The Story of the Amulet (1906)

by E. Nesbit

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Psammead Trilogy (3)

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Classic Literature. Fantasy. Juvenile Fiction. HTML: The final novel in the beloved series about the adventure-seeking Bastable children, The Story of the Amulet follows the group as they are sent away to live at a boarding house while their parents are abroad. There, the children discover a mysterious charm that enables them to travel back in history. This magical tale will delight readers young and old alike. .… (more)

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The Psammead returns in the life of the children and helps them locate a magical time-traveling Amulet. With this new gift, they travel back in the past to historical places like Babylon, Atlantis, Egypt, etc. and even travel to the future.

Nesbit's research into past cultures is clearly visible in the book. But I didn't enjoy this book as much as the former two. Though this story involves time travel, it is the most dated of the three books and the English "We are superior" mentality of the time reveals itself too strongly. I know it was written in 1906 so I shouldn't really judge it by today's standards but somehow, for this book, I couldn't get past this. There were just too many stereotypes in this book and after a point, it just becomes irritating. Rating: 2/5

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RoshReviews | Jul 30, 2024 |

When Cyril, Robert, Anthea and Jane rescue the magic sand-fairy from a pet shop, they have no idea of the astonishing adventures to come!

PlumfieldCH | May 17, 2024 |

When Cyril, Robert, Anthea and Jane rescue the magic sand-fairy from a pet shop, they have no idea of the astonishing adventures to come!

PlumfieldCH | Dec 15, 2023 |

This one is a bit darker than the others. After all, mother is sick and father is going off to war (it sounds like WWI). It was interesting to see the growth in the boys and the conflict between them and Anthea. I was absolutely disgusted with Jane, who seems to have regressed in age and behavior, but then I decided that it was part of the genius of Nesbit for, after all, don't children react that way when they become stressed? It didn't really change my irritation at her, but I tolerated her whining after that.

I think the end was a bit interesting, different than her others. Was that a sly jab at magical tricks? It was a nice ending to a clever series. (

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OutOfTheBestBooks | Sep 24, 2021 |

Typical Nesbit fun, but weighed down a by her Fabianism - it got a bit didactic at times. But it was still a fun read, and I enjoyed her take on the complications of time travel. (

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JanetNoRules | Sep 17, 2018 |

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In The Story of the Amulet Nesbit's powers of invention are at their best. It is a time machine story, only the device is not a machine but an Egyptian amulet whose other half is lost in the past. By saying certain powerful words, the amulet becomes a gate through which the children are able to visit the past or future. Pharaonic Egypt, Babylon (whose dotty queen comes back to London with them and tries to get her personal possessions out of the British Museum), Caesar's Britain: they visit them all in the search for the missing part of the amulet.

Nesbit's history is good. And there is even a look at a Utopian future, which turns out to be everything a good Fabian might have hoped for. Ultimately, the amulet's other half is found, and a story of considerable beauty is concluded in a most unexpected way.

added by SnootyBaronet | editThe New York Review of Books, Gore Vidal

▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
E. Nesbit	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Burlinson, John	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Goodall, J.S.	Illustrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Millar, H. R.	Illustrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

The Psammead Trilogy (3)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Puffin Classics

Is contained in

Five Children and It / The Phoenix and the Carpet / The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit

The Collected Young Readers Fiction of E. Nesbit—Volume 1: The Psammead Adventures: Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet & The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit

Five Children and It [and] The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit

Six stories by E. Nesbit: The Story of the Treasure Seekers, The Wouldbegoods, The Story of the Amulet, Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, The Railway Children by E. Nesbit

The Enchanted Castle/Five Children and It/The Phoenix and the Carpet/The Railway Children/The Story of the Amulet/The Story of the Treasure-Seekers/The Would-be-Goods by E. Nesbit

Has as a study

E. Nesbit's Psammead Trilogy: A Children's Classic at 100 by Raymond E. Jones

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Canonical title

The Story of the Amulet

Original title

The Story of the Amulet

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1906

People/Characters

Cynthia

Robert [Five Children And It]

Important places

Important events

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Epigraph

Dedication

To Dr Wallis Budge of the British Museum as a small token of gratitude for his unfailing kindness and help in the making of it

First words

There were once four children who spent their summer holidays in a white house, happily situated between a sandpit and a chalkpit.

Quotations

No one said a word about it to anyone else. I think I have explained before that business men do not like it to be known that they have been dreaming in business hours. Especially mad dreams including such dreadful things as hungry people getting dinners, and the destruction of the Stock Exchange.

'You'll have a revolt of your slaves if you're not careful,' said the Queen.

'Oh, no,' said Cyril; 'you see they have votes—that makes them safe not to revolt. It makes all the difference. Father told me so.'

'What is this vote?' asked the Queen. 'Is it a charm? What do they do with it?'

'I don't know,' said the harassed Cyril; 'it's just a vote, that's all! They don't do anything particular with it.'

'I see,' said the Queen; 'a sort of plaything.'

Last words

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▾Book descriptions

Classic Literature. Fantasy. Juvenile Fiction. HTML:

The final novel in the beloved series about the adventure-seeking Bastable children, The Story of the Amulet follows the group as they are sent away to live at a boarding house while their parents are abroad. There, the children discover a mysterious charm that enables them to travel back in history. This magical tale will delight readers young and old alike.

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Available online at The Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/search.php?query=T...

Also available at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/837

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