History Creator / EdwardEager

Eager started writing for children later in life, when he found that some of the books he remembered fondly from his own childhood didn't hold up when he tried to interest his own son in reading. While searching for something for his son to read, he discovered the works of Creator/ENesbit and fell in love with them, considering her the greatest writer for children age nine to twelve. It is almost impossible to discuss Eager's books without mentioning Nesbit, as many of his books can almost be considered unofficial companion pieces to Nesbit's, expanding on and playing with ideas Nesbit introduced. Most of his books contain both a direct ShoutOut to Nesbit by name and a reference to one or more of her books, frequently in the form of having the characters themselves cite her as a favorite author. His books are characterized as low fantasy in which ordinary children in contemporary (well, TheRoaringTwenties) settings discover a magical item that allows them to have a series of (mis)adventures.

* SpinOffspring: ''Knight's Castle'' introduces siblings Roger and Ann and their cousins, Eliza and Jack, who are the children of Martha and Katharine from ''Half Magic''. They also featured in ''The Time Garden''.

* {{Housewife}}: Martha and Katharine as adults, since they were written and set in TheFifties.

* {{Housewife}}: Martha and Katharine as adults.

* GenerationXerox: Jane and her niece Eliza, as Katharine points out.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Eliza and Ann.
* TheTourney: In ''Knight's Castle''.
* WeHaveThoseToo: In ''The Time Garden''.

* {{Crossover}}: Roger, Anne, and Eliza turn up in ''Magic By The Lake'' to help the protagonists get out of a jam.

* SneezeOfDoom: Lampshaded in ''Magic by the Lake'' when the children are hiding from pirates. "Katharine, like so many heroines in other stories, chose this time to sneeze."
* StrictlyFormula: In all of the books except ''Magic or Not?'' and ''The Well-Wishers''. The kids all go on various fantastic adventures, but there is one point in each book where they use the magic to help their parents out with real-world problems.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* HouseFey: The Natterjack who is the guardian of the [[IncrediblyLamePun Thyme Garden]]

* OutnumberedSibling: Mark in ''Half Magic'' and ''Magic by the Lake'' is the only boy in a family of four children and his frustration with this is occasionally a plot point.

'''Edward [=McMakin=] Eager''' (1911-1964) was a playwright, lyricist, and the author of seven children's fantasy books.

** In ''Half Magic,'' the children are whisked into the time of KingArthur.