Author Edith Nesbit had an unconventional life which underpinned her unconventional children’s books

WHEN the influential left wing Fabian Society was formed in 1884 there were some interesting founders including a woman who would become best known for her children’s books, Edith Nesbit

Gary Warren, Jenny Agutter and Sally Thomsett in a scene from the 1970 film The Railway Children, adapted from the 1905 Edith Nesbit book.

WHEN the Fabian Society was established in England in 1884 it had some interesting names among its founders. Dedicated to the peaceful, democratic and gradual introduction of socialism rather than violent revolution, the organisation has attracted some eminent people to its ranks and was responsible for innovations such as the founding of the British Labour Party, introduction of the minimum wage and socialised medicine. But among those who helped shape the society from its inception in 1884 was children’s author Edith Nesbit.

Best known for her literature for young readers, such as the 1905 book The Railway Children about three children living near a country railway station who save a train from derailment and rescue their father from being locked up as a spy, which was later made into a film (1970) starring Jenny Agutter. Many of her books are still in print and resonate with modern audiences.

At the time her books were unconventional; with child characters acting like real people, including many strong female characters. However, her break with literary convention may have been due to her own unconventional life.

Author Edith Nesbit, who wrote The Railway Children. Picture: Courtesy Penguin Australia

Edith was born 160 years ago today on August 15, 1858, in Kennington, Surrey, in England, the youngest of four children born to John Nesbit, an agricultural chemist who ran an agricultural school, and his wife Sarah.

After John’s death in 1862, Edith’s mother Sarah struggled to keep the school running. Eventually Sarah had to sell and move to a better climate to help her oldest daughter Mary, from her first marriage, recover from tuberculosis.

They lived for a time in France and Germany, settling in Halstead in Kent after Mary’s death in 1871. Halstead is thought to be the inspiration for Edith’s idyllic English countryside in novels such as The Railway Children.

When their money ran out in 1875 the family was forced to move to London. In 1877 Edith met a young bank clerk and aspiring writer named Hubert Bland, who presented himself as landed gentry, but who was actually a working-class lad with radical political leanings. Among his acquaintances were Karl Marx’s daughter Eleanor.

The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit. Puffin Books, 1960 edition

The Book of Beasts, by Edith Nesbit, 2011 edition.

Edith was seven months pregnant to Bland (with their son Paul) when they were married in April 1880. Their marriage was unusual because not long after the wedding Edith discovered that Bland, who was still living with his mother despite being married to Nesbit, had been engaged to his mother’s live-in companion Maggie Doran and had a child to her.

Surprisingly, the revelation of the child didn’t end the marriage and Edith eventually became friends with Doran.

Bland finally moved in with Edith and the two tried to make a living and support his children by both women; Bland by starting a business (which failed) and Edith by writing poetry and stories, and later writing greeting cards.

The couple, both concerned with the welfare of the poor being left behind in Britain’s increasingly industrial society, became politically active. They joined a group called the Fellowship of the New Life, which advocated living more simply with a sense of community and spirituality.

But in 1884 some members split off to form the Fabian Society, named after Roman general Fabius Cunctator (the delayer) because he had followed a patient course of action to wear down an enemy. The Fabians wanted to patiently introduce social reform slowly and democratically. Edith and Bland named their son Fabian, born in 1885, in honour of the society. Edith also had a long, passionate affair with George Bernard Shaw, who was a member of the society.

Freddie Highmore as Robert in scene from the 2005 film Five Children and It.

At this time Edith took in her friend Alice Hoatson as housekeeper because she was pregnant out of wedlock. She also agreed to adopt the child to help Hoatson weather the scandal. When she discovered the child Rosamund (born in 1886) was Bland’s, she reconsidered the adoption, but went through with it when Bland threatened to leave.

Edith published several adult novels in the 1880s but in the 1890s had bigger success with her children’s stories, including The Treasure Seekers in 1899. Other novels followed including Five Children and It (1902) which was adapted to film in 2004.

Edith’s novels were refreshingly different. The children had normal foibles and some even had fantasy elements, but they acted like normal children. In some books, impoverished children try to recover the fortunes of the family, based partly on Edith’s experiences.

She had several affairs with younger men right up until Bland died in 1914. In 1917 she married a ferry engineer known as Thomas “the Skipper” Tucker. A heavy smoker, Edith died from lung cancer in 1924.