“There is no bond like having read and liked the same books.”
Edith Nesbit
“Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton, performed by Nylonwings:
Today’s post is back to the world of kindness, appreciation, and gratitude, and a book about the daily life of a family that had to work hard to survive which draws readers in by reminding them of their own families and their lives. And, overwhelmingly, how these stories can tell readers about human nature – and about the compassion, friendships, generosity, and gratitude that good books can breed.
EDITH NESBIT
15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924
Edith Nesbit was born in London and educated in England, France, and Germany, travelling with her mother and sister after her father’s death. Her father died when she was four, and it marked her for life – in many stories, Daddy is missing, or dead. Shunted around Europe by her mother – Edith’s sister had a chest complaint and attended a string of continental spas – she was packed off to a succession of schools she hated. She escaped from one by jumping through a window.
At 19 she met the handsome, womanising Hubert Bland. He had a waxed moustache and a monocle, and although he was a Cockney brush salesman, he shared her intellectual enthusiasm. They married weeks before their son, Paul, was born. Shortly after the wedding, while Bland was seriously ill with smallpox, his partner in the brush company absconded with all the money.
From then on, Edith supported the family; for the 34 years of their marriage, she was the financial mainstay. For 15 years, she churned out stories, novels, and poems that were as marketable as they were forgettable. It seems that it was not until Edith was pregnant with her second child, Iris, that she discovered that Hubert had been having an affair with a “fiancee” called Maggie who had a child by him. Edith eventually forced herself to meet Maggie and befriend her.
Edith Nesbit and her children
Then, when Edith’s best friend, Alice Hoatson, became pregnant, Edith invited her to move in with them as a housekeeper to hide the stigma of illegitimacy. Not until six months after Alice’s child was born did Edith discover that Hubert was the father. There was a bitter row, but when Hubert threatened to leave with Alice, Edith agreed to let her stay on.
Edith and her daughter
Piano Concerto (2) The Love by Nigel Hess, performed by Lang Lang and the London Chamber Orchestra:
Edith’s writing made money, but not until she wrote as a child – Oswald Bastable who relates the adventures of the Bastable family – did she strike gold. Perhaps, because she had the emotional qualities of a child, she spoke to children as intellectual equals. The Treasure Seekers, published in 1899, was written with unprecedented directness, unlike any children’s book before it.
The stories Edith produced at the start of the 20th century, gulping gin and water as she wrote, were not only unsentimental but downright seditious by the standards of the time. Edith’s girls are as brave and adventurous as boys, and she was one of the first children’s writers to make a working-class boy the hero.
Her own children, and Alice’s, revelled in the freedom of their moated mansion in Eltham, but this carefree existence had its price. Edith’s youngest son Fabian choked to death during an operation for adenoids because no one had told him not to eat before the anaesthetic. It was after this tragedy that Edith began writing her masterpieces.
Courtesy of Chente Azul:
The Skipper, Edith’s second husband Thomas Tucker
Hubert died in 1914 and Edith later married a retired marine engineer she called Skipper. Unlike Hubert, he believed in fidelity, and gave her seven years of happiness before she died, in 1924, her fame assured.
“Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, performed by Jacques Orchestra (courtesy of AntPDC):
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN
The story features one of the most famous scenes in all of children’s literature when young Bobbie takes off her red flannel petticoat and waves it at an oncoming locomotive heading towards a crash. Its brakes squealing, the train stops inches away from the overwrought girl, who faints dead away.
E. Nesbit, as she always dubbed herself, spent much of her life waving a red petticoat at society, daring it to stop her. Impulsive, tomboyish, and strikingly attractive, it was part of her charm that in some ways she never grew up. One biographer described her as having “all the caprices, the intolerances, the selfishnesses of a child; and with them went a child’s freshness of vision and hunger for adventure.”
Her free-living attitudes shocked the straight-laced Victorian era into which Edith was born. She lived in a menage a trois with her husband and home help in Eltham, south London. With her hair in a bob and bangles clattering on her arm, she’d ride her bike in her bloomers. She was an industrious and wholly original woman, whose stories read as though they were written yesterday. The Railway Children’s father is in prison, and the story is about their efforts to get him back.
The house in Yorkshire, where The Railway Children lived
One evening after dinner, Roberta’s, Peter’s, and Phyllis’s father, a government official, is visited by two men, who escort him away from their London home. Soon afterward, their mother announces that they must move to a cottage in the country and, once there, she becomes terribly busy writing stories for magazines to support them all. The children find solace in watching trains on the nearby railway line, and make friends with the station porter and guard.
