THE MAGIC CITY
by Edith Nesbit (1858–1924)
With all 27 original illustrations by Harold R. Millar (1869–1940)
First published in 1910. The text and illustrations of this book are in the public domain in countries where copyright is “Life+70” or less, and in the USA.
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Edith Nesbit Bland, English author and poet, published approximately 40 books for and about children under the name of E. Nesbit. She created an innovative body of work that combined realistic, contemporary children in real-world settings with magical objects and adventures. In doing so, she influenced many subsequent writers, including P. L. Travers (creator of “Mary Poppins”), Edward Eager (the “Magic” series), Diana Wynne Jones (“Chrestomanci”), J. K. Rowling (“Harry Potter”), and C. S. Lewis (“Narnia”).
When young Philip Haldane and his new step-sister Lucy (whom he resents) are magically transported to a magic city (created by Philip from odds and ends from about the house), they find themselves on an incredible enchanted adventure complete with talking dogs, winged horses, ancient buildings and magic islands. How Philip and Lucy come to forge a friendship and work together to save the Magic City from impending disaster makes for a riveting, entrancing story.
The Magic City is more fanciful and dreamlike than her earlier books about children and magic, rather like the Oz universe, with toys that come to life, imaginary creatures, talking animals, and an adult guide (Mr. Noah from the Noah’s Ark playset) to advise and aid the children in their seven great deeds. Recommended for ages 7–14, but great fun for readers of all ages.
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Notes on the text:
I have added a glossary for some terms which are rather obscure, or in use primarily in Great Britain. Some definitions are simplified for children’s comprehension.
Caveat: The meanings of slang and idiomatic terms have evolved over the past century: some words, which were completely innocent then, have changed to more vulgar usage. Concerned parents may review the glossary for words they find objectionable, and edit the text accordingly.
The spoiler below contains the problematic words, and their actual meanings within the book, as listed in the glossary:
The “child-safe” version has been edited for young readers. Due to changes in meaning in different times and locations, a problematic word has been changed. (Thanks for editing assistance from GMcG, MobileRead forum member.) Individual edits are not footnoted, as I believe this kind of attention would negate the purpose of the editing. If you feel that this editing damages the book, you may download the unedited version.
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Text and images obtained from gutenberg.org. Images were very small, so low-res illustrations again this time. Embedded fonts for titling and drop-caps. Dynamic cross-linked Table Of Contents and List Of Illustrations.
This is yet another rare book --- I only found the Gutenberg edition (and its clones) available anywhere for free download. So, grab this --- “While supplies last!”
Happy reading!
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EDIT:
Uploaded child-safe version (see spoiler above, and post #4 for the reasons). I would love feedback on this subject, I think this kind of situation will be popping up again.
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