A stunning new edition with deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. A masterpiece of nostalgia, Charles Kingsley's Victorian classic tells of Tom, a young chimney sweep who falls into a river and, becoming a water-baby, is guided back to humanity through a series of adventures, each with a moral lesson. Part of the fascination with the book today is the reflection of Victorian-era debates about poverty, working children and the eternal conflict between nature vs nurture. The FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'In fact, the fairies had turned him into a water-baby. A water-baby? You never heard of a water-baby. Perhaps not. That is the very reason why this story was written.' Poor Tom is an orphan, employed by the underhand Grimes as a chimney sweep. While cleaning a chimney one day, Tom becomes lost and appears in Ellie's bedroom. She mistakes him for a thief and he flees in fright, down to the edge of a stream where he falls asleep. In his dreamlike world, he becomes a water baby, swimming with the other water babies and discovering an aquatic playground full of strange and wonderful characters.

After being chased from the home of an upper-class young girl called Ellie, chimney-sweep Tom falls asleep and tumbles into a river. There he is transformed into a 'water-baby' and his adventures truly begin. Beneath the surface, he enters a magical world full of strange and wonderful creatures, where he must prove his moral worth in order to earn what he truly desires. One of the most unusual children's books ever written, The Water-Babies, subtitled 'A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby', was originally intended as a satire in support of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, and explores many of the issues at the forefront of biologists' minds at the time. First published as a complete novel in 1863, Charles Kingsley's classic tale also explores ideas about religion, the Victorian education system and the working conditions of children and the poor. With glorious black and white illustrations by W. Heath Robinson and an introduction by author and journalist Christina Hardyment. Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

Charles Kingsley (1819 75) is best remembered today as the author of the children's morality tale The Water Babies. This biography, written by his wife and published in 1877, draws on his letters to describe a man who saw his faith as being central to his life not only as an Anglican priest, but also as a historian, novelist and supporter of social reform. The two-volume work gives insights into the concerns and preoccupations of the intellectual classes of the mid-Victorian period. Volume 1 covers the period until 1856. We read Kingsley's precocious sermon written at the age of four, and his first attempts at poetry. As an adult he was keenly aware of the inequalities of Victorian life, and his support for the Chartists and social reform can be traced back to his witnessing the 1831 Bristol Riots, his vivid description of which is included here.

Charles Kingsley (1819-75) is best remembered today as the author of the children's morality tale The Water Babies. This biography, written by his wife and published in 1877, draws on his letters to describe a man who saw his faith as being central to his life not only as an Anglican priest, but also as a historian, novelist and supporter of social reform. The two-volume work gives insights into the concerns and preoccupations of the intellectual classes of the mid-Victorian period. In Volume 2, Fanny Kingsley gives passionate support to her husband in the notorious controversy with J. H. Newman, provoked by an article in Macmillan's Magazine. Also included is an account of a tour of France, and letters in support of women's suffrage. In summing up his life, his wife writes, 'Many of his dreams - social, sanitary, and others - improbable as they seemed at the time, have been realised ...'.

'this is all a fairy tale...and, therefore, you are not to believe a word of it, even if it is true' The Water-Babies (1863) is one of the strangest and most powerful children's stories ever written. In describing the underwater adventures of Tom, a chimney-sweeper's boy who is transformed into a water-baby after he drowns, Charles Kingsley combined comic fantasy and moral fable to extraordinary effect. Tom's encounters with friendly fish, curious lobsters, and characters such as Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby are both an exciting fairy tale and a crash course in evolutionary theory. They also reflect the quirky imagination of one of the great Victorian eccentrics. Tom's adventures are constantly interrupted by Kingsley's sideswipes at contemporary issues such as child labour and the British education system, and they offer a rich satiric take on the great scientific debates of the day. This edition reprints the original complete version of the story, and includes a lively introduction, detailed explanatory notes, and an appendix that reprints Kingsley's first attempt to describe the mysterious creatures that live under the sea.

The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a children's novel by the Reverend Charles Kingsley. Written in 1862-1863 as a serial for Macmillan's Magazine, it was first published in its entirety in 1863. The book was extremely popular in England during its day, and was a mainstay of British children's literature through the 1920s. The book was adapted into an animated film The Water Babies in 1978 starring James Mason, Bernard Cribbins and Billie Whitelaw. The movie's storyline diverges widely from the book.It was also adapted into a musical theatre version produced at the Garrick Theatre in London, in 1902. The adaptation was described as a "fairy play," by Rutland Barrington, with music by Frederick Rosse, Albert Fox, and Alfred Cellier. The book was also produced as a play by Jason Carr and Gary Yershon, mounted at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2003, directed by Jeremy Sams, starring Louise Gold, Joe McGann, Katherine O'Shea, and Neil McDermott.The story was also adapted into a radio series (BBC Audiobooks Ltd, 1998) featuring Timothy West, and Julia McKenzie. (wikipedia.org)

Stories of the heroes of ancient Greece, told in fine poetic prose. Includes accounts of Perseus who slew Medusa the Gorgon, Jason who sought the Golden Fleece, and Theseus who slew the Minotaur. By preserving the Greek spirit in the retelling of these myths, Kingsley gives us plain strength and seriousness, courage, steadfastness, and beauty. Dozens of attractive illustrations by T. H. Robinson enliven the text. Suitable for ages 9 and up.

The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a children's novel by the Reverend Charles Kingsley. Written in 1862-1863 as a serial for Macmillan's Magazine, it was first published in its entirety in 1863. The book was extremely popular during its day, and was a mainstay of children's literature through the 1920s.

Retold for young readers, these tales honour early Greek heroes - brave men who conquered monstrous creatures and defeated villains, including Jason and the Argonauts, Theseus, who fought the Minotaur, and Perseus, who slew Medusa.

The classic story of a chimney-boy's discoveries in a magical underwater world. Tom, an ill-treated chimney-boy, jumps into a cool stream to clean the soot off himself - and becomes a water baby, cleaner and happier than he has ever been, in a fairy world under river and sea. Meeting beautiful and frightening creatures, getting into all sorts of mishaps, and learning some lessons along the way, Tom travels to the Other-end-of-Nowhere on an unforgettable voyage of discovery. This story has been specially abridged for Puffin Classics