15 h 23 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 15 h 23 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In this English country home, a quarrel over a doll becomes a lesson about the soul.
Lucy, Emily and Henry Fairchild live under the watchful care of parents who take every fault seriously. A lie, a sulk or a burst of anger brings correction through scripture, prayer and stern examples. In Mary Martha Sherwood's The Fairchild Family, the garden, nursery and village become places where ordinary childhood meets the demands of faith.
Mr Fairchild leads with firm authority, while Mrs Fairchild brings a gentler manner to lessons and charity toward the poor. Both see their children's souls as their deepest responsibility. Through short episodes, stories and hymns, Sherwood explores an Evangelical view of parental love: guidance that seeks to protect, yet can feel severe. The stakes, for these parents, reach beyond good behaviour.
What you’ll discover
- Three lively children Meet Lucy, Emily and Henry as temper, pride and everyday mistakes test their parents' teaching.
- Faith around the hearth See how prayer and scripture shape the household's rules, routines and responses to wrongdoing.
- A quarrel over a doll Follow the sisters' bitter dispute and the stern moral teaching it brings into their lives.
- Stories with a purpose Discover how the parents use stories and hymns to turn small events into moral lessons.
- The demands of love Consider Sherwood's belief that loving a child means taking the child's soul seriously.
Who will love it
If you enjoy old family stories and quiet scenes of garden, lane and cottage, you will feel at home here. It suits anyone who likes faith woven into daily life.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A May birthday walk shows a home of kindness
- A mother's naughty childhood explains good principles
- Envy over a doll is cured by honesty and prayer
- Henry's stolen apple shows how sin grows slowly
- One unwatched day shows the children's true hearts
- A rich neighbor's house stirs ambition in the girls
- Emily's secret damsons teach that God sees everything
- Visitors act as mirrors for besetting sins
- Tales within the tale put the lessons into other lives
- The book's voice and themes hold the family together
Who’s who
- Lucy FairchildThe eldest child, quick and thoughtful, who struggles with envy and wants to be good and to help her younger sister and brother.
- Emily FairchildLucy's gentle younger sister, easily pleased and easily tempted, who learns hard lessons about secrets and the truth.
- Henry FairchildThe youngest child, lively and bold, who loves helping John in the garden and often gets into trouble through high spirits.
- Mr. FairchildThe children's father, firm and fair, who punishes wrongdoing out of love and spends his days teaching, reading and helping neighbors.
- Mrs. FairchildThe children's mother, patient and wise, who tells stories of her own faults and prays with each child who goes wrong.
- JohnThe family's loyal gardener and manservant, kind and good-natured, who tells the children to speak the whole truth.
- Mrs. GoodricheAn old family friend who lives in a cottage beneath a hill and tells the children stories of Mrs. Howard.
- Bessy GoodricheMrs. Goodriche's cheerful, careless niece, who talks without stopping and wants to do better but keeps tearing her clothes.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Fairchild Family
by Mary Martha Sherwood · 1818
Lucy, Emily and Henry Fairchild learn from their parents, one fault and one lesson at a time.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What happens when three children are left alone for a single day with every good intention? In this book, Lucy, Emily and Henry Fairchild find out.
The Fairchild Family at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 45 min6 h 55 min fast, 10 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 124,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1818by Mary Martha Sherwood
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
A May birthday walk shows a home of kindness
The book opens with Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild, who live far from any town in a house with a garden full of fruit and flowers. Two servants, Betty and John, help them. Their three children, Lucy, Emily and Henry, are taught at home.
The children also work. The girls make their beds, polish the chairs and feed the chickens. Henry carries weeds out of the garden in a small basket. The parents pay for a school for poor boys and another for girls in the next village.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1818
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Sherwood, Mary Martha. The Fairchild Family. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-fairchild-family.
Sherwood, M. M. (2026). The Fairchild family. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-fairchild-family (Original work published 1818)
Sherwood, Mary Martha. The Fairchild Family. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-fairchild-family.
@book{sherwood2026fairchild,
author = {Sherwood, Mary Martha},
title = {The Fairchild Family},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-fairchild-family},
note = {First published 1818}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Fairchild Family
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Fairchild Family about?
It follows Lucy, Emily and Henry Fairchild and their parents in the English countryside. Many episodes show the children's faults, such as envy, lying or ambition, and their parents' responses through correction, kindness and prayer.
Who are the main characters in The Fairchild Family?
The main characters are the three children, Lucy, Emily and Henry, and their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild. Other people include the servants Betty and John, old Mrs. Goodriche, her niece Bessy, and the rich Nobles and Darwells.
When was The Fairchild Family written?
Mary Martha Sherwood wrote it in the early nineteenth century for young readers. It is not a true story, but it draws on everyday home life and includes many tales told by the characters within the story.
The author
Mary Martha Sherwood
1775–1851 · English children's writer
Mary Martha Sherwood (1775–1851) was a British writer of children's books. She was born in Worcestershire, England, and lived in India from 1805 to 1816. She wrote stories for children with religious and moral themes. The first part of The Fairchild Family was published in 1818.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
