The Blue Jar Story Book

audiobook

The Blue Jar Story Book

by Maria Edgeworth, Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, Alicia Catherine Mant

EN·~2 hours·28 chapters

Chapters

28 total

"The guinea,—the guinea, sir, that you got from this child!"—Page 35

0:04

Copyright, 1906, by - McLoughlin Bros., New York.

0:14

The moment it was on the table Rosamond ran up to it with an exclamation of joy.

0:05

THE BLUE JAR. - MARIA EDGEWORTH

11:10

THE BASKET-WOMAN - MARIA EDGEWORTH.

4:55

"Look, grandmother—look at my scotcher!"

6:31

"We might buy something very useful with the guinea."

18:26

THE SEA VOYAGE. - CHARLES LAMB.

5:30

"He would show me all pretty sea-sights."

6:51

THE CHANGELING. - MARY LAMB.

3:19

Description

In a bustling London street, seven‑year‑old Rosamond clutches her mother’s hand while a parade of colorful shop windows tempts her imagination. From glittering jewellery to a chemist’s dazzling jars, each display provokes a cascade of questions about beauty, usefulness, and the simple wish for a new pair of shoes. The narrative captures her earnest, almost poetic negotiations with a pragmatic mother who balances affection with the hard facts of daily poverty.

When the pair finally enters the crowded shoemaker’s shop, the contrast between the dark, leather‑scented interior and the bright, hopeful jars outside sharpens Rosamond’s longing. Her candid observations about the smells, the stones in her shoe, and the promise of a perfect fit reveal a child's sharp eye for both wonder and necessity. The story gently explores the tension between desire and need, inviting listeners to recall their own childhood quests for something just out of reach.

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Details

Language

en

Duration

~2 hours (133K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by David Edwards, Ross Cooling and the Online Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net. (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Release date

2010-11-28

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the authors

Maria Edgeworth

Maria Edgeworth

1768–1849

A sharp, entertaining pioneer of both children’s fiction and the novel of Irish life, this Anglo-Irish writer mixed storytelling with a keen interest in education, society, and how people really behave. Her books helped shape the realistic novel and won readers across Britain and Ireland.

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Charles Lamb

Charles Lamb

1775–1834

Best known for the warm, personal Essays of Elia and for Tales from Shakespeare, written with his sister Mary, this beloved English essayist brought wit, tenderness, and everyday life into literature. His writing still feels close and human nearly two centuries later.

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Mary Lamb

Mary Lamb

1764–1847

Best known for helping bring Shakespeare to young readers, this English writer turned great plays into lively, readable stories. Her life was marked by hardship, but her work has stayed in print for generations.

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AC

Alicia Catherine Mant

d. 1869

Best known for moral, imaginative stories for young readers, this 19th-century English writer built a steady body of children's fiction from the early 1800s onward. Her life stretched from Southampton to County Antrim, linking an English literary upbringing with a later life in Ireland.

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