Beatrix Potter published her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbitin 1902 and it has been in print ever since. She is one of the few children’s authors who have achieved mass success. Her contemporary, E. Nesbit, author of The Railway Children(1905-6), was probably the first ‘modern’ writer for children, and film and TV versions of that book were successful in 1970s and 1980s.

Some of the best-loved children’s books were written between the wars, including A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh(1926), Noelle Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes(1936) and J.R.Tolkien’s The Hobbit(1937). They illustrate three popular subjects in English children’s literature: talking animals, ‘girls’ books’ and fantasy. Enid Blyton, one of the most prolific children’s writers was at her peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She was criticised by adults for stereotyped characters and limited vocabulary, but children loved her. Children also loved Roald Dahl’s books so much that he remains one of the best-selling late-20th-century authors, in spite of some adult doubts about the ‘nastiness’ of his books.

A new realism entered children’s books, which began to reflect modern social problems. The biggest late-20th-century publishing success, however, was J.K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter books provided a traditional mix of fantasy, adventure and the triumph of good over evil which appealed to adults and children alike.