MarysLibrary

Classics Challenge - The Railway Children

I'm enchanted with E Nesbit's The Railway Children, which is my second Classic for the winter Classics Challenge.

Written for serial publication in 1905, the book is a happy-sad story with a wonderfully fulfilling ending where  justice triumphs and a happy family is reunited to be even happier than before difficulties beset them.

The introduction to my copy of the book says that Nesbit was inspired by the Dreyfus case to concoct this plot in which the father, a government employee, is arrested, tried, and found guilty of treason. The collapse of the family finances prompts a move to  an inexpensive cottage in the country. Because the new house is near a railway line and not too far from the local station, the children become friends with employees of the railway and with one passenger in particular.

The book is old and old-fashioned. Mild fun is poked at the son who thinks he is superior to his sisters, but then common stereotypes of women and mothers prevail. The oldest child, a girl, is certainly brave, ingenious, and a leader, however.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book.  Everything was appealing, from the narrator, who turns to address her audience periodically, to the character of Perks, the railway porter, who is a good friend to the children -- and vice versa

Reading the beautifully illustrated Folio edition was a delight.

Winter Classics Challenge

As I reported in an earlier post, I've decided to accept a reading challenge from booklogged at A Reader's Journal. The idea is to read 5 classics during the months of January and February. I've never done a challenge before so I was a little hesitant, but now that I've chosen my books I feel quite confident that I will finish reading the books on my list.

I decided that a "classic" is a book that gets re-read by a lot of people. And these are the classics I've chosen to read:

Little Women

Mary Poppins

The Little Princess

The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Nancy Drew)

The Railway Children

Winter Classics Challenge

One of the endearing practices of book bloggers is The Challenge. A blogger issues a challenge to his or her colleagues, usually requiring those accepting to read a certain number of books (five is a popular number) within a certain period (two months is a popular length of time.)

I've never taken up any of these things, but Booklogged over on A Reader's Journal has challenged us to read five "classics" of our choice during January and February and I've decided to do it. The reward for those who complete the reading on time is a drawing for a not-yet-determined prize.

Booklogged herself is going to read:

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (brave woman - that one runs to more than a thousand pages)

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

I realize that's more than five books, but we book people do letters. We aren't really good with numbers.

My first problem is to define "classics." When I've done that I'll choose my books and post my list. Stay tuned.