
CHAPTER I WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE, AND OTHERS
CHAPTER II WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE’S GODMOTHER
CHAPTER III WHICH TELLS OF A KEY-HOLE IN A WALL
CHAPTER IV WHICH INTRODUCES SWEET WILLIAM
CHAPTER V IN WHICH THE HEROINE DISTINGUISHES HERSELF
CHAPTER VI IN WHICH THE HEROINE TAKES ADVICE
CHAPTER VII IN WHICH MASTER MUSTARDSEED TELLS HIS STORY
CHAPTER VIII IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES THE FIRST USE OF HER LATCHKEY
CHAPTER IX IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS A STORY
CHAPTER X IN WHICH THE HEROINE HAS A BIRTHDAY
Philomène Isolde lives in a quiet London suburb, a place where the rooms feel as stale as the tea left too long on the table. Though she’s not strikingly beautiful, her hazel eyes and soft mouse‑coloured hair hint at a curiosity that outpaces the ordinary rhythms of her father’s medical practice and the lingering hush of her late mother’s house. Surrounded by dolls, picture frames of legendary heroines, and shelves heavy with classic fairy tales, she spends her afternoons reenacting stories that feel both familiar and impossibly distant.
When a curious green‑ribboned latchkey appears among her treasured toys, Philomène’s yearning for adventure awakens. The key seems to promise a doorway to the very realms she has only ever imagined, stirring the line between her quiet reality and the magical worlds whispered in the pages of her books. As she begins to test its mystery, the ordinary villa of Sideview may soon reveal the enchantments she has longed for.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (241K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Richard Tonsing, Juliet Sutherland, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
Oct 23, 2020
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1884–1936
Best known for writing imaginative stories for young readers, this early-20th-century author also turned to history with a book on Joan of Arc. Her surviving works suggest a writer drawn to wonder, adventure, and heroic lives.
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