The Magic City (novel)

Last updated

The Magic City
MagicCity.png
Front cover of the first edition
Author Edith Nesbit
Illustrator H. R. Millar
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's fantasy novel
Publisher Macmillan
Publication date
1910
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardcover; later paperback)
Pages333 pp

The Magic City is a children's book by E. Nesbit, first published in 1910. It initially appeared as a serial in The Strand Magazine , with illustrations by Spencer Pryse.

Contents

Plot summary

After Philip's older sister and sole family member Helen marries, he goes off to live with Helen's new step daughter Lucy. He has trouble adjusting at first, thrown into the world different from his previous life and abandoned by his sister while she is on her honeymoon. To entertain himself he builds a giant model city from things around the house: game pieces, books, blocks, bowls, etc. Then, through some magic, he finds himself inside the city, and it is alive with the people he has populated it with. Some soldiers find him and tell him that two outsiders have been foretold to be coming: a Deliverer and a Destroyer. Mr. Noah, from a Noah's Ark playset, tells Philip that there are seven great deeds to be performed if he wants to prove himself the Deliverer. Lucy, too, has found her way into the city and joins Philip as a co-Deliverer, much to his chagrin. [1]

Locations

  • Polistopolis—the Magic City of the title, capital of Polistarchia.
  • The Land of the Dwellers by the Sea—a region of Polistarchia.
  • The Island—off the shore in the Sea.
  • Somnolentia—formerly Briskford, renamed by the Great Sloth, in the north of Polistarchia, home of the Halma people.

Characters in "The Magic City"

Temple of the Great Sloth, illustration by H. R. Millar Great Sloth.jpg
Temple of the Great Sloth, illustration by H. R. Millar
  • Philip also called Pip.
  • Helen, his sister.
  • Lucy (Lu for short).
  • Peter Graham, her father.
  • The Nurse.
  • Mr. Noah, the chief judge.
  • Mr. Perrin, the carpenter.
  • The motor veil lady, given the title of "Pretender-in-Chief to the Claimancy of the Deliverership" and called Pretenderette for short.
  • The Lord High Islander.

The Great Deeds

Philip and Lucy performed the Great Deeds to prove that he was Deliverer and she co-Deliverer. Some of them were mostly done by one person, and some equally labored over. Three of them were pronounced Great Deeds by Mr. Noah after they had been performed, the other four were assigned tasks. [1]

1. Kill the Dragon: assigned, done by Philip, while Lucy played the role of Princess in distress.

2. Disentangling the Mazy Carpet: assigned, mostly done by Lucy.

3. Slay the Fear of the Dwellers by the Sea: assigned, done mostly by Philip.

4. Slaying the Lions in the Desert: shared task, completed before 3, pronounced a deed after the fact.

5. Supplying Polistarchia with Fruit: done by Philip, pronounced a deed after the fact.

6. Devise a Means of Keeping the Great Sloth Awake and Busy: assigned task, shared effort.

7. Freeing Polistopolis from the Pretenderette: shared task, pronounced a deed after the fact.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> 1950 childrens fantasy novel by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a portal fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956). Among all the author's books, it is also the most widely held in libraries. It was the first of The Chronicles of Narnia to be written and published, but is marked as volume two in recent editions that are sequenced according the stories' internal chronology. Like the other Chronicles, it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and her work has been retained in many later editions.

<i>The Mill on the Floss</i> 1860 novel by George Eliot

The Mill on the Floss is a novel by English author George Eliot, first published in three volumes on 4 April 1860 by William Blackwood and Sons. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York.

Watcher (<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>) Fictional character

In the fictional universe of the television series' Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel aWatcher is a member of a secret organization of parapsychologists. The Watchers' Council, which seeks to prepare the Slayer to fight demonic forces. A notable example of a Watcher is Buffy main character Rupert Giles. They are typically modelled after the fictional character Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.

<i>Yours, Mine and Ours</i> (1968 film) 1968 film by Melville Shavelson

Yours, Mine and Ours is a 1968 American family comedy drama film directed by Melville Shavelson. The film stars Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda and Van Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clonliffe</span> Inner city area of north Dublin, Ireland

Clonliffe is an area on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland, between Ballybough and Drumcondra in the Dublin 3 postal district.

