Edith Nesbit (15 August 1858 - 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet. She is remembered for her children's stories but she also wrote poems, plays, and novels. She is famous for inspiring much of the children's adventure story genre. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party. She wrote or collaborated on over sixty books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television, including The Railway Children and Five Children and It and its sequels in the Psammead trilogy.