything.
- Mrs MildmayThe children's cheerful mother, home from India, who speaks up for the poor Harpers even at risk to her friend's favor.
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Robin Redbreast
by Mrs. Molesworth · 1890
Three mourning children arrive at a stiff aunt's door, and an old house called Robin Redbreast waits down the lane.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
Two girls and a small boy step from a hired carriage into a narrow brick house in a quiet English town. What can an old house in a lane called Robin Redbreast do for them?
Robin Redbreast at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 10 min4 h 5 min fast, 6 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 73,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1890by Mrs. Molesworth
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Three children arrive at a stiff house
One late October evening, a hired carriage stops at Number 9 Market Square Place in Thetford. It brings Jacinth, who is fourteen, her sister Frances, who is twelve, and little Eugene, who is six or seven. With them comes their young uncle Marmaduke, whom everyone calls Uncle Marmy. All four wear mourning for the old lady who raised the children.
Their parents serve in India, and the children have not seen them for years. Now their father's sister, Miss Alison Mildmay, has agreed to take them in. She is a neat, dry woman who spends her days on charity work and has never raised a child.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1890
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Molesworth, Mrs. Robin Redbreast. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/robin-redbreast.
Molesworth, Mrs. (2026). Robin Redbreast. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/robin-redbreast (Original work published 1890)
Molesworth, Mrs. Robin Redbreast. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/robin-redbreast.
@book{molesworth2026robin,
author = {Molesworth, Mrs.},
title = {Robin Redbreast},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/robin-redbreast},
note = {First published 1890}
}
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What is Robin Redbreast about?
It follows Jacinth, Frances and Eugene Mildmay, sent from Stannesley to their aunt in the town of Thetford. They befriend an old lady at Robin Redbreast and must choose between comfort and honesty when money and family loyalty collide.
Why is the house called Robin Redbreast?
It was once a coaching inn whose sign showed a robin. When the old inn was saved and made into a private home, the name stayed, and the bird became a symbol of welcome throughout the story.
Who are the Harpers in Robin Redbreast?
They are Bessie and Margaret, schoolfriends of Frances, and their family. Captain Harper is the lame nephew of Lady Myrtle, but she has cut off his branch of the family because of her wasteful brother Bernard.
The author
Mrs. Molesworth
1839–1921 · English children's writer
Mrs. Molesworth was the pen name of Mary Louisa Molesworth (1839–1921), an English writer of children's stories. She was born in Rotterdam, grew up in Manchester, and later lived in London. Her books include Carrots (1876), The Cuckoo Clock (1877), Grandmother Dear, Hoodie, and Robin Redbreast.
More by Mrs. Molesworth
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