Edward Eager

Author of seven children's fantasy books. Heavily inspired by E. Nesbit.

Half Magic (1954) and Magic by the Lake (1957) star Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha.

Knight's Castle (1956) and The Time Garden (1958) star Martha's children Roger and Ann and Katharine's children Eliza and Jack.

Magic or Not? (1959) and The Well-Wishers (1960) star Laura, James, Kip, Gordy, Lydia, Dicky, and Deborah.

Seven-Day Magic (1962) stars Susan, John, Barnaby, Abbie, and Fredricka. (Interestingly, in this book Half Magic appears to be fictional; the characters have read it, and the magic book that allows them to travel into fictional universes takes them to meet one of the minor characters.)

Eager's books provide examples of

• Affectionate Parody
• Annoying Younger Sibling - Martha and Deborah sometimes annoy their siblings.
• Army of the Ages - Knight's Castle has a variation: the protagonists, four children, have been shrunk to a tiny size and the world of their toy knight figurines has come alive. They win the day in the end by bringing in one child's collection of toy soldiers, which includes soldiers from several different historical wars
• Author Appeal - Half Magic is set in Eager's childhood home Toledo, Ohio, and Magic or Not? and The Well-Wishers are sit in New Canaan, Massachusetts, where he lived as an adult.
• Author Catchphrase
• Britain Is Only London
• Cool Big Sis - Jane
• Exact Words - Eliza and Ann wish to look at the Queen of England. They don't say which, and end up meeting Elizabeth I and Victoria. Another time they wish to see their mothers, and are thrown into a scene from Magic by the Lake.
• Expy/GenerationXerox - Jane and her niece Eliza, as Katharine points out.
• Big Fancy House : The house they stay at in The Time Garden.
• Fan-Preferred Couple - In-universe, the kids in Knight's Castle ship Ivanhoe/Rebecca and Jo/Laurie.
• Housewife - Martha and Katharine as adults.
• Incredibly Lame Pun : The Magic that takes them back in time in The Time Garden comes from sprigs of Thyme found, guess where?
  • The castle only comes to life at night.
• In the Past Everyone Will Be Famous
• I Was Beaten by a Girl
• Lady of Adventure - Jane as an adult.
• Make a Wish
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane - Magic or Not? and The Well-Wishers.
• Middle Child Syndrome
• Numerological Motif - The book in Seven-Day Magic lasts seven days. The castle in Knight's Castle comes to life every three nights.
• The One Guy - Mark is the only boy in his household in Half Magic.
• Overnight Age-Up - Jane and Katharine are turned sixteen for a night.
• Parent with New Paramour - Half Magic.
• Pimped-Out Dress - Queen Elizabeth and the Southern belle in the illustrations for The Time Garden.
• Public Domain Character - Characters from Arthurian Legend appear in Half Magic, characters from Ivanhoe appear in Knight's Castle, and Jo, Meg, and Laurie appear in The Time Garden.
  • Seven-Day Magic does this a lot too; the characters meet a man that they believe will go on to become the Wizard of Oz, and there's a chapter where they find themselves in a scene that's deliberately very similar to Little House on the Prairie.
• Reality Writing Book: In Seven-Day Magic, the children find a magic book that not only lets them wish themselves into other books, but also records everything that happens to them as it happens. And whenever anyone else picks it up, it appears as whatever book they would most like to read.
• Recursive Canon: The magic book in Seven-Day Magic actually is Seven-Day Magic. It transcribes everything the characters say and do as it happens.
• The Roaring Twenties - Half Magic and Magic by the Lake are set in 1924, though the year doesn't have a lot to do with the plot.
• Shout-Out - The children frequently reference their favorite books, especially in Seven-Day Magic.
• Sneeze of Doom
• Speech-Impaired Animal
• Sweet Polly Oliver - Katharine at the tournament at Camelot.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl - Eliza and Ann
• Year Inside, Hour Outside