Research About Nineteenth-Century Children and Books : Portrait Studies (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Research About Nineteenth-Century Children and Books: Portrait Studies Anita C. Wilson Research About Nineteenth-Century Children and Books: Portrait Studies, ed. Selma K. Richardson. Urbana-Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Graduate School of Library Science, Monograph No. 17, 1980. 142 pp. Research About Nineteenth-Century Children and Books includes nine essays originally presented at a symposium held at the University of Illinois in April of 1979. In her introduction to the collection, Richardson explains that the symposium was designed as an interdisciplinary forum "to bring together portraitists, from novice to experienced, who are interested in depicting nineteenth-century children." The articles, which discuss nineteenth century British and American children's literature from literary, historical, and bibliographical perspectives, reflect this interdisciplinary focus and represent a wide range of topics, including analyses of juvenile characters in nineteenth century children's books, discussions of children's periodicals, and an assessment of current approaches to the history of childhood. Gillian Avery, author of Nineteenth Century Children (1965) and Childhood's Pattern (1975), was the keynote speaker at the University of Illinois symposium and contributed two essays to Research About Nineteenth-Century Children and Books. In "The Researcher's Craft: Designs and Implements," Avery gives an informal account of the challenges she encountered while researching her studies of Victorian children's literature. She describes the resources of the John Johnson Collection of Ephemeral Printing in the Bodleian Library, a vast collection of largely non-literary printed material which, however, includes many nineteenth century children's books. Avery explains that her approach to children's literature emphasizes the social-historical rather than the literary aspects of children's books. Her second essay, "Children's Books and Social History," demonstrates this approach and analyzes changing images of the juvenile hero in nineteenth century British children's literature. Avery examines the impact of rigid class distinctions and of evangelicalism upon Victorian children's literature, and observes that although the late-Victorian writers of children's books preserved some of the evangelical conventions prominent in the books which they themselves had read in childhood, they created juvenile heroes who appealed to sentiment rather than piety. Avery concludes that this interaction between childhood memories and contemporary concerns and fashions "is one of the most fascinating things about the study of children's books. . . ." In "Reflections on Histories of Childhood," Walter L. Arnstein does not discuss children's literature as such, but asserts that most contemporary historians of childhood assume either that history reveals a generally consistent pattern of progress and improvement, or that history reflects a decline and deterioration after a supposed "Golden Age." Arnstein places Philippe Aries, author of Centuries of Childhood (1960) in the latter category, and regards Lloyd DeMause, editor of The History of Childhood (1974) and founder of The History of Childhood Quarterly (now known as The Journal of Psychohistory) as an extreme advocate of the optimistic, or Whig, approach. Arnstein questions DeMause's argument that contemporary Western child-rearing practices are superior to those which preceded them, and suggests that most current historians of childhood are insufficiently aware of their own assumptions and biases. Because evidence of past child-rearing practices is often limited and not representative of an entire society, Arnstein concludes that many historians in this field have generalized on the basis of inadequate evidence: "a survey of this past generation's work prompts a mood of skepticism and a note of caution." Arnstein provides a useful annotated bibliography of selected works on the history of childhood. Research About Nineteenth-Century Children and Books includes four essays on American children's literature, two of which deal with children's periodicals. In "Lydia Maria Child and the Juvenile Miscellany," Carolyn L. Karcher analyzes Child's attempt to combine anti-slavery sentiments with more conventional social values in the popular children's magazine which she founded and edited from 1826 to 1834. "First Appearances: Literature in Nineteenth-Century Periodicals for Children," by Harriet R. Christy, provides an overview of books and stories originally published in children's periodicals between 1789 and 1900, and analyzes changes in the magazines' philosophies and attitudes toward children and juvenile literature during this period. The essay includes...