The Life and Loves of E. Nesbit by Eleanor Fitzsimons

I loved it.”Ĭathy Cassidy, winner of the Queen of Teen Award “A fascinating insight into late 19th century/ early 20th century bohemian literary life, and a rare glimpse into the world of an unconventional, enigmatic and staunchly socialist children’s author.A must-read not just for those interested in the early years of feminism, or in children’s literature, but for anyone who cares about the complexities of the human soul.”Īnthony McGowan, winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize It is a life told with panache and elegance by Eleanor Fitzsimons. She was also a brilliant, complicated woman, who lived a life filled with emotional entanglements and intellectual dispute.

“E Nesbit was one of the greatest writers from the golden age of children’s literature.

Nesbit’s most famous works – a fascinating biography.”Įmily Midorika, author of A Secret Sisterhood: The Hidden Friendships of Austen, Brontë, Eliot and Woolf

“Eleanor Fitzsimons paints a detailed picture of the radical politics and unconventional personal life of the author of The Railway Children, and makes a strong case for how these elements informed E.

Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Fitzsimons’s account is so gripping that I read this biography in two days. “ Nesbit-The Railway Children and Five Children and It are my favorites-but I knew nothing about the extraordinary, surprising life of this great figure in children’s literature. Nesbit’s many-faceted personality, life and works, as well as of the politically and culturally vibrant milieu in which she lived.”

“In this long-overdue new biography, Eleanor Fitzsimons gives us a nuanced yet compelling portrait of E.

Kate Saunders, Costa Children’s Book Award winner for Five Children on the Western Front

“Nesbit was the mother of modern children’s fiction and this intelligent, sensitive and minutely researched biography gives the truest picture yet of the woman herself, and the influences that shaped her brilliant imagination.”.

The extraordinary woman who wrote them proves to be every bit as brave, funny and imaginative as her own intrepid characters.” I can’t think of a single writer who doesn’t owe something to Edith Nesbit’s glorious books for children.

“What a stirring and unexpected story Eleanor Fitzsimons tells and what a subject she has found.

Hilary McKay (children’s author of The Skylarks War, shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards)

“Eleanor Fitzsimons’ painstaking research gives us a new insight into the bizarre Bohemian life of the ground-breaking children’s author E.

The Life and Loves of E. Nesbit by Eleanor Fitzsimons