The Water-Babies

Charles Kingsley, 1863

Children's classics Victorian novels

A mistreated chimney sweep's story opens into a fairy tale of change and discovery.

Read the book Contents

Length: 9 chapters
Reading time: About 4 hr 46 min
Words: 68,051

About the book

Tom works as a chimney sweep in a northern town, earning money that his master spends. The narrator introduces his ignorance and hardship directly, then begins a story that will carry him beyond the conditions of his ordinary life.

Kingsley mixes a child's adventure with commentary, verse and a speaking storyteller's willingness to interrupt himself. The contrast between familiar injustice and the possibilities of fairy tale gives the book its unusual movement. Its opening asks readers to look closely at a neglected child before following the imaginative transformations announced by the title.

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Children's classics Victorian novels

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. Charles Kingsley died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original dedication.