Day after day Philip goes on with his building, putting into it almost everything you can think of. He makes steps of the dominoes, and a terrace of the domino-box. He gets bits of wood from the garden to stick into cotton-reels, which make lovely pots -- and the results look like ornamental trees in tubs. Brass finger-bowls serve for domes -- and the lids of brass kettles and coffee-pots make minarets of dazzling splendor! It is a city -- a fabulous, exotic, miniature city! Just to look upon it seemed magical enough -- but even Philip had no clue just how magical it might turn out to be. Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) is considered the first to write fantasy for children with a modern sensibility, giving inspiration to such others as Charles Williams and C.S. Lewis.

Author Biography

Edith Nesbit (1858 - 1924) was an English author and poet. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 books of fiction for children. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organization later affiliated with the Labour Party. Nesbit published approximately 40 books for children, including novels, collections of stories and picture books. Collaborating with others, she published almost as many more.