How I love this book! It's always been at the top of my favorites of Nesbit's, along with its companion story, Harding's Luck. The latter I will also be re-reading soon ... but first I have some required reading I must force myself to get done. *sigh* ( )

That was a fun read.
This is one of the Edith Nesbit books which I have NOT read as a child (actually, I think it is the only one). I bought it in England on my fifteenth summer and read it on the flight back home.
The truth is, that when I took it off the shelf yesterday, in search of something which will be a bit more interesting (and magical) then the Hemingway I was reading, which was starting to bore me - I didn't really remember the plot.
What dissapointed me in the book was its' similiarity to other books which she has written. The clever, magical being, who fulfills the childrens' wishes and then later rescues them out of the trouble which they manage to get themselves into, and is always grumpy and cross even though he secretly harbours those kids a lot of affection. And also the obssesive quest for treasure.
But apart from that, it was a lovely book. I especially liked the fact that the girl was braver than her brother most of the time.
A cute book, and charming and magical and just plain good. ( )

I dearly love this book. It was everything I wanted from a book when I was eleven. It must have been one of teh influences that triggered my interest in historical fashions, and it definitely triggered my interest in English history. It was a great thrill to realise than Bonny Prince Charles and Guy Fawkes had been real person. (I'm Swedish, if anyone wonders.) Elfrida is still one of my favourite heroines, and I still think her 18th century adventure is highly romantic. ( )