1.
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN
FORM 3 ~NOVEL~

2.
SINOPSIS
This is a story of three children, Roberta, Phyllis, and Peter, who live in a
respectable suburban villa with a wonderful mother and father and a cook and
servants, until one day great disgrace and poverty befalls them. Father is taken
away to prison (but they do not know this at first), and they have to move to a poor
cottage in the country near a railway line. Mother writes stories to earn what little
they live on and they get used to being poor and have to learn not to steal coal
from the railway station, even if they have so little to keep warm by. Sometimes
they argue and have crises, as one does, but in time they make many new
friends, and amusing adventures aplenty happen near the railway and the canal.
They develop the habit of waving to the train as it goes past and sometimes the
people in the coaches wave back. Their friendly habits makes them one special
friend in particular, who although he mostly just goes by in the train, eventually
gets to know them, and helps them out in various ways. And somehow all the good
things that they do add up together and end up coming back to them, and there is
happy ending to it all.

3.
THEMES
1. The importance of family love
 Bobbie and her siblings have loving parents. After their father is taken
away, Mother is very sad but she does not tell the children and the
children do not ask questions so that their mother will not be upset.
 The children always work together to solve problems, for example
when their mother is ill and needs special food and when they have to
save the train.

4.
THEMES
2. Facing life’s challenges with courage
 The children and their mother face problems bravely. Mother
does not show how sad she is and works hard to provide for
the children.
 When a landslide covers the railway tracks, the children act
with courage to save the train from a terrible accident.

5.
CHARACTHERS
 ROBERTA ~BOBBIE
 FATHER
 PETER
 PERKS
 PHYLLYS
 DR. FOREST
 MOTHER
 MRS. VINEY
 THE OLD GENTLEMAN
 MRS. RANSOME

6.
ROBERTA~BOBBIE

7.
FATHER
Tolerant
A civil servant
WonderfuL
 Caring
 Accused in jail

8.
PERKS
 A very nice and friendly
railway porter.
 Hardworking
 Proud
 Reasonable
 Responsible
DR. FOREST
 Hopeful
 Responsible

9.
M R S. R A N S O M E
M R S. V I N E Y
Appreaciative
Woman from village
Generous
Responsible
Sensitive

10.
MORAL VALUES
 The novel teaches us to be responsible
 The novel teaches us to be helpful.
 The novel teaches us that we must show
our appreciation.
 The novel teaches us that we must be
honest

11.
PLACE ~
 A home in London
 The railway station
 The railway lines
 The railway tunnel
 The village
SOCIAL~ CULTURAL
 Edwardian times

12.
SOCIAL
• Edwardian times
PLACE
•
•
•
•
•
CULTURUAL
A home in London
The railway station
The railway lines
The railway tunnel
The village
• British