Edgeworth’s collection of stories for children mixes Irish and English settings with sharply observed young people: industrious Jem and idle Lawrence, Simple Susan and her lamb, the orphans who make a home in a ruined castle, the schoolboys of Eton Montem. Each tale teaches honesty, thrift or kindness, but through real incident and dialogue rather than sermon.
These tales shaped children’s fiction for a century after their 1796 debut and still read with surprising liveliness. Download the free EPUB.