Royal Children of English History (Nesbit)

Definition

Edith Nesbit published Royal Children of English History in 1897, still relatively early in her writing career, and before the publication of some of her best-known children’s works. Like Tales from Shakespeare, which Nesbit published in the same year, Royal Children of English History was a form of adaptation or re-telling which Nesbit felt was necessary for late-Victorian child readers. Nesbit takes the figures of Alfred the Great, Prince Arthur, Henry the Third, the First Prince of Wales, Edward the Black Prince, Henry the Fifth, and the Baby King from English Royal history and focuses on their childhoods in a brief and clearly articulated story.

Edith Nesbit was a prolific writer who published more than 60 books in various genres for both adults and children alike. Nesbit published Royal Children of English History in 1897, still relatively early in her writing career, and before the publication of some of her best-known children’s works including The Bastable Series (Th...