The Magic E

I was a visitor at Emily and Elise's book group the other night. Since I hadn't read the book I kept quiet during the discussion. But when the person who was deciding on the next book to read asked for suggestions, I piped up. They had been on a streak of serious, disaster-type novels and wanted something uplifting, especially at Christmastime. I couldn't help suggesting the magical world of E. Nesbit I've been snuggled up in. None of them had ever heard of her.

When I was ten or so I loved perusing the tall shelves of my elementary school library (maybe they didn't realize kids needed shorter shelves back then). There was also the Oakland library and a little house in nearby Montclaire that was charmingly converted into a library (which did have short shelves). My mom made sure we visited these regularly. I learned to look for books by my favorite authors. My teachers who read aloud had a lot to do with my reading tastes. The funny thing was, I noticed that there was usually a capital E in several of these authors' names, such as Elizabeth Enright (I blogged about her recently), Eleanor Estes, Edward Eager, E. B. White, Madeleine L'Engle, E. Nesbit.

I have just been rereading E. Nesbit's books, now over a hundred years old, and having a delightful, chuckling-out-loud experience. I think I love them even more now than I did as a child. Then, it was her magical books I liked best. The most well-known is Five Children and It. Now I find each one absolutely charming.

Nesbit was greatly admired by her contemporaries such as H. G. Wells and Rudyard Kipling, and is said to have been an innovator in children's novels. Hers were different than Lewis Carrol's and Kenneth Grahame's because they were about children having to deal with real life in the midst of all their misadventures, magical or otherwise. She had a great influence on many of those who followed, especially Edward Eager, and including C. S. Lewis I imagine ( I hear her influence in his Chronicles of Narnia or maybe it's just the English way), and even J. K. Rowling. Her books are about ordinary, imperfect, but very imaginative and mischievous children, having extraordinary adventures. Some of the books are about the real world and some include the best magical adventures ever thought up.

The funny thing about Edith Nesbit is that she was a known socialist activist, but her children's books in no way reflect that way of thinking. They reflect some of her own life as a child and as a mother (her life was not an easy one), very traditional, family-oriented, full of delightful insights into childhood and human nature, and very very English. I think her first love was being a mother and the reason she wrote was her love of children, as shown in her dedication of Five Children and It to her little son John.

My Lamb, you are so very small,
You have not learned to read at all,
Yet never a printed book withstands
The urgence of your dimpled hands.

So, though this book is for yourself,
Let mother keep it on the shelf
Till you can read. O days that pass,
That day will come too soon, alas!

Some of the words and dialogue may be a bit too English or archaic for the modern American reader but are still easy to understand in context. I've found that some of the books are not easy to find except online. They are in the public domain and easy to download, including the original illustrations.

I am trying to read the most famous of them (she wrote or contributed to around 60 books) sort of in the order they were written from 1899-1906. She uses different families of children so I like to read those together if possible. Here's a short list:

The Story of the Treasure Seekers (real life adventures of the Bastables: Dora, Oswald, Dicky, twins Alice and Noel, and H.O.)
The Book of Dragons (fantasy stories)
The Wouldbegoods (the Bastables again with two new friends)
Five Children and It (magical adventures of Robert, Anthea, Cyril, Jane, and baby brother they call the Lamb)
The New Treasure Seekers (more of the Bastables)
Oswald Bastable and Others (short stories)
The Phoenix and the Carpet (sequel to Five Children)
The Story of the Amulet (another sequel to Five)
The Railway Children (real life adventures of Roberta,Peter, and Phyllis)
The Enchanted Castle (magical adventures of Jerry, Jimmy, and Cathy)


I've read four so far of the above. All jolly good! Ican't stop!