The Water-Babies (Books of Wonder) - Hardcover

Kingsley, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 068814831X ISBN 13: 9780688148317

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1997

Synopsis

A classic since its first publication, in 1863, The Water-Babies is the story of Tom, a little chimney sweep, and his magical adventures beneath the waves.

When young Tom flees his sooty, dangerous toil and his cruel master, Grimes, he finds himself plunged into "a quiet, silent, rich, happy place"--a land beneath the water "so out of the way the bad bogies can hardly find it out." There, Tom meets haughty dragonflies, makes friends with a slowwitted lobster, and dodges hungry otters. Eventually he meets the other water-babies and their clever rulers, Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid and Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby.

Charles Kingsley's "fairy tale for a land baby" has charmed generations of readers. This handsome facsimile edition-with Jessie Willcox Smith's twelve exquisite full-color plates and two-color illustrations throughout-is the perfect way to introduce this classic to a new generation.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Among the most popular children’s books of the Victorian period, The Water-Babies continues to delight readers of all ages. It tells the story of a young boy named Tom, who escapes his harsh life as a chimney sweep by being transformed into a “water-baby.” His adventures underwater introduce him to strange animals, gentle fairies, and exotic seascapes, and Kingsley frequently digresses from the mythical narrative with his commentary on political and scientific topics. Many of Linley Sambourne’s remarkable illustrations from the 1886 edition are included in the text of the novel.

This Broadview edition reproduces the first edition of The Water-Babies, published in 1863. The appendices include a broad selection of other 19th-century children’s literature and excerpts from Kingsley’s essays on evolution, hygiene, and education.

About the Author:

Charles Kingsley (1819--1875) served as Chaplin to the Queen, Tutor to the Prince of Wales, and Canon of Westminster. His writings include Westward Ho! (1855) and The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for My Children (1856). A keen naturalist and social reformer, he was in his lifetime a revered, though at times controversial, figure.

Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935) was one of the most popular and successful American illustrators of the early twentieth century. A student at Howard Pyle's Brandywine School of American Illustration, her hundreds of magazine illustrations and more than forty illustrated books include Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses (1905), Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies (1916), and George MacDonald's At the Back of the North Wind (1919) and The Princess and the Goblin (1920).

Peter Glassman is the owner of Books of Wonder, the New York City bookstore and publisher specializing in new and old imaginative books for children. He is also the editor of the Books of Wonder Classics, a series of deluxe facsimiles and newly illustrated editions of timeless tales. And he is the author of The Wizard Next Door, illustrated by Steven Kellogg. Mr. Glassman lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 068814831X
• ISBN 13: 9780688148317
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 369
• Illustrator: Smith Jessie W