8 h 5 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
What if your make-believe answers back—and grants your wishes far too literally?
Gerald, Jimmy and Kathleen face a school holiday with their plans gone astray. Left to find their own amusement, they discover a hidden garden near a great old house. There, a girl lies as still as an enchanted princess. For Gerald, who loves grand plans and ceremony, adventure seems ready to begin.
In E. Nesbit's The Enchanted Castle, Mabel plays the princess and longs for friends. But a ring turns pretending into real magic. Wishes bring delight, then trouble, and the children must learn what their words can set loose. Around the gardens, maze and lake, an English summer grows strange, funny and a little frightening.
What you’ll discover
- A ring with rules Discover magic that follows wishes literally, making careless words a source of unexpected trouble.
- Friends with different strengths Meet Gerald's grand ambitions, Jimmy's common sense, Cathy's kindness and Mabel's longing to belong.
- Make-believe that moves Encounter the Ugly-Wuglies, lumpy figures of clothes and household things that become hard to control.
- Humour beside the uncanny Enjoy Nesbit's dry, teasing voice as ordinary childhood play slips into something unsettling.
- Imagination with real costs Explore growing up through children who discover that enchantment asks more than pretending.
Is it for you?
This is for anyone who likes magic with a sense of humour, for parents reading aloud, and for readers who enjoy old-fashioned English summers. If you want fast action and tight plotting, the loose, wandering episodes may feel slow.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Three children find a hidden garden
- A sleeping princess is not quite what she seems
- The ring begins to grant wishes
- Wishes bring odd and unsettling creatures
- Magic has rules, and children must learn them
- What the story is about and how Nesbit tells it
Who’s who
- GeraldThe eldest of the three, a lover of grand plans and ceremony, who likes to lead the others into adventure.
- JimmyGerald's brother, practical and often hungry, who keeps the group tied to common sense when wishes grow wild.
- KathleenUsually called Cathy, she is imaginative and kind, and she feels for others when magic causes trouble.
- MabelA girl who lives at the castle and plays at being a sleeping princess, and who longs for friends.
- The Ugly-WugliesOdd, lumpy figures made of old clothes and household things, brought to life by the ring and hard to control.
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- Audiobook
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- 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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The Enchanted Castle
by E. Nesbit· 1907
Children find a magic ring that turns wishes into trouble.
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Language: English
“She had an economy of phrase and an unparalleled talent for evoking hot summer days in the English countryside.”
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Three children find a hidden garden
The story begins with Gerald, Jimmy and Kathleen, a brother and sister pair with a second brother, who are left at school over a holiday. Their holiday plans have gone astray, so they are thrown on their own resources. Nesbit makes this a gift rather than a misfortune, because bored children with no grown-up in charge will always go looking for adventure.
They set off to explore the countryside and soon come to a wild, uphill piece of land. There is a maze, and it leads them on and on. They are half lost, half delighted, and the writer treats the maze as a threshold, a place where ordinary rules loosen.
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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).
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What is The Enchanted Castle about?
It follows three children on a summer holiday who find a castle, a garden and a girl named Mabel. They discover a magic ring that grants wishes, and each wish brings fun and unexpected trouble.
Who are the main characters in The Enchanted Castle?
The main characters are the siblings Gerald, Jimmy and Kathleen, called Cathy, and their new friend Mabel, who lives at the castle. The ring and the strange creatures it brings to life also play big parts.
What are the Ugly-Wuglies?
They are odd, lumpy figures made from old clothes and household items. The children make them for a game, and the magic ring brings them to life, which causes both comedy and alarm.
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