This Is the House That Jack Built was printed in numerous collections in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Randolph Caldecott produced an illustrated version in 1878. Cherrington Manor, a handsome timber-framed house in North East Shropshire, England, is reputed to be the actual house that Jack built. There is a former malt house in the grounds. Each sentence in the story is an example of an increasingly deeply nested relative clause. The last version, "This is the horse...", would be quite difficult to untangle if the previous ones were not present. See the Noun Phrase for more details about postmodification of the noun phrase in
The Magician's House explains he needs the children's help and he will explain more about his work within the valley and what he hopes to achieve when the time is right. The remainder of the book focuses on the unexpected early arrival of Jack and Phoebe's baby during a snow storm. Golden House is isolated from the nearby town and consequently the baby has to be born in the house. While Jack and William set out in the storm to try to get help, Mary and Alice stay with Phoebe and try to protect her and the baby from an evil rat which