The barbarous babes : Being the memoirs of Molly by Edith Ayrton Zangwill
QR code
"The barbarous babes: Being the memoirs of Molly" by Edith Ayrton Zangwill is a children’s novel written in the early 20th century. Told in a lively first-person voice, it follows Molly and her siblings—Humphrey, Violet, and Teddy—through a string of misadventures born of fierce imaginations, pranks, and earnest but misguided attempts at virtue. Family life with their governess, visiting relatives, and an often-absent mother frames comic scrapes that turn into gentle moral
lessons. The opening of this novel introduces a series of vivid episodes: Molly and Humphrey’s “torturing games” spiral into a mock martyrdom that nearly ends in disaster; jealousy of a visiting cousin’s curls leads Molly to cut them off in a Samson-and-Delilah prank; shy Violet, misreading a remark, bravely pays a formal call alone and causes social consternation; their mother must leave for her health, and Teddy tries to stow away before later being whipped for sweeping a chimney in play; Molly’s zeal to “missionary” her siblings culminates in an insulting bathroom placard that offends a visiting German musician until Humphrey mends matters; and, at last, the children’s chaotic home theatricals are rescued by their mother’s unexpected return, which steadies the household and brings the first performances off happily. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Upload it on the Amazon site your Kindle is registered with: amazon.com/sendtokindle for the US, amazon.co.uk/sendtokindle for the UK etc.
- It appears on your Kindle and in the Kindle app
Kobo, Nook etc. → Transfer via USB
- Download the EPUB3 file on your computer
- Connect your e-reader by USB and tap "Connect" on its screen
- Drag the file onto the e-reader drive
Phone, Tablet or Computer → Online or Reading App
Easiest: read online in your browser. Nothing to install.
Or use a reading app:
- Find and install one you like, for example Apple Books, ReadEra or Thorium Reader
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Open it in the app
More help: iPhone / iPad · Android · Computer
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Zangwill, Edith Ayrton, 1874-1945 |
|---|---|
| Title | The barbarous babes : Being the memoirs of Molly |
| Original Publication | London: R. Brimley Johnson, 1904. |
| Credits | Susan E., Vicki Parnell, David E. Brown, Sue Clark, Mary Fahnestock-Thomas, Ed Leckert, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres |
| Subject | Siblings -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | England -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | Children -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | Families -- Juvenile fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77065 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-77065-9 |
| Release Date | Oct 16, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 382 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!