Oliver Soden

Edith Nesbit — a children’s writer of genius who disinherited her own adopted offspring

Her books for children remain classics, but her fiery temper and notorious ménage à trois made for an unstable home life for all concerned

  • Comments

  • The Life and Loves of E. Nesbit

    Eleanor Fitzsimons

    Duckworth, pp. 400, £20

‘When one writes for children,’ the novelist Jill Paton Walsh has said, ‘there are more people in the room. Writing for children involves the adult writer, and the child that writer once was; the present child reader, and the adult that child will become.’

Edith Nesbit, one of the greatest writers for children, was brilliantly attentive to this quartet.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Read next

Trending

Steven Barrett

Sunak’s Rwanda Bill looks doomed

Rishi Sunak is pinning his hopes on emergency legislation, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, to ‘Stop the Boats’. But within hours of the Bill’s publication yesterday, immigration minister Robert Jenrick walked out. Last month, home secretary, Suella Braverman, was fired. To lose one minister may be regarded as misfortune, but to lose two means

Because you read about biography

Also by Oliver Soden

Latest

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in