Like Edith Nesbit’s bookish children (7)
I believe the answer is:
railway
'like edith' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for railway that I've seen before include "Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch, for example" , "Transport system" , "Tracks" , "Line of track" , "Track for trains" .)