This is an entertaining collection of short tales by E. Nesbit, many involving some rather untraditional royalty -- answering job advertisements, developing subdivisions, even becoming elevator operators if need be. As always, the narration is a joy; in some cases there are some thin spots in the logic, so don't look too hard. Naomi Lewis has written introductions to each story, as well as the foreword. However, you might want to wait until after reading the story to read her introduction, as sometimes there are "spoilers". The stories included are: "Billy the King", "The Charmed Life or the Princess and the Lift-man", "Melisande or Long and Short Division", "The Town in the Library in the Town in the Library", "Belinda and Bellamont or the Bells of Carillon-Land", "The White Horse", and "Fortunatus Rex & Co. or the Mystery of the Disappearing Schoolgirls". (I never knew precisely what was meant by a "charmed life" until I read this book!)

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