The bonfire by Francis Edward Paget
"The bonfire by Francis Edward Paget" is a moral tale, likely written in the mid-1800s during the Victorian era. The book is a short story intended for children, set in a rural English village, and focuses on community values, behavior, and lessons in character. At its heart, the narrative revolves around the events leading up to and following an annual Guy Fawkes night celebration, using this traditional setting to address broader themes
of honesty, responsibility, and restitution. The story centers on a group of village boys who, after mistreating a reclusive old man named Jasper Crabbe and carelessly sparking an accident during their bonfire festivities, must confront the consequences of their actions. Their carelessness results in a fire that destroys the winter hay supply of a poor widow, Dinah Marjoram. Guided by their vicar, Mr. Warlingham, and with practical help from Jasper Crabbe, the boys work together to make amends, raising the money needed to compensate Dinah by cultivating and selling produce from a communal garden. Through their efforts, they learn the value of communal responsibility, the importance of honesty, and the satisfaction of making amends—concluding with a lesson about charitable giving and cooperation in the spirit of Christian duty. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Paget, Francis Edward, 1806-1882 |
|---|---|
| Title | The bonfire |
| Original Publication | Rugeley: John Thomas Walters, 1844. |
| Series Title | Tales of the village children, 3 |
| Note | Reading ease score: 82.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Credits | David E. Brown and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Toronto Public Library) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres |
| Subject | Fires -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | Obedience -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | Guy Fawkes Day -- Juvenile fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 75991 |
| Release Date | Apr 30, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 1846 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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