The Phoenix and the Carpet

Edith Nesbit . . . was more than a century older than I was, but the tone of her stories spoke to me directly, and as a writer for children, I have tried to remember how much I appreciated not being talked down to. The cheerful, child-centred anarchy of Five Children and It is still my inspiration and delight

Edith Nesbit, born in 1858, was more than a century older than I was, but the tone of her stories spoke to me directly, and as a writer for children, I have tried to remember how much I appreciated not being talked down to. The cheerful, child-centred anarchy of Five Children and It is still my inspiration and delight

If Britain is to children's fantasy as Brazil is to football, then Edith Nesbit is our Pele - endlessly surprising and inventive. But she is more than that. There were fantasy writers before Edith Nesbit but she is the one that brought the magical and the mundane together in a moment of nuclear fusion. She opened the door in the magic wardrobe, pointed the way to platform nine and three quarters. She even had a hand in building the Tardis. And these are among her minor achievements. She is also simply the funniest writer we have ever had, while being the one who could most easily and sweetly break your heart with a phrase. Just try saying 'Daddy oh my Daddy' without catching your breath. She made the magic worlds feel as near as the Lewisham Road and she bathed the Lewisham Road in magic

I love her books - particularly the Five Children and It sequence

My all-time favourite classic children's author