The Story of the Amulet

Robert, Anthea, Cyril, and Jane are living in central London while illness and overseas work keep much of their family away. Their reunion with the Psammead leads them to an ancient Egyptian amulet, but the object is only half of a whole and cannot simply grant the children's deepest wish. Instead, it opens a passage through time. With the Psammead as an adviser and a learned Egyptologist drawn into their circle, the children travel toward periods in which the missing half might be found, moving through ancient cities, legendary places, and encounters with historical figures.

The Story of the Amulet gives this quest an episodic structure held together by a strong emotional aim: the children want their family safely restored. Each journey can offer wonder and comedy on its own, yet every return to London renews the unfinished search. Nesbit uses the portal form to place ordinary Edwardian children inside societies they know only through books and museum objects. Their assumptions travel with them, creating misunderstandings as well as moments of insight. As the final part of the sequence that begins with Five Children and It and continues through The Phoenix and the Carpet, the novel revisits familiar magical rules while widening the scale from wishes and local mishaps to history itself.