The Wouldbegoods

In Short

After a series of imaginative but disastrous pranks at home, the Bastable children and their cousins are sent to the countryside to learn how to be "good." They form a "Society of the Wouldbegoods" to track their progress, but their attempts at virtue—whether building tombstones for soldiers, rescuing barges, or hosting circuses—invariably end in catastrophe. Through these adventures, they learn that goodness is not a game to be played or a record to be kept, but something that arises naturally when one stops trying so desperately to perform it.

The Story

The Bastable children—Oswald, Dora, Dicky, Alice, Noel, and H.O.—begin their summer in disgrace. After a series of "jungles" and misadventures involving the garden hose and their uncle’s furniture, their father deems them unmanageable and sends them to stay with a relative in the country. Their goal, and their penance, is to transform into better children. They arrive at the Moat House with a firm resolution: they will be good. To ensure this, they form the "Wouldbegoods Society," maintaining a "Book of Golden Deeds" to log their altruistic efforts.

However, the children’s interpretation of "goodness" is often at odds with the adult world. Their first effort involves building a tombstone for a local soldier, which only succeeds in upsetting his grieving mother. They attempt to "fill" a dry river lock to rescue a stranded barge, only to cause a local commotion. They try to host a circus for the local animals, attempt to "discover" the source of the Nile, and even accidentally kidnap a baby they mistake for an abandoned "secret." Each endeavor is undertaken with the highest moral intent, yet each brings them into conflict with neighbors, local magistrates, and their own housekeeper.

As the summer progresses, the tension between the children’s rigid expectations of themselves and the messy reality of life begins to shift. They encounter real kindness in the form of a farm laborer who helps them during an ill-fated expedition, and they begin to realize that performative virtue is often less effective than simple, quiet empathy. Throughout these episodes, the children grow in independence. They learn to navigate the adult world with more nuance, finding that the "Society" they created is actually a barrier to genuine character.

By the end of the summer, the children reach a quiet, collective consensus. They realize that their constant focus on being "good" is, in fact, an obstacle. They vote to dissolve the Society, deciding that true morality is an individual, internal journey rather than a club-based activity. They return home with a newfound confidence and a more realistic understanding of their place in the world. They have not ceased to be the adventurous, mischievous Bastables, but they have learned the difference between the appearance of goodness and the substance of it.

How It Unfolds

The mandate for reform After the children’s disastrous attempts to turn their home into a jungle lead to a stern lecture from their father, they are sent to the country to improve their behavior. They arrive with a earnest, if naive, vow to shed their mischievous ways and become model children.

The society of good intentions The siblings establish the "Wouldbegoods" to document their virtuous acts in a ledger. They quickly learn that their logic is flawed; every attempt to perform a "Golden Deed" results in further trouble, from damaged property to emotional misunderstandings.

The confrontation with the world Whether they are being threatened with prison by a suspicious magistrate or accidentally "liberating" a baby, the children find that adults rarely appreciate their unsolicited help. They begin to see that their efforts to do good are often viewed as meddling, forcing them to reconsider their methods.

The dissolution of the society As the summer draws to a close, the children realize that the society is more of a hindrance than a help. They vote to disband it, accepting that being truly good requires moving past the rigid rules of their club and into personal responsibility.

The People

Oswald Bastable acts as the primary narrator and the self-appointed representative of his family. He views himself as a leader and a man of action, though his grandiosity often blinds him to the humor of his own pomposity. Throughout the summer, he slowly trades his performative bravado for genuine insight.

Alice and Dora serve as the anchors of the family. Alice is practical, adventurous, and often the driving force behind the group’s more daring plans. Dora, while more cautious, is deeply invested in the moral success of their endeavor, often acting as the group’s conscience.

Noel, the family poet, remains somewhat detached from the tactical chaos, preferring to observe and comment through his verses. His sensitivity often provides a necessary contrast to the more aggressive actions of his brothers.

Denny, a cousin, brings a more delicate, intellectual temperament to the group. His struggle with "hard" chores and his physical vulnerability serve to soften the group, forcing the older boys to act with kindness rather than mere bravado. Together, they move from a unit that hides behind a name to a collection of individuals learning how to exist in the adult world.

In Its Own Voice

"Children are like jam: all very well in the proper place, but you can't stand them all over the shop--eh, what?" The children’s Indian uncle provides the initial, stinging impetus for their exile to the country.

"The race is run by one and one, But never by two and two." Denny, the sensitive cousin, encapsulates the group’s final realization that goodness cannot be maintained as a group project.

"If anything in these chronicles of the Wouldbegoods should make you try to be good yourself, the author will be very glad, of course. But take my advice and don't make a society for trying in." Oswald concludes the narrative with a final, hard-won piece of wisdom regarding the futility of performative virtue.

What It's Really About

The central argument is that goodness cannot be engineered. The children’s "Society" is a parody of formal moral improvement; by turning virtue into a competition or a task-list, they drain it of its spontaneity and sincerity. The book explores the tension between the imaginative, unconstrained life of a child and the rigid, often hypocritical expectations of Victorian society. It questions whether being "good" is an act of following rules or an act of empathy. Ultimately, the story suggests that growth is not about following a manual, but about the painful, messy process of realizing that one’s best intentions can cause harm, and that true integrity begins when one acts without an audience.

Why Read It Today

This book remains a delight for those who appreciate the voice of a narrator who is simultaneously self-assured and comically unaware of his own flaws. Readers who enjoy stories about children who are clever, active, and fundamentally decent—if occasionally destructive—will find a home here. It feels like a genuine, unvarnished look at a house full of siblings, captured with a sharp eye for the small, absurd details of domestic life.

However, a modern reader must be prepared for the period-specific attitudes; the children possess the casual, often rigid outlooks typical of the late Victorian era, and their interactions with servants and laborers reflect the class structures of that time. The prose, while warm and engaging, occasionally lapses into the dense or archaic phrasing of the turn of the century. Yet, if one can navigate these period artifacts, the heart of the story remains timeless. It is not a moralizing tale, but a funny, poignant observation of children trying to grow up in a world that rarely lets them do so on their own terms. It stays with you not because of the "lessons" the children learn, but because of the vivid, chaotic humanity they display while learning them.