E Nesbit

The Book of Dragons E Nesbit

Publisher Marketing: He happened to be building a Palace when the news came, and he left all the bricks kicking about the floor for Nurse to clear up-but then the news was rather remarkable news. You see, there was a knock at the front door and voices talking downstairs, and Lionel thought it was the man come to see about the gas, which had not been allowed to be lighted since the day when Lionel made a swing by tying his skipping rope to the gas bracket. And then, quite suddenly, Nurse came in and said, "Master Lionel, dear, they've come to fetch you to go and be King." Then she made haste to change his smock and to wash his face and hands and brush his hair, and all the time she was doing it Lionel kept wriggling and fidgeting and saying, "Oh, don't, Nurse," and, "I'm sure my ears are quite clean," or, "Never mind my hair, it's all right," and, "That'll do." "You're going on as if you was going to be an eel instead of a King," said Nurse. The minute Nurse let go for a moment Lionel bolted off without waiting for his clean handkerchief, and in the drawing room there were two very grave-looking gentlemen in red robes with fur, and gold coronets with velvet sticking up out of the middle like the cream in the very expensive jam tarts. They bowed low to Lionel, and the gravest one said: "Sire, your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, the King of this country, is dead, and now you have got to come and be King." "Yes, please, sir," said Lionel, "when does it begin?" "You will be crowned this afternoon," said the grave gentleman who was not quite so grave-looking as the other. "Would you like me to bring Nurse, or what time would you like me to be fetched, and hadn't I better put on my velvet suit with the lace collar?" said Lionel, who had often been out to tea. Contributor Bio:  Nesbit, E English author Edith Nesbit's impressive body of work includes poems, plays, novels, and even ghost stories, however, she is best known for her beloved children's adventure stories, published under the name E. Nesbit. Among Nesbit's best-known works are The Story of the Treasure-Seekers, The Railway Children, The Wouldbegoods and Five Children and It. Nesbit's novels departed from the children's literary tradition of fantasy-worlds popularized by Lewis Carroll and Kenneth Grahame, and instead focused on the adventures to be had from real-life experiences. Nesbit's work inspired other writers like C. S. Lewis, P. L Travers, and J. K. Rowling, and many of her stories have been adapted for film and television. In addition to writing, Nesbit was an activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist group that provided the foundation for the modern British Labour Party. Nesbit died in 1924.