THE ENCHANTED CASTLE - A Fantasy Tale for Children and Adults

Book excerpt: The Enchanted Castle is a children’s fantasy tale by Edith Nesbit, author of The Railway Children, Five Children and It plus many Others. The Enchanted Castle a country estate in the West Country of England (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset) seen through the eyes of three children, Jerry, Jimmy, and Kathy, who discover it while exploring during their school holidays in the early 1900’s. The lake, groves and marble statues, with white towers and turrets in the distance, make a fairy-tale setting, and then in the middle of the maze in the rose garden, they find a sleeping fairy-tale princess. The "princess" tells them that the castle is full of magic, and they almost believe her. She shows them the treasures of the castle, including a magic ring she says is a ring of invisibility, but when it actually turns her invisible she panics and admits that she is the housekeeper's niece, Mabel, and she was just play-acting. The children soon find that the ring has other magical powers (as all magical rings do) such as making the "Ugly-Wugglies" (Guy Fawkes style dummies they had made to swell the audience at one of their play-performances) come to life. They eventually discover that the ring is actually granting their own wishes, and that the disturbing results stem from their failure to specify those wishes precisely. The Enchanted Castle was written for both children and adults. It combines descriptions of the imaginative play of children, with a magic more muted than in her major fantasies. =============== KEYWORDS/TAGS: enchanted castle, west country, children’s fantasy, tale, folklore, myths, legends, Jerry, Jimmy, Kathy, school holidays, lake, groves, marble statues, white, gleaming, towers, turrets, explore, fairy-tale setting, maze, fairy tale princess, sleeping, asleep, castle, palace, magic, magic ring, invisibility, housekeeper, niece, mabel, play-acting, magical powers, ugly wuggly, ugly-wuggly, ugly wugglies, guy fawkes, contemporary fantasy, fiction, imagination, railway children, five children and it, Castle hall, magnificent, deceiver, head first, entrance, enchanted garden, red clue, across the grass, straight, breathless, result, game, question, candle, silver frame, mirror, shadow, bread and butter, missy, policemen, go home, stone beast, silver, sea chest, landing stage, stagger, water butt, eliza, dishevelled, breathless, french peck, lovely, blue-black hair, limp hand, telling lies, strange procession, pointed, painted, paper face, peer, pieces, hats, raised, crowded place, statue, monster lizard, tremble, swim, celestial picnic, eager, alert, very keen, American,