The Middle Ages in children's literature / Clare Bradford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bradford, Clare, author.

Series:

Critical approaches to children's literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Children's literature--History and criticism.

Children's literature.

Middle Ages in literature.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xi, 209 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

Summary:

"From the Harry Potter series to urban fairy romance, the Middle Ages comprise a rich source of stories, symbols, characters and settings in texts for the young. The Middle Ages in Children's Literature is the first thorough study of medievalism for the young -- that is, post-medieval imaginings of the Middle Ages in fiction, non-fiction and films. In this book Clare Bradford shows that medievalism for the young both provides moments of enchantment and also serves as a distancing strategy which enables texts to address contentious and difficult topics. The Middle Ages in Children's Literature examines how changing conceptions of history have influenced the writing of historical fiction. Examining representations of disabilities, monstrous bodies, and animals, Bradford shows that medievalist texts use the medieval to reflect on modernity. The book ends with a chapter which explains why so many texts for the young treat the Middle Ages as a source of comedy"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

1. Thinking about the Middle Ages

2. Temporality and the Medieval

3. Spatiality and the Medieval

4. Disabilities in Medievalist Fiction

5. Monstrous Bodies, Medievalist Inflexions

6. Medievalist Animals and their Humans

7. The Laughable Middle Ages

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 194-203) and index.

ISBN:

9781137035387

1137035382

OCLC:

887848265