Nesbit, E(dith) (1858–1924)

English author of children's books. She wrote The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899) and The Railway Children (1906). Her stories often have a humorous magical element, as in Five Children and It (1902) and The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904). The Treasure Seekers is the first of several books about the realistically squabbling Bastable children; it was followed by The Would-be Goods (1901) and The New Treasure Seekers (1904). Nesbit was a Fabian socialist and supported her family by writing.

She was born in London. Her family lived for some time in France and she was educated there, in Germany, and in Brighton, England. After 1870, the family moved to Kent. In 1880 she married the Fabian journalist and philanderer Hubert Bland. As his health failed she was obliged to earn money by writing. Her stories struck a new note with their naturalistic portrayal of children, and she also created some memorable magical characters, such as the Psammead.