The Life and Loves of E. Nesbit by Eleanor Fitzsimons

It concentrates more on her relationships with other members than on any activism she participated in.

This biography doesn’t go into details about the Fabian Society itself, which ends up giving the odd impression that it was a bit woolly and ineffectual, which is in fact the opposite of the truth. I knew very little about Edith Nesbit before reading the book – the name of her husband and the fact that she was a founding member of the socialist Fabian Society, but that’s about it. When I spotted this new biography of her on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. Admittedly I’m more lukewarm about the non-magical ones (yes, sorry, even The Railway Children), but still. Five Children and It is a delight, though I think The Enchanted Castle might be my favourite, partly because the Ugly-Wuglies are utterly horrifying even now. Here, she brings to light the extraordinary life story of an icon, creating a portrait of a woman in whom pragmatism and idealism worked side-by-side to produce a singular mind and literary talent. Nesbit railed against inequity, social injustice and state-sponsored oppression and incorporated her avant-garde ideas into her writing, influencing a generation of children – an aspect of her legacy examined here for the first time.įitzsimons, acclaimed biographer and prize winning author of Wilde's Women, has written the most authoritative biography in more than three decades. Through Nesbit’s letters and deep archival research, Eleanor Fitzsimons reveals her as a prolific activist and writer on socialism. She was also an outspoken Marxist and founding member of the Fabian Society.

She hosted legendary parties at her idiosyncratic Well Hall home and was described by George Bernard Shaw – one of several lovers – as ‘audaciously unconventional’. Yet despite these troubling circumstances Nesbit was playful, contradictory and creative. In adulthood, she found herself at the centre of a love triangle between her husband and her close friend. Her once-happy childhood was eclipsed by the chronic illness and early death of her sister. But who was the person behind the best loved classics The Railway Children and Five Children and It? Rowling, and Jacqueline Wilson, to name but a few. Nesbit, a fascinating, contradictory and remarkable literary legend.Įdith Nesbit is considered the inventor of the children’s adventure story and her brilliant children’s books influenced bestselling authors including C.S.

The Life and Loves of E. Nesbit by Eleanor Fitzsimons