Featured Book - The Railway Children by E. Nesbit - Contributed by Maria

We recently purchased a beautifully bound copy of “The Railway Children” by E. Nesbit which created within me the desire to get to know the story a little bit better. I have seen the film on television but I don't think I ever read the book as a child.... so now is my chance - although I will be reading a paperback copy, not a highly collectable one!

Originally serialised in The London Magazine during 1905 the book was first published in 1906.

The story is set in the English countryside at the turn of the 20th Century (the golden age of steam railways) and tells the story of the Waterbury children.....Read more.

Theme of the Month -Edwardian Education- contributed by Cliff

Hard Labour
Four shillings per week, 7:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday and half day on Saturday as well. That is what Reggie earned when he left school aged 14 in 1913 working for Mr. Pidgeon, market gardener.

Just one fact from a fascinating document from St. Stephens school near Saltash in Cornwall. More than just a register; each year a summary survey of the pupils about to leave school was carried out. This looked at their height, weight, where they lived, what their father did, what they wanted to do when they left school and some notes as to what actually transpired in the years after leaving...Read the Full Article.