Children Anstey, F.: Only Toys! (illus). v1. 07 Dec 2021

[GrannyGrump]

Only Toys! by F. Anstey (1856–1934)
35 illustrations by H. R. Millar (1869–1942)

A fantastical story for young and old.

A bored brother and sister are shrunk to Lilliputian size by Santa Claus. Irene and Torquil discover that not only are their toys alive but that the dolls, tin soldiers and other playthings regard themselves as completely human. Myriad adventures and mishaps ensue. At one point the miniaturized siblings are haled into court for boarding a train without tickets. The judge is utterly gob-smacked when he hears the charge: “No! I can’t — I can’t believe it. Whatever you may be, Prisoners, tell me you have not sunk to that!” Eventually, Irene and Torquil are acquitted when their brilliant lawyer, a jack-in-the-box, proves that the pair aren’t really “human,” that they are “only toys.”
(—Washington Post, June 2017)

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Thomas Anstey Guthrie (8 August 1856 – 10 March 1934) was an English author (writing as F. Anstey), most noted for his comic novel Vice Versa about a boarding-school boy and his father exchanging identities. His reputation was confirmed by The Tinted Venus and many humorous parodies in Punch magazine. Guthrie became an important member of the staff of Punch magazine, in which his “Voces Populi” pieces and his humorous parodies of a reciter’s stock-piece (“Burglar Bill,” etc.) represent his best work. Other familiar titles include The Black Poodle and The Brass Bottle. Many of Anstey’s stories have been adapted into theatrical productions and motion pictures.

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This was first published in 1903. This ebook is in the public domain where copyright is “Life+70” or less, and in the USA.
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