E. Nesbit

[Sargeant_Fox]

Edith Nesbian, a political activist and founding member of the Fabian Society, the forerunner of the current Labour Party, turned to writing children's books when she was in her forties, writing several classics of the genre.

She's been on my mind these past days because I'm finishing the novel The Story of the Amulet, the final volume in the series that started with Five Children and It and continued with The Phoenix and the Carpet. This is an excellent and funny trilogy that has provided me with countless hours of pleasure.

The book I'm presently reading is a blend of time-travelling and adventure, with the children and the Psammead, or sand fairy, being guided by a magical amulet in search of its missing half to ages where it existed. This is just an excuse for fast-paced episodic storytelling in which the children visit ancient Egypt, bring an old Babylonian queen to London, witness the sinking of Atlantis and inadvertently convince Caesar to invade Britain. So the novel is also didactic in a subtle way.

I only regret discovering her so late, out of my childhood.

Is anyone else also interested in her books?

[Extollager]

I haven't read those books recently but I remember them with affection. I read one or other to one or other of my kids!

Two highlights of humor that I remember without even looking up the book (I have an omnibus edition published by Octopus years ago):

1.The part in Five Children and It in which the children are made to be "as beautiful as the day" and the baby wails because their appearance is so different and he doesn't recognize them.

2.The refinement-of-mean-brotherliness when Cyril (I think) teases one of his sisters with sinister hints that some room will be "dark...... and boney." (Forget which book)

[Teresa Edgerton]

I discovered Nesbit's children's books when I was in my late teens or early twenties, and with only a few exceptions (The Enchanted Castle comes to mind) I loved them. I've read most of them two or three times, and am now collecting them for my grandchildren (still a little young, but soon ...).

She also wrote ghost stories for adults, the scariest of which, in my opinion, is "Man-Size in Marble."

[Ian Whates]

One of my favourite childhood authors. I read Five Children and It to my daughter some ten or twelve years ago, and was delighted to find the tale just as wonderful and magical as memory painted it.

Plus, as a kid, I fell instantly in love with Jenny Agutter when I saw the film of The Railway Children.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by Ian Whates

Plus, as a kid, I fell instantly in love with Jenny Agutter when I saw the film of The Railway Children.

I've seen a couple of different film versions, and both were good. I wonder if either one is available on DVD? That would be nice to have.

[Ian Whates]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

I've seen a couple of different film versions, and both were good. I wonder if either one is available on DVD? That would be nice to have.

Yes, Teresa, The Railway Children was screened over here as a TV series (1968). It featured Jenny Agutter (then only 16) as Roberta, a role she reprised to great effect when the 'classic' film of the book was made in 1970 (the latter also features a fabulous turn by Bernard Cribbins as Perks, the station master). It's the role that really launched Agutter's career.

In 2000 they remade the film, this time featuring Jenny Agutter as the mother.

According to Amazon, both the film versions are available on DVD, certainly in the UK.

[Sargeant_Fox]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

She also wrote ghost stories for adults, the scariest of which, in my opinion, is "Man-Size in Marble."

Wordsworth Editions has published a collection of them, titled The Power of Darkness. I've not yet read them.

What did disappoint you about The Enchanted Castle?