Focusing on the lives and work of five writers of the late-19th and early-20th century who are best remembered for their remarkable books for children, this is a study of Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, J.M. Barrie, Kenneth Grahame and A.A. Milne. It examines their personal reasons for writing fantasy works that have found lasting appeal with children and adults, and also the cult of childhood in late-Victorian society that provided the background for their writing.