The bonfire: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The bonfire: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.

The bonfire is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Paget, Francis Edward (1806–1882).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"The bonfire by Francis Edward Paget" is a moral tale, likely written in the mid-1800s during the Victorian era. The book is a short story intended for children, set in a rural English village, and focuses on community values, behavior, and lessons in character. At its heart, the narrative revolves around the events leading up to and following an annual Guy Fawkes night celebration, using this traditional setting to address broader themes of honesty, responsibility, and restitution. The story centers on a group of village boys who, after mistreating a reclusive old man named Jasper Crabbe and carelessly sparking an accident during their bonfire festivities, must confront the consequences of their actions. Their carelessness results in a fire that destroys the winter hay supply of a poor widow, Dinah Marjoram. Guided by their vicar, Mr. Warlingham, and with practical help from Jasper Crabbe, the boys work together to make amends, raising the money needed to compensate Dinah by cultivating and selling produce from a communal garden. Through their efforts, they learn the value of communal responsibility, the importance of honesty, and the satisfaction of making amends—concluding with a lesson about charitable giving and cooperation in the spirit of Christian duty.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The bonfire
- Author credits: Paget, Francis Edward (1806–1882)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Fires -- Juvenile fiction
- Guy Fawkes Day -- Juvenile fiction
- Obedience -- Juvenile fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: British Literature
- Category: Children & Young Adult Reading
- Category: Short Stories
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.


