Edith Nesbit 
The Story of the Treasure Seekers 

Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) was an English author and poet who wrote and collaborated on over 60 books of children’s fiction, and is considered today to be one of the founders of modern children’s literature. Many of Nesbit’s works have been adapted for film and plays, and her popular fantasy stories set the standard for modern children’s writers like J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis. ‘The Story of the Treasure Seekers’ was Nesbit’s first novel, published in 1899, and set a new precedent for English children’s literature. The book is the first in a five-piece series called The Bastables Series, based around the six Bastable children: Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel, and Horace Octavius (H.O.). The young narrator’s identity is kept a secret, inviting the reader to deduce which of the intrepid Bastable children is the story-teller as they set off to restore their family’s fallen fortunes. Readers will love this optimistic and lively tale of good intentions gone hilariously awry.