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Summary

Two impoverished children, Edred and Elfrida Arden, inherit the decrepit Arden Castle and search for the lost family fortune that will allow them to rebuild it. With the assistance of the magical Mouldiwarp (mole), they travel back in time to earlier periods of English history, searching for clues.

During their journeys into the past, the children encounter several historical events:
1807: Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom, the British military response, and the smuggling around Dymchurch Bay (called "Lymchurch" in the story)
ca. 1705: a visit from the "Chevalier St. George" (the Old Pretender) during the reign of Queen Anne
1605: the Gunpowder Plot and a meeting with Sir Walter Raleigh in the Tower of London, from which the children escape using the same stratagem Lady Nithsdale would use in 1717
ca. 1535: a May Day celebration with Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, with premonitions of Anne's execution.

The final episode, in which the children rescue their father from a lost civilization in South America, is reminiscent of the legends of El Dorado and other Cities of Gold.

10% of all profits will be donated to charities.
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KEYWORDS/TAGS: House of Arden, edith Nesbit, childrens fantasy, children’s story, tales, fables, children’s book, Edred, Elfrida, arden’s lord, mouldiwarp, mole, boney’s times, Bonaparte, landing of the French, highwayman, secret panel, key, parlour, guy fawkes, prisoners in the tower, tower of London, white wings, brownie, developments, films, clouds, may-blossom, pearls, find, treasure, Hat, bow, flourish, walk Slowly, Red-Brick, Sidewalk, pavement, Aye, Turning Pages, Quick, Anxious, Carrier’s Cart, Hoity-Toity, Old Lady, witch, gnarled, wizened, Severe; Manners, gift, Tea And Sugar, Mouldiwarp, mole, magic, Little Run, Jump, Catch, invasion, Landing, Fleet, Lymchurch Bay, white clock, Sit Down, Line Of Daisies, New Scarf, Modish, modern, mod, Shoot, Betty, Candle, Voices, Truth, Little Miss, Shake, Big Chair, Fall, E. Talbot, Circling Wings, Lady In Crimson, Ermine, Gold Crown, Tremble And Shake, Crooked, Train, Parrot-Nose, Occupy, Armed Guard, Coach, Nurse, Stream, Low Arch, Stone, Soldiers, Mrs Honeysett, Back Door, Plucking, White Chicken, Old Neale, Admire Busting, Book-Larnin, Twenty One, Richer,
Minute Hand, Houses, Great Blocks,

• Contemporary Fiction
• Fairy Tales
• Young Readers