The House of Arden · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The House of Arden by E. Nesbit.
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Chapter 1
I: Arden's Lord
Edred and Elfrida Arden learn that Edred has inherited the title of Lord Arden from a distant cousin. The children, who live with their aunt in a seaside lodging house, explore the ruined Arden Castle and the old lord's house, where they discover a spell for finding treasure hidden in a book. Edred resolves to recite the spell at sunset.
Chapter 2
The Mouldiwarp
Elfrida and Edred encounter the living golden crest of the Arden family, which transforms into a white talking mole called the Mouldiwarp. The Mouldiwarp challenges them to be nice to each other for a whole day and then look for 'the door' in the house. After several failed attempts, they succeed in being polite and cooperative, and the Mouldiwarp reappears when they recite a poem. Edred expresses a desire to travel into the past to find the treasure, and the Mouldiwarp gives them the task of finding the door after a full day of kindness.
Chapter 3
III: In Boney’s Times
Edred and Elfrida find themselves transported back to 1807, where they are mistaken for children of the Arden household. They encounter a wise woman who prophesies the future, including the French landing in Lymchurch Bay and three signs involving the white Mouldiwarp. Lord Arden initially scoffs but witnesses the signs, leading to a growing belief in the children's strange adventure.
Chapter 4
IV: The Landing of the French
Elfrida wakes to see a beacon bonfire lit, signaling the French are coming, but she is too sleepy to care. In the grey morning, a storm tears open their window, and the children go to the cliff where a crowd of armed men watches a French ship, the Bonne Esperance, drive toward the rocks. The ship wrecks, and Lord Arden declares the French have landed. Elfrida, distressed, summons the Mouldiwarp, who tells them to return to the castle. They find the attic door, change back into their own clothes, and learn from the mole that they are back in 1907. The chapter then shifts to a dinner in 1807, where Lord Arden, spurred by the wise woman's prophecy and rumors, arms the village. The children explore, seeing men sharpening weapons and burying valuables, and women mending uniforms, while lookouts scan the sea.
Chapter 5
V: The Highwayman and the ⸻
Elfrida is rescued by a mysterious highwayman who returns her to Arden Castle, where she and Cousin Bet discover he is the Chevalier St. George (the Old Pretender) seeking refuge. Meanwhile, back in the present, Elfrida and Edred consult the Mouldiwarp about setting back the clock, and Elfrida composes a poem to summon the mole. The Mouldiwarp instructs them to stop the clock by sitting on the second hand, leading to a surreal vision of the lawn stretching. The chapter also includes a flashback to Elfrida's uncomfortable journey from London to Tonbridge in a bumpy carriage with Cousin Bet.
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