E. Nesbit's Psammead trilogy : a children's classic at 100 / edited by Raymond E. Jones.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Jones, Raymond E.

Series:

Children's Literature Association centennial studies ; no. 3.

Children's Literature Association centennial studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nesbit, E. (Edith), 1858-1924--Criticism and interpretation.

Nesbit, E.

Nesbit, E. (Edith), 1858-1924. Five children and it.

Nesbit, E. (Edith), 1858-1924. Phoenix and the carpet.

Nesbit, E. (Edith), 1858-1924. Story of the amulet.

Nesbit, E. (Edith), 1858-1924.

Children--Books and reading--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Children.

Children--Books and reading.

Criticism and interpretation.

Great Britain.

History.

Children's stories, English--History and criticism.

Children's stories, English.

Physical Description:

xxv, 273 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Children's Literature Association and the Scarecrow Press, 2006.

Summary:

The year 2006 marks the hundredth anniversary of the publication of the final volume of the Psammead trilogy-Five Children and It (1902). The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904), and The Story of the Amulet (1906)-a remarkable series of fantasy novels for children by an equally remarkable writer, Edith Nesbit. In this trilogy, Nesbit combines fantasy and history with the domestic realism and humor of her Bastable books, The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899). The Wouldbegoods (1901), and The New Treasure Seekers (1904), which established her reputation as one of England's preeminent children's authors. By doing so, she not only earned popularity with several generations of young readers but also established her position in the pantheon of important writers for children.

The essays collected in E. Nesbit's Psammead Trilogy: A Children's Classic at 100 celebrate the completion of the Psammead trilogy. Both established and new scholars from England. Canada, and the United States employ diverse critical strategies and place Nesbit in various contexts to assess her achievement. In producing books with memorable comic moments, character-testing adventures, plausible characters with real feelings and limitations, and interesting and challenging thematic material, Nesbit created books that children still enjoy one hundred years later. Such fantasies are truly classics of children's literature. Teachers and students of children's literature and British literature and culture will find this a valuable guide to critically reviewing and enjoying Nesbit's timeless works.

Contents:

The "It" girl (and boy) : idoleogies of gender in the Psammead trilogy / Claudia Nelson

A momentary hunger : Fabianism and didacticism in E. Nesbit's writing for children / Monica Flegel

The beginning of the end : writing empire in E. Nesbit's Psammead books / Mavis Reimer

Generic manipulation and mutation : E. Nesbit's Psammead series as early magical realism / Teya Rosenberg

Materiality, the wish, and the marvelous : E. Nesbit's comic sprituality in the Psammead trilogy / Naomi Wood

Communicating humor in E. Nesbit's fantasy trilogy / Donna R. White

Where it was, there shall five children be : staging desire in Five children and it / David Rudd

Textual building blocks : Charles Dickens and E. Nesbit's literary borrowings in Five children and it / Jan Susina

Five children and it : some parallels with the nineteenth-century moral tale / Ann Dowker

News from E. Nesbit : The story of the amulet and the socialist utopia / Suzanne Rahn

The amulet and other stories of time / Julia Briggs

"Exactly as it was"? H. R. Millar's expansions and subversions of the Psammead trilogy / Jennifer Marchant

Only half magic : Edward Eager's revision of Nesbit's Psammead trilogy / Esther Gilman Richey.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0810854015

OCLC:

62408611

Publisher Number:

9780810854017