num_pages: 52
description: Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) was an English author and poet particularly known for her children's books which were published under the name E Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 works of children's literature and was also a political activist who co-founded the Fabian Society a socialist organisation later affiliated to the Labour Party. Edith's father died before her fourth birthday and her sister Mary's ill health meant the family travelled around for several years living at various locations in Britain France Spain and Germany. When Edith was 17 the family settled back in London Mary having died in 1871 and the following year she met bank clerk Hubert Bland. In April 1880 then 7 months pregnant she married Bland but the marriage proved tempestuous with Edith later adopting two of Bland's children with her former friend Alice Hoatson. Edith's first published works were poems with 'Under the Trees' appearing in Good Words magazine in March 1871 but she later established herself as an accomplished children's author producing several series which have remained popular up to the present day. The best known of her children's books are The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899) the first in her series about the Bastable children and the three titles from the Psammead series: Five Children and It (1902) The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904) and The Story of the Amulet (1906). However the most famous of all is her stand alone children's novel The Railway Children (1906) which has been adapted for film several times most notably the 1970 version. Edith also wrote fiction for adults including both novels and story collections. Grim Tales is a selection of her horror stories first published together in book form 1893 having previously appeared in various journals such as Longman's Magazine Temple Bar and Argosy. The seven stories included are: The Ebony Frame John Charrington's Wedding Uncle Abraham's Romance The Mystery of the Semi-Detached From the Dead Man-Size in Marble and The Mass for the Dead.
language: English
title: Grim Tales
publisher: Echo Library, Fairford