Class, leisure and national identity in British children's literature, 1918-1950 / Hazel Sheeky Bird.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sheeky Bird, Hazel, 1977- author.

Series:

Critical approaches to children's literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Children's literature, English--History and criticism.

Children's literature, English.

English literature--20th century--History and criticism.

English literature.

Children--Books and reading--Great Britain.

Children.

Children--Books and reading.

Great Britain.

Literature and society--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Literature and society.

History.

National characteristics, British, in literature.

Leisure in literature.

Social classes in literature.

Physical Description:

x, 208 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Summary:

"In Britain, the years after 1918 witnessed an explosion of interest in the pursuit of leisure, which, after the austerity and restrictions of the First World War, was increasingly viewed as a right for all. With limited resources, particularly of space, the provision for, and impact of leisure became highly contested subjects. Focusing on hiking, camping and sailing stories, Class, Leisure and National Identity in British Children's Literature, 1918 - 1950 challenges and explores the popular suggestion that these books were merely escapist and demonstrates the continued importance of maritime Britain in children's literature. Drawing from an extensive range of children's books - from the ephemeral to the well-known novels of Arthur Ransome - this book places children's literature at the forefront of the struggle to shape readers' understanding of the countryside as a place of quietude, whilst rejecting the claims of mass tourism. As such, it situates children's literature at the centre of a range of complex arguments about the politics of leisure, class and national identity."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. A Very Fuzzy Set-Defining Camping and Tramping Fiction

3. The Delights of the Open Road, Footloose and Fancy Free

4. Landscape and Tourism in the Camping and Tramping Countryside

5. Mapping the Geographical Imagination

6. The Family Sailing Story

7. England Expects: The Nelson Tradition and the Politics of Service in Naval Cadet and Family Sailing Stories

8. Conclusion: A Disappearing Act

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781137407429

1137407425

OCLC:

881656018