The Wouldbegoods
by E. Nesbit
Buy on AmazonThe Wouldbegoods is a novel by E. Nesbit first published in 1901. It tells the story of Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel, and Horace Octavius Bastable, as well as Daisy and Denis Foulkes, and their attempts to perform good deeds, which usually go awry. The novel's complete name is The Wouldbegoods, Being the Further Adventures of the Treasure Seekers. The original edition included illustrations by Reginald B. Birch. The Puffin edition (1958) was illustrated by Cecil Leslie. It is a sequel to The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899) and was followed by The New Treasure Seekers (1904).
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"When I read E. Nesbit's The Wouldbegoods, I had no sense of distance between my own 1960s world and her Edwardian one."
By the Book: Tessa Hadley · nytimes.com