The Railway Children

It was such a delight to read this quintessential English children’s story to my daughter. It felt similar in style and content to "The Famous Five" series by Enid Blyton and was similar in spirit to Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons". Nesbit presents us with three children with endless time and considerable freedom to explore and make adventures for themselves outside in the countryside without adult supervision or intervention. How times have changed! They find themselves drawn to the railway, its steam trains and the people who work with them. They personify the trains, and observe their habits closely. Using inventive methods, they rescue those who only they notice are in peril. They are brave, stand together and show strong initiative to do what it right. My daughter enjoyed the dynamic between the three siblings - Bobbie, Peter and Phillys (the later being, by far, her favourite). However, this is not just a “nice” story. We had some interesting discussions about the political and social conditions in Russia at the time, and about the potential for injustice in the U.K. judicial system. We also discussed the strong sense of “Christian Charity” that existed amongst the upper classes in Britain, and the pride of the poorer classes. As a twenty-first century reader, my daughter struggled with several misogynistic comments made by characters in the plot, even though she understood that things were a little different in those days. I can see why The Railway Children remains a steadfast classic and would recommend finding a child and reading it to them at some point: historical escapism at its finest!