The Railway Children

Edith Nesbit was a mischievous child who grew up into an unconventional adult. With her husband, Hubert Bland, she was one of the founder members of the socialist Fabian Society; their household became a centre of the socialist and literary circles of the times. E. Nesbit turned late to children’s writing. Her first children’s book, The Treasure Seekers, was published in 1899 to great acclaim. Other books featuring the Bastable children followed, and a series of magical fantasy books, including Five Children and It also became very popular. The Railway Children was first published monthly in the London Magazine in 1905, and published as a book in 1906, which has been in print ever since.

Jacqueline Wilson, the creator of Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather, is a multi-award-winning author and consistent favourite with children and critics. A former Children’s Laureate, Jacqueline has won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award and the Children’s Book of the Year Award. The CBBC adaptation of The Story of Tracy Beaker is one of the channel’s highest-rating shows ever. Jacqueline is a visiting professor of creative writing at Roehampton University and is also their Chancellor and was appointed a Dame for services to children’s literature. Born in Bath in 1945, Jacqueline has lived most of her life in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey. She has one daughter, two pampered cats and an energetic dog.