Edith Nesbit, Five Children and It

Matthew Creasy (University of Glasgow)

Ed. by Dimitra Fimi, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Newman University), Louise McDonald (Newman University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1902 - 1902

Places

United Kingdom (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Children's Literature

Resources

Five Children and It (1902) is the first major work of fantasy published by Edith Nesbit. It concerns a family of London children who move to Kent one summer. Freed from adult supervision, they discover a magical creature whilst digging in a local gravel pit. According to her biographer Julia Briggs, Nesbit concocted her name for this creation, the “psammead”, from the Greek psammos (sand) by analogy with the dryads and naiads of Classical myth (p. 223). Her sand-fairy is capable of granting the children one wish a day, although the effects usually wear off by sundown. Having established this premise, the plot of the novel is largely episodic and chapters chart the ways in which a succession of wishes goes a…

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2100 words

Citation: Creasy, Matthew. "Five Children and It". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 February 2021 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39013, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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