When Cyril, Anthea, Robert and Jane accidentally destroy a carpet in their London home with fireworks, their parents replace it with a second-hand one. Upon unfurling it, the children find an egg inside, and, when one of them accidentally drops it into the fire, it hatches into a magical golden phoenix, who tells them that he can take them on the carpet to any location they wish. This revelation sets the siblings – and their baby brother Lamb – off on wild adventures, taking them around London and to far-flung destinations such as India and a remote tropical island.

After the success of Five Children and It, E. Nesbit decided to recast its much-loved characters in this sequel, which has now become a classic in its own right, enchanting generations of readers and inspiring many film and television adaptations.

No childhood is complete without The Railway Children. * The Telegraph *

English author and poet Edith Nesbit (1858 – 1924) is best remembered as E. Nesbit, the name she used for all of her children’s books and stories. She achieved fame for Five Children and It, The House of Arden and The Railway Children, which has become one of the most cherished classics of English literature.