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The Deliverers of Their Country
When an unusual spell of warm weather hatches out several hundred thousand dormant dragons, Britain seems doomed to a fiery death. But young Harry and Effie do not give up, and eventually earn the gratitude of the entire nation. Full color.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1901
About the author
E. Nesbit
1,044 books1,010 followers
Edith Nesbit
(married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit.
She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party.
Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading.
At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran.
Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today).
In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party.
Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading.
At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran.
Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today).
In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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December 31, 2010Read for Children's Literature class. Love Nesbit's writings.
Dragons infest the land and Effie and Harry set off to save their country with the help of St George.
Dragons infest the land and Effie and Harry set off to save their country with the help of St George.
March 20, 2011
Amazingly clever children's story. I loved every bit of it.
August 18, 2018
As a collector of Lisbeth Zwerger I was tickled to find this at Half Price Books. Of course, the illustrations are gorgeous but the story is fantastical, silly and quite fun. Need to read more Nesbit.
February 1, 2014
A little girl gets something in her eye. Her father takes it out puts it under the microscope. What he sees is a tiny lizard with wings!? He calls the specialist and he has one too. A few days later more come. Bigger come! Soon they start invading the land. When a dragon takes the biggest Eliphant from the zoo people start buying dragon poson and dragon proof curtains. They only nice thing about dragons is they don't go out at night. Sophie and Sam (which is the little girl and her older brother) couldn't stand watching the green grass in the sunlight. So they made a plan. The next day Sophie wrapped herself in the curtains and Sam decked himself with dragon powder. They set off to get St. George when they say the statue carved in marble. They did everything they could to wake him up . Finally in despair Sophie cried. Whats the matter little one? It was St. George! We need your help dragons are invading the land. Sorry I can't help you with that,. Have you ever heard of the taps room? Dragons like warm weather turn on the cold weather tap and everything will be fine. Just then a dragon came by and swooped them up and took them to a cave. They quickly went inside. There was the door that said The Taps Room. They went in turned on the cold tap and everything was fine well for now.
November 1, 2014
This is a fun adorable read for kids. I fondly recall reading these in much younger days and this was a happy revisit.
The story is a simple fantasy with plenty of fun elements. It is enchanting from beginning to end. I read this with my 6 year old niece, and she was enthralled! These are such lovely stories with rich characters and creative situations.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Karen Krause, who is delightful. She has a nice steady pace that moves with the story. I love her accent, it is like having your own British nanny to read to you! She was inventive and fun with the character voices. I imagine she would we just as wonderful in person at a children's story hour! I delight for my ears!
Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thought, opinions and ratings are my own.
The story is a simple fantasy with plenty of fun elements. It is enchanting from beginning to end. I read this with my 6 year old niece, and she was enthralled! These are such lovely stories with rich characters and creative situations.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Karen Krause, who is delightful. She has a nice steady pace that moves with the story. I love her accent, it is like having your own British nanny to read to you! She was inventive and fun with the character voices. I imagine she would we just as wonderful in person at a children's story hour! I delight for my ears!
Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thought, opinions and ratings are my own.
January 11, 2013
My first reaction to this book is that it is rather lengthy for a children’s book, I do not like the sentence structure either, it is very choppy. If I were to read this in front of a classroom the students would not be able to sit long enough to listen to the story. Also, I don’t like the message the book has; the book refers to children killing the dragons for fun and the dragons eating the children. Even though this book is supposed to be looked at in a fiction/fantasy manner, some children may become afraid.
April 2, 2018
I always liked E. Nesbit more for her influence on Edward Eager than in her own right. This is a cute picture book, but a little creepy, too.
October 14, 2008
I love E Nesbit! Wonderful story about dragons!
April 9, 2015
While this story was found in Nesbit's Book of Dragons so this is a re-read, the illustrations made it worth visiting again. Plus it is a great story.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews