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In Homespun
Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland) (1858-1924) was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the androgynous name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She started a new genre of magical adventures arising from everyday settings and has been much imitated. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a precursor to the modern Labour Party. Nesbit's books for children are known for being entertaining without turning didactic, although some of her earlier works, notably Five Children and It (1902) and even more so The Story of the Amulet (1906), veer in that direction. Among Nesbit's best-known books are The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1898), The Wouldbegoods (1899) and The Railway Children (1906). Other works include The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904), The Enchanted Castle (1907) and The Magic City (1910).
- GenresClassicsShort Stories
108 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1896
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82 people want to read
About the author
E. Nesbit
1,037 books999 followers
Edith Nesbit
(married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit.
She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party.
Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading.
At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran.
Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today).
In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party.
Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading.
At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran.
Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today).
In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 14, 2014
From BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Reading:
She is known now, almost exclusively, as a children's writer - the author of The Railway Children. But E. Nesbit was more than that: a pioneer Socialist, a campaigner for Women's Rights and a passionate social reformer. She was also a prolific poet and author of adult fiction.
The stories in this series are taken from 'In Homespun', a collection that was originally published in 1896, and are set in the villages of South Kent and East Sussex that Nesbit knew well. Told in the first person, by a variety of strong, women characters- the sort of character E. Nesbit specialized in - looking back on their earlier lives. Their voices are robust and distinct.
Reader: Jenny Agutter
Abridged by Roy Apps
Producer/Director: Celia de Wolff.
Contents:
Her Marriage Lines
The Bristol Bowl
Grandsire Triples
She is known now, almost exclusively, as a children's writer - the author of The Railway Children. But E. Nesbit was more than that: a pioneer Socialist, a campaigner for Women's Rights and a passionate social reformer. She was also a prolific poet and author of adult fiction.
The stories in this series are taken from 'In Homespun', a collection that was originally published in 1896, and are set in the villages of South Kent and East Sussex that Nesbit knew well. Told in the first person, by a variety of strong, women characters- the sort of character E. Nesbit specialized in - looking back on their earlier lives. Their voices are robust and distinct.
Reader: Jenny Agutter
Abridged by Roy Apps
Producer/Director: Celia de Wolff.
Contents:
Her Marriage Lines
The Bristol Bowl
Grandsire Triples
October 14, 2017
Though Nesbit is best known today for her children's stories, this collection of ten short stories was written for adults, and published in 1896. All are in the first person, and feature working class protagonists, most of which are young women dealing with love, marriage, pregnancy and rivalry. In the introduction, Nesbit notes the stories are written in the dialect of South Kent and Sussex Downs.
I enjoyed the first eight stories most, character-driven pieces with clever turns. The last two didn't seem up to Nesbit's usual standards, with endings that lacked her usual style. It was almost as if they had been altered to please the broad audience of the time. Perhaps they were--I imagine they were written for magazines. In one, a young woman becomes pregnant on the eve of her wedding, only to be jilted at the altar. She lives happily enough with the baby and her parents. When her fiancé eventually comes back and asks her to marry him, she rejects him, happier as a single mother--a surprisingly modern notion. Nesbit herself got pregnant out of wedlock, and though she married the father, she continued to live with her parents for a time, so I suspect there was something autobiographical. But in the 1890s, the story couldn't end there. So there's a whole other contrived sequence that leads to her marrying him on his deathbed, followed by a miraculous recovery and a happily ever after. I suspect that isn't how Nesbit wanted the story to go. I think an editor forced that ending, because it just didn't match her usual style. Nesbit's characters are flawed and often have a bit of an edge, which is what makes them so interesting. There's a biography of her that I think I need to read.
Overall, I really enjoyed these stories. The only challenge is that being all first person and featuring heroines from the same area, they're not easy to read back-to-back as the heroine of each story sounds very similar to the one before. But still a very worthwhile read. It's a shame this collection has become so obscure, but it is available as a free Ebook.
