Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by drewknew
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
2.0
I suspect this is one of those books that, had I read it as a child, I would have loved and remembered fondly... but coming to it as an adult with no prior knowledge* or reference points (I haven't even seen the TV series/Film(?)) it left me a bit cold.
The style, language, class depictions, and gender roles portraited are all firmly of their time. The key plot device is also familiar: the protagonists are transplanted from their lives to a new setting where they are forced to make a new life for themselves. They do this by playing on (literally!) the Railway, making relationships - real and imagined - with the staff and passengers. With diversions via the canal, they go on a number of adventures, saving lives as they go...
The reason for their removal to the countryside is a mystery to them*, all they know is that their father has had to go away, they are now poor (by the terms of the book, although not necessarily in comparison with all the other characters), and their mother now has to work.
All in all, I wasn't bowled over - like I say, probably one for children (of a certain type).
*Unfortunately, I obtained some prior knowledge, via Wikipedia, as to what the mystery of the father's disappearance once, prior to having reached the appropriate bit of the book. D'Oh.
The style, language, class depictions, and gender roles portraited are all firmly of their time. The key plot device is also familiar: the protagonists are transplanted from their lives to a new setting where they are forced to make a new life for themselves. They do this by playing on (literally!) the Railway, making relationships - real and imagined - with the staff and passengers. With diversions via the canal, they go on a number of adventures, saving lives as they go...
The reason for their removal to the countryside is a mystery to them*, all they know is that their father has had to go away, they are now poor (by the terms of the book, although not necessarily in comparison with all the other characters), and their mother now has to work.
All in all, I wasn't bowled over - like I say, probably one for children (of a certain type).
*Unfortunately, I obtained some prior knowledge, via Wikipedia, as to what the mystery of the father's disappearance once, prior to having reached the appropriate bit of the book. D'Oh.