My all-time favourite classic children's author

I love E. Nesbit

Endlessly surprising and inventive . . . She is also simply the funniest writer we have ever had, while being the one who could most easily and sweetly break your heart with a phrase. Just try saying 'Daddy oh my Daddy' without catching your breath. She made the magic worlds feel as near as the Lewisham Road and she bathed the Lewisham Road in magic

E. Nesbit belongs with those writers of children's books who are successful because of their skills as storytellers. Indeed, she was one of the first. She speaks to the reader, and it's almost as though you can hear her voice