Phoenix and the Carpet

NESBIT, E[dith]. The Phoenix and the Carpet. Illustrated by H.R. Millar. NY: The Macmillan Company, 1904. 8vo, viii 257pp + [3] advts. Blue cloth pictorially stamped in gilt, red, and light green. 8 b&w plates. Spine ends rubbed, corners and other edges less so, else a clean, tight copy.

First US edition. The second book in Nesbit’s Psammead Trilogy. Returning to the five siblings from Five Children and It, this wonderful novel follows the children as they find an egg in their nursery’s replacement carpet that hatches a talking Phoenix! And, naturally enough, the carpet that held the Phoenix’s egg is a flying carpet! Incredible adventures ensue! A novel that shows clearly why Nesbit is considered one of the great writers of children’s fantasy! H.G. Wells called it ”the best larking I ever saw.”