Edith Nesbit was born in 1858 in Kennington, Surrey (now part of Greater London). Her father died before her fourth birthday, and the family then lived at numerous addresses in England and mainland Europe for several years. When Nesbit was seventeen, the family moved back to London.

Nesbit married Hubert Bland in 1880. They had five children, four surviving to adulthood. On 20 February 1917, three years after Bland died, Nesbit married Thomas Tucker.

Nesbit was a follower of William Morris and she and Bland were among the founders of the Fabian Society in 1884. They also jointly edited the Society’s journal Today.

Her fame today rests primarily on her novels for children, but she was also the author of ten adult novels, including The Lark (1922), as well as horror stories and other short fiction.

E. Nesbit died in 1923, and was buried in the churchyard at St. Mary in the Marsh, Kent.