I enjoyed the first eight stories most, character-driven pieces with clever turns. The last two didn't seem up to Nesbit's usual standards, with endings that lacked her usual style. It was almost as if they had been altered to please the broad audience of the time. Perhaps they were--I imagine they were written for magazines. In one, a young woman becomes pregnant on the eve of her wedding, only to be jilted at the altar. She lives happily enough with the baby and her parents. When her fiancé eventually comes back and asks her to marry him, she rejects him, happier as a single mother--a surprisingly modern notion. Nesbit herself got pregnant out of wedlock, and though she married the father, she continued to live with her parents for a time, so I suspect there was something autobiographical. But in the 1890s, the story couldn't end there. So there's a whole other contrived sequence that leads to her marrying him on his deathbed, followed by a miraculous recovery and a happily ever after. I suspect that isn't how Nesbit wanted the story to go. I think an editor forced that ending, because it just didn't match her usual style. Nesbit's characters are flawed and often have a bit of an edge, which is what makes them so interesting. There's a biography of her that I think I need to read.
Overall, I really enjoyed these stories. The only challenge is that being all first person and featuring heroines from the same area, they're not easy to read back-to-back as the heroine of each story sounds very similar to the one before. But still a very worthwhile read. It's a shame this collection has become so obscure, but it is available as a free Ebook.
March 9, 2020
Thanks to Project Gutenberg for this free read.
Nesbit is perhaps best known for her children's books, some fantasy and some more realistic. I didn't know what to expect when I downloaded this collection of short stories, but it wasn't what I got!
I don't usually care for collections of short stories by the same author, as after a few it begins to be mush of a mushness, and this book is no exception. Nesbit's narrative voice reminded me strongly of Eudora Welty. She rings the changes on the scornful woman and the woman scorned, and in no case was the narrator particularly likeable, except in the case in which said narrator is a man. In more than one case, the female narrator/MC is less than reliable, and is often physically unattractive (by her own admission) as well. That says something either about her writing or about Nesbit as an author, but I'm not sure which or what.
It was interesting to read work so very different from Nesbit's usual books for the young, but I don't think I care to read it again.
Nesbit is perhaps best known for her children's books, some fantasy and some more realistic. I didn't know what to expect when I downloaded this collection of short stories, but it wasn't what I got!
I don't usually care for collections of short stories by the same author, as after a few it begins to be mush of a mushness, and this book is no exception. Nesbit's narrative voice reminded me strongly of Eudora Welty. She rings the changes on the scornful woman and the woman scorned, and in no case was the narrator particularly likeable, except in the case in which said narrator is a man. In more than one case, the female narrator/MC is less than reliable, and is often physically unattractive (by her own admission) as well. That says something either about her writing or about Nesbit as an author, but I'm not sure which or what.
It was interesting to read work so very different from Nesbit's usual books for the young, but I don't think I care to read it again.
May 15, 2014
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4378The Stories:
THE BRISTOL BOWL: MY cousin Sarah and me had only one aunt between us, and that was my Aunt Maria, who lived in the little cottage up by the church.
BARRING THE WAY
GRANDSIRE TRIPLES
A DEATH-BED CONFESSION
HER MARRIAGE LINES
ACTING FOR THE BEST
GUILTY
SON AND HEIR
ONE WAY OF LOVE
COALS OF FIRE
Just the titular story for the moment
August 29, 2012
I love this collection of short stories by E. Nesbit. She was much more than just a children's author (not that being a children's author is a bad thing to be, of course!); she could handle adult issues like illegitimacy and deception with the same care and humor she showed when writing for children.
I highly recommend In Homespun for adults who enjoy short stories.
I highly recommend In Homespun for adults who enjoy short stories.
April 4, 2013
Kinda weird and creepy, in a Roald Dahl sort of way, but the final story ends happily.
August 31, 2024
Nesbit Notes #11
A collection of short stories from Nesbit, uneven to be sure, but quite interesting on the whole.
The Nesbit journey continues.
A collection of short stories from Nesbit, uneven to be sure, but quite interesting on the whole.
The Nesbit journey continues.
September 23, 2015
Good collection of unrelated short stories. Written for adults but could be used for a study of short stories during the high school years.
June 23, 2016
Nice collection of short stories.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews