A Great Emergency and Other Tales

In this charming collection, a bright‑eyed narrator recounts the everyday adventures of a close‑knit family, led by the precocious twelve‑year‑old Rupert. When he discovers an old yellow‑leather manual on “how to act with presence of mind in any emergency,” he turns the kitchen garden into an impromptu lecture hall, drawing in his younger sisters Henrietta and Charlie, along with baby Cecil. Their playful banter and earnest attempts to master rescue techniques—starting with a mock lesson on drowning—capture the mix of innocence and earnest moral instruction that defined their world.

Through witty dialogue and vivid domestic scenes, the stories explore the balance between youthful imagination and the era’s expectations of duty and decorum. As the siblings grapple with the idea of preparedness, the narrative offers a gentle satire of Victorian self‑reliance while celebrating the simple pleasures of family life and the earnest desire to be useful, even in the most unlikely of emergencies.