Over the summer, they are caught up in several adventures, rescuing people from a fire and preventing a disastrous crash, but still, they pine for their father. What has become of him? And who is the old gentleman they wave to every day on the 9.15 Green Dragon?
Her stories deal with family life, often based on her own childhood, and the mother working to support her family is directly reflected in Nesbit’s own experience. There were many film adaptations, the latest was The Railway Children Return in 2022.
Courtesy of StudiocanalUK:
An extract from The Railway Children:
“And then came the distance rumble and hum of the metals, and a puff of white steam showed far away along the stretch of line.
‘Stand firm,’ said Peter, ‘and wave like mad! When it gets to that big furze bush step back, but go on waving! Don’t stand on the line, Bobbie!’
The train came rattling along very, very fast.
‘They don’t see us! They won’t see us! It’s all no good! cried, Bobbie. The two little flags on the line swayed as the nearing train shook and loosened the heaps of loose stones that held them up. One of them slowly leaned over and fell on the line. Bobbie jumped forward and caught it up, and waved it; her hands did not tremble now. It seemed that the train came on as fast as ever. It was very near now.
‘Keep off the line, you silly cuckoo!’ said Peter fiercely.
‘It is no good,’ Bobbie said again.
‘Stand back!’ cried Peter, suddenly, and he dragged Phyllis back by the arm.
But Bobbie cried, ‘Not yet, not yet!’ and waved her two flags right over the line. The front of the engine looked black and enormous. Its voice loud and harsh.
‘Oh, stop, stop, stop!’ cried Bobbie. No one heard her. At least Peter and Phyllis didn’t, for the oncoming rush of the train covered the sound of her voice with a mountain of sound.”
But afterward, she used to wonder whether the engine itself had not heard her. It seemed almost as though it had – for it slackened swiftly, slackened and stopped, not twenty yards from the place where Bobbie’s two flags waved over the line. She saw the great black engine stop dead, but somehow she could not stop waving the flags. And when the driver and the fireman had got off the engine and Peter and Phyllis had gone to meet them and pour out their excited tale of the awful mound just around the corner, Bobbie still waved the flags but more and more feebly and jerkily. When the others turned towards her she was lying across the line with her hands flung forward and still gripping the sticks of the little red flannel flags. The engine driver picked her up, carried her to the train, and laid her on the cushions of a first-class carriage. ‘Gone right off in a faint,’ he said, ‘poor little woman.”
Courtesy of Mary Sue Homeland Security:
naturetails 
Joanna, another great book tale that once again draws us right into the middle of the story and the author’s life.
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I’ve not read the book, but I’ve never forgotten the BBC TV series with Jenny Agutter 😍 and Bernard Cribbins. Thank you, Joanna for this bio of the author. She was certainly quite a woman!
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Thank you for sharing this wonderful story of Edith Nesbit Joanna!
What a great story with rich pictures and videos. Loved it!💗
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What a tremendously enjoyable reminder Joanna. Thank you so much. I knew nothing of Edith Nesbit so was very interested to read of her difficult, but exciting, life.
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I loved Edith Nesbit when I was a child. The book I especially remember was Phoenix and the Carpet though I couldn’t tell you a thing about it now. I remember the Wouldbegoods as well. I knew nothing of her life but it sounds as if she was a very sensible, pragmatic woman. I enjoyed reading about her after all these years. Thank you Joanna.
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I loved it.
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Thank you so much for sharing such an interesting and informative post on one of my favorite authors, Edith Nesbit. ‘I love her book, ” The Railway Children “. I must have read it twice or thrice. A very heart touching story. Have a wonderful weekend🍕🏠🎉.
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Good read. the railway children is an amazing book. Lovely story telling skills and amazing topics you bring in always. Love the post . Happy Sunday.
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Thank you for your very kind comments! Greatly appreciated!
JoannaA
ll the best for the weekend for you too
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Have a big smile and happy time Joanna.
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Another amazing piece of work! 👌🏻❤️ Thank you Joanna! Bravo!
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Thank you, Filipa, for your very kind comment, that is greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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A timeless children’s classic if ever there was one Joanna, and one of nostalgia, because I lived near a railway line and used to collect the train numbers as kids often did back then. I may be an anorak, but they were the salad days for me, when the sun always seemed to be shining and I didn’t have a care in the world.
Not only have you brought those times back, you’ve also given me an insight into the author’s background which I knew absolutely nothing about. Once again, you’ve brought a peaceful Sunday morning to life with yet another fabulous post. Keep ‘em coming Joanna 😊
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Thank you, Iswar, for your very kind comment! Greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you, Malc, for your wonderful comment! With the reader like you, I will write even into next life!
