Edith Nesbit: The antidote to Elsie Dinsmore

[Hane]

As a result of the lengthy Elsie Dinsmore thread awhile back, I went on an Elsie binge, reading all the free online Elsie books I could get my mitts on. I read on and on in horror as I saw the very foundation of the patriarchal American "Christianity" that rightly bothers us all so much--the seeds of Steve Maxwells, Dougies, "purity balls," and so on.

In the course of the thread, several of you mentioned the books of E. Nesbit, an acclaimed English children's author whose books first came out circa 1900. I recalled that Edward Eager, one of my childhood favorites, often praised her, so I dove into Kindle land and snagged a motherlode of freebies.

FJians, I was absolutely delighted! Nesbit's books are populated with kids who use slang, have imaginations, get into trouble, make mistakes--but have well-developed and free-standing CONSCIENCES, without having adults breathing down their necks. They have a sense of honor, loyalty, and honesty, and, left to their own devices, can figure out the difference between right and wrong. They have reliable and commonsensical adults in their lives, but are not hovered over and hammered into shape like Elsie and her ilk. They're religiously observant, but this fact isn't crammed down the reader's throat--their religion seems to be a useful tool that gives them comfort and a helpful way of learning how to do good in the world.

Anyone comfortable with 19th-century novels should definitely give Nesbit a shot. Like me, you may need the interwebs at hand to puzzle out some of the slang and cultural references, but I found them a treat--and I bet many of your book-loving kids will, too.

[Witsec1]

But E. Nesbit was an eeeeeeevil socialist!!!!!

[Guest Anonymous]

Fabulous author - I can't say I've noticed religion as a major or even minor theme in the books, but I recommend them as wonderful childhood reading and even better adult escapism. The would-be-goods are my favourites!

[Trynn]

Thanks for recommending it. I will check it out when I get a chance.

[Bookworm]

Yay, another fan of Nesbit :)

[Guest Anonymous]

I would add that I think Nesbit's characters are beautifully drawn and very, very human and fallible. I don't see a perfect picture of morality in the children at all - part of what is delightful about them, IMO is that they are in turns arrogant, prideful, spoilt, and spend a great deal of time bickering amongst themselves, just like your average child. The adults are very much 'of the period', and I seem to remember the WouldBeGoods being beaten with a cane and banished to their rooms for their misbehaviour at certain times. If you can take the books at face value and accept the social context in which they are written, they are just huge fun and so cleverly written.

[Boltingmadonna]

E. Nesbit is so awesome. I love her--first encountered her when I was just a kid, then read her books out loud to my kids. "The Story of the Treasure Seekers" and "The Would-be-Goods" are about a motherless family of six who have become poor because their father's business is not going well since their mother died. The books are narrated by Oswald, the oldest son, and his voice is killingly funny and very realistic. He takes himself so seriously and is always sure he's right--but the author's take on him, though humorous, is always affectionate. The children make mistakes and get into all kinds of trouble, but their intentions are good and they never do anything mean.

Oswald puts his sisters down at times, but it's not too bad, because it's clear that his opinion of girls is just his opinion, not that of the author. Class issues certainly do surface at times, but that's part of what makes the book so interesting. An adult reader can see that Oswald and his family are hovering on the brink of falling into poverty even though they still consider themselves to be gentry. Probably the worst problem for modern readers is that Nesbit shows some anti-semitic stereotypes in a chapter where the children try to borrow money from a professional moneylender. When I was a child this went right past me, because I didn't recognize the stereotypes as general slurs. I thought she was just describing one strange character. And in the end, the moneylender is won over and treats the children kindly, so he is not a bad character. But that might be something a parent would want to discuss with a child when reading the book.

Edward Eager is just hilarious. My children loved those books. "Half Magic," "The Time Garden," and "Knight's Castle" are my favorites.

[hoipolloi]

Totally agree!

E. Nesbit is one of my desert-island favorites, and I think I'm about due for a re-read of the Psammead trilogy!