The Wonderful Garden

E. Nesbit (1858 - 1924)

Do you believe in magic? Caroline, Charles and Charlotte do, and nothing that happens during their summer holiday at their great uncle's house does anything to diminish that belief. There the Three C.'s find a wonderful garden and some very old books, resulting in escapades which do not necessarily please the grown-ups.

E. Nesbit, as usual, transports us back to the hazy summer days of a well-to-do Edwardian childhood, liberally spiced with magic, humour and lessons learned.

Published exactly 100 years ago, this is one of her least-known children's books, out of print for many years, and with no text available online at the time of recording. Yes, it's dated. Yes, it's politically incorrect. But it is delightful nonetheless. As Gore Vidal once wrote: "...though a reading of E. Nesbit is hardly going to change the pattern of a nation, there is some evidence that the child who reads her will never be quite the same again, and that is probably a good thing." (Introduction by Ruth Golding)

No online text is currently available. The reader read from her own copy of the 1911 1st edition.

Genre(s): Children's Fiction, Fantastic Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 01 - The Beginning Ruth Golding
00:16:32
Play 02 02 - The Manor House Ruth Golding
00:23:36
Play 03 03 - The Wonderful Garden Ruth Golding
00:20:21
Play 04 04 - In Thessalonians Ruth Golding
00:19:56
Play 05 05 - The Midnight Adventure Ruth Golding
00:21:04
Play 06 06 - Hunted Ruth Golding
00:18:23
Play 07 07 - Being Detectives Ruth Golding
00:28:00
Play 08 08 - The Heroine Ruth Golding
00:15:33
Play 09 09 - The Morning After Ruth Golding
00:25:08
Play 10 10 - Brewing the Spell Ruth Golding
00:28:44
Play 11 11 - The Rosicurians Ruth Golding
00:19:11
Play 12 12 - The Other Book Ruth Golding
00:23:07
Play 13 13 - The Rosy Cure Ruth Golding
00:18:20
Play 14 14 - The Mineral Woman Ruth Golding
00:26:27
Play 15 15 - Justice Ruth Golding
00:21:28
Play 16 16 - The Appeal to Caesar Ruth Golding
00:28:35
Play 17 17 - The Le-o-pard Ruth Golding
00:22:47
Play 18 18 - The Leopard's-Bane Ruth Golding
00:26:24
Play 19 19 - F. of H.D. Ruth Golding
00:29:05
Play 20 20 - The Waxen Man Ruth Golding
00:18:56
Play 21 21 - The Atonement of Rupert Ruth Golding
00:19:22
Play 22 22 - The Portrait Ruth Golding
00:21:43
Play 23 23 - The End Ruth Golding
00:27:05