Joanna
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Such a captivating read!💙💙💙
Her biography is as fascinating as the plot of a novel!
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Thank you, Luisa for your kind comment that is always greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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LOL. I can’t ask for more than that then.
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Thank you!!
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You are more than welcome, dear Joanna❣️❣️❣️
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Thank you!
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Thanks, Joanna, for another great post that reminded me of my childhood days, on which my morning post was based.
E. Nesbitt is known for children’s fantasy, but the story of her husband Hubert is very interesting which I came to know from your post. I’ve never seen a waxed moustache. She was also active socially and politically, as she founded the Fabian Society, after whom she named her son, who died early. But one commendable thing is that she kept her child alive which reflects in her writings.
One thing I can relate to both Edith and The Railway Children is the absence of father. I know how such a family feels the pain. The Railway Children is a beautiful story that no one can forget. Their father is in jail on charges of espionage. It is natural that they are desperate to get him back. The one consolation is that the story has a happy ending.
Your pictures and videos are superb, as always. Thank you, Joanna, again for making my Sunday worthwhile.
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Thank you, Kaushal, for your wonderful comments! You are so erudite that I always feel elated reading your words! I cherish every word your wrote! Thank you!!
Joanna
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Thank you, Peter, greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you, Aparna, for your kind comment, greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you, Iswar, for your generous comment, greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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Thank you, Carolyn, for your lovely comments! Greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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You’re welcome, Joanna, always!
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Thank you!
Joanna
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Stunning share Joanna, I loved watching and reading about E. Nesbitt children’s fantasy stories again, thank you.
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Thank you, Henrietta, for your kind comment that I greatly appreciate.
Joanna
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Another fascinating post, Joanna. I don’t know much about this author so it was interesting to learn more. She certainly dealt with her share of heartache between her first marriage and the sudden death of her son. But it’s wonderful that she found joy the second time around in marriage. Great photos, videos, and excerpt. Thank you!
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Thank you, Lauren, for your kind comment!
Greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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Dear Joanna, unlike other times. I couldn’t concentrate on videos as I was only touched by Edith’s bio and her bravery despite of all the hurtful turns that life has thrown at her. Bows for your kind and talented heart for sharing and spreading such a beautiful knowledge to the world of readers. The best most inspiring one. Loves and hugs Sis….happy week ahead and take care❣
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Thank you, Suma, for your wonderful comments! I am glad that you liked the post and could feel sorry for the writer’s unhappy life. But it had a happy ending.
Joanna
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Exactly Joanna, she made it to be so wonderful n happy with her Golden heart of brilliance and patience. She lived with precious blessings. Once again thank you for such inspiring share. My mind and thoughts are still around your post today 🙏 ❤
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Thank you so much!
Joanna
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Amazing post dear friend🥂❤
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Thank you, Yaksh, for your kind comment. Greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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What a life she led in between her first husband’s affairs and in the face of them! Thank you for sharing more about this author whose books, especially the Railway Children, I love. 🙂
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What an inspiring life story, Joanna! It is amazing how Nesbit overcame so many obstacles and endured the condemnation of society for being ahead of her time.
I watched “The Railway Children” recently. Now that I know more about the author, I plan to watch the movie again. It is not a book I was familiar with as a child, although I was adventurous and would surely have loved it. Maybe there was a stigma attached to the book at the time because of the author’s unconventional lifestyle. I only became aware of the book around 1990 when I was studying to become a teacher and saw it on a list of books for children.
Thank you, Joanna, for this fascinating post! ❤
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Thank you, Cheryl, for your wonderful, as always, comments! Iam glad that she had happiness in the end. I watched the original film several times as I love it.
I don’t know which version you have but I know that they all are good. Again, I think that many children’s classics should be read at any age because of the beautiful, timeless messages they convey.
Joanna
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Thank you, Layla, for your kind comments!Your words are greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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Great post, Joanna. When Edith Nesbit wrote, she wrote to children as her equals, remembering how she would “pray fervently, tearfully, that when I should be grown up I might never forget what I thought, felt, and suffered then.”
After all the pain, suffering, hardship and betrayal, she had seven years of peace and happiness with her best friend and loyal soulmate, Tommy Tucker, before she passed.
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Thank you, Avigail, for your kind comments. That is my feeling too!
Your wise words are greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you again!
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Joanna, I watched the 1971 version of “The Railway Children” today and enjoyed it very much. I think the one I watched before was the 2022 version. Both were good, as you noted. Thanks for leading me to watch it again! ❤
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You are more than welcome!
Joanna
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