New Treasure Seekers; Or, The Bastable Children in Search of a Fortune

About the book

The six Bastable children return in a sequence of escapades narrated through Oswald's entertainingly partial account. Expeditions, imaginative projects, encounters with strangers, and attempts to intervene usefully in other people's affairs provide fresh opportunities for misunderstanding. The chapter titles promise explorers, antiquaries, smugglers, and other adventurous roles, but the children's practical surroundings rarely cooperate exactly with the stories they would like to inhabit. Nesbit allows good intentions and self-importance to coexist, especially when the narrator explains why an unfortunate result should not count entirely against him. The humour depends on readers recognizing what Oswald cannot quite admit. Affection among the siblings gives the episodes continuity, making this a further exploration of how children use stories to organize experience while learning that other people have purposes of their own.

• Imagination and reality
• Sibling loyalty
• Good intentions

Why read it

For further Bastable adventures whose narrator's earnest explanations are often the clearest evidence of what he has misunderstood.

Bastable stories · English text