Literature & Literary Studies

Imperialism and juvenile literature

by Jeffrey Richards

Description

Popular culture is invariably a vehicle for the dominant ideas of its age. Never was this truer than in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when it reflected the nationalist and