Charles Kingsley — The Water-Babies

London , Chapman and Hall , 1912. Cloth. A charming copy of the 'Water-Babies', a Victorian classic by Charles Kingsley, beautifully illustrated with colour plates. 'The Water-Babies' is a children's novel by Charles Kingsley originally written as a serial for Macmillan Magazine between 1862-1863. It was first published in its entirety in 1863. The novel follows Tom, a young chimney sweep who falls into the river and is transformed into a water-baby. Written as a satire in support of Charles Darwin's On The Origin of Species.Kingsley writes 'The Water-Babies' as a didactic moral fable. The novel expresses many of the common prejudices of the time including religion, racial tension, and diversity. Though it has largely fallen out of favor within the canon of Children's literature when published the Water-Babies was an immediate success. Illustrated with twenty-four colour plates by Ethel F. Everett. Collated complete. In the original publisher's cloth. Externally very smart. Fading to the spine. Rubbing to the head and tail of the spine. Internally firmly bound. Offsetting to the front and rear endpapers. Spotting to the first and last pages but generally, the pages are bright and clean with the odd spot. All plates are bright and clean. Very Good . Ill.: Ethel F. Everett. Very Good .