<i>Not Wanted on the Voyage</i> Book by Timothy Findley

Not Wanted on the Voyage is a novel by Canadian author Timothy Findley, which presents a magic realist post-modern re-telling of the Great Flood in the biblical Book of Genesis. It was first published by Viking Canada in the autumn of 1984, and was a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 1984 Governor General's Awards.

<i>Rifles for Watie</i> 1957 childrens novel by Harold Keith

Rifles for Watie is a children's novel by American writer Harold Keith. It was first published in 1957, and received the Newbery Medal the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Allingham</span> English painter

Helen Allingham was a British watercolourist and illustrator of the Victorian era.

<i>The Major and the Minor</i> 1942 film by Billy Wilder

The Major and the Minor is a 1942 American romantic comedy film starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. It was the first American film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay credited to Wilder and Charles Brackett is "suggested by" the 1923 play Connie Goes Home by Edward Childs Carpenter, based on the 1921 Saturday Evening Post story "Sunny Goes Home" by Fannie Kilbourne.

<i>The Penderwicks</i> 2005 childrens novel by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy is a children's novel by Jeanne Birdsall, published by Knopf in 2005. This was Birdsall's first book published and it inaugurated the Penderwicks series, whose fifth and final volume was published in 2018. Both The Penderwicks and its sequel The Penderwicks on Gardam Street were New York Times Best Sellers. The remaining books in the series are The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, The Penderwicks in Spring, and The Penderwicks at Last.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canaan (son of Ham)</span> Biblical figure

Canaan, according to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, was a son of Ham and grandson of Noah, as well as the father of the Canaanites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aslan</span> Fictional lion, a deity in The Chronicles of Narnia

Aslan is a major character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. Unlike any other character in the Narnian series, Aslan appears in all seven chronicles. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion and is described as the King of Beasts, the son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea, and the King above all High Kings in Narnia.

<i>The Grange at High Force</i> 1965 childrens novel by Philip Turner

The Grange at High Force is a children's novel by Philip Turner, published by Oxford in 1965 with illustrations by William Papas. It was the second book published in the author's Darnley Mills series. Turner won the annual Carnegie Medal, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.

<i>Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters</i> 2009 novel by Ben H. Winters

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (2009) is a parody novel by Ben H. Winters, with Jane Austen credited as co-author. It is a mashup story containing elements from Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility and common tropes from sea monster stories. It is the thematic sequel to another 2009 novel from the same publisher called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It was first published by Quirk Books on September 15, 2009.

<i>Ben & Hollys Little Kingdom</i> British preschool animated childrens television series

Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom is a British preschool animated television series. The show was created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, and produced by Astley Baker Davies and by Entertainment One. Many of the voice actors who worked on Peppa Pig have lent their voices to the show; these include John Sparkes, Sarah Ann Kennedy, David Rintoul and David Graham. The music is produced by Julian Nott, who is noted for his Wallace and Gromit, Bing and Peppa Pig scores. Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom is the third show to be produced by Astley Baker Davies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Brodie Spence</span> Australian politician

John Brodie Spence was a prominent Scottish-born banker and politician in the early days of South Australia. He was a brother of the reformer Catherine Helen Spence. And the father of Lucy Morice, a kindergarten worker, and social reformer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Eighth Witch</span> 10th episode of the 7th season of Once Upon a Time

"The Eighth Witch" is the tenth episode of the seventh season and the 143rd episode overall of the American fantasy-drama series Once Upon a Time. Written by Jane Espenson and Jerome Schwartz and directed by Ralph Hemecker, it premiered on ABC in the United States on December 15, 2017.

Annowre (Anouwre) is an evil enchantress who desires King Arthur in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d' Arthur. Malory based her on a nameless character from the earlier Prose Tristan, who was named as Elergia in the Italian La Tavola Ritonda.

<i>The Magicians Elephant</i> (film) 2023 film by Wendy Rogers

The Magician's Elephant is a 2023 animated fantasy adventure film directed by Wendy Rogers, written by Martin Hynes and produced by Julia Pistor. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo, the film features the voices of Noah Jupe, Mandy Patinkin, Natasia Demetriou, Benedict Wong, Miranda Richardson and Aasif Mandvi. Animated by Animal Logic, the film was distributed by Netflix and released on March 17, 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 "When Toys and Books Come Alive: Edith Nesbit's The Magic City". Tor.com. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2017.