Just Finished Reading: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit (FP: 1906) [319pp] 

Their adventure began with the arrival of two strange men to see their father. When they left, with their father between them, it was strange enough. When he didn’t return that night strangeness transformed into worry. It seemed that in no time at all they were with their mother on a train heading into the countryside. When they arrived late that evening, none of them knew where, the house – actually more of a cottage – was dark and deserted. Without any servants they had to light their own (small) fire and make their own beds. Mother could tell them little except that their father would be staying in London for a while, and they must make do until he returned. With a new place to explore the children were happy, if still worried, to spend their days watching the trains rumble by and waving at the passengers who, sometimes, waved back. But the real adventures began when they watched in horror as a landslip engulfed the track and only they could prevent a terrible accident from occurring! 

This book surprised me in many ways, firstly because at just how readable it was despite its target readership being Middle class Edwardian children. The other big surprise was the number of times Russia and in particular the Russo-Japanese war came up... in a CHILDRENS book! It interested me that arguments broke out in the village between supporters of Russia or Japan based on newspaper reports of the conflict. A minor character of an exiled Russian author appeared looking for his family after spending time in prison and Siberia for his writing and was helped by the children's mother who could ‘get by’ in Russian. She explained to the children that the author was arrested and convicted for his political views and the authoritarian Russians really didn’t like that sort of thing! All very topical, given the publication date, but surprising just the same. 

Like most children’s books – especially of that time – this was largely a series of morality tales to teach (middle-class!) youngsters how to behave in public. It taught being truthful, being essentially good, being kind – especially to those less well off – but it also taught the values of courage, standing up for your principles, thinking things through, basic problem solving, fortitude under difficult circumstances and a whole host of other things. The age spread of the children – I think the boy was the middle child – meant that no one was in full authority, but it did allow the girls to take charge more often than not and to be proven right, more often than not. It was an interesting dynamic to use. This was a fast read and a surprisingly pleasant one. I’m really not sure if it would be appreciated by today’s childish readers but I think if you’re anything like me you will enjoy it – even if just for the nostalgia of a much simpler time. I’ll make a point of watching the 1970 movie (which I haven’t seen in decades) next time it's on. Recommended.  

[Highest page count of the year so far: 319pp]

[Edit: Oh, I'd forgotten one STRANGE bit.... Over half way through the children had a brief (maybe a page or so) discussion amongst themselves about how odd it would be if they were characters in a book! VERY meta....! Not exactly breaking the 4th wall, but interesting nevertheless. I'm not sure if I've read anything like that outside of some SF stories along the way. It was both weird and rather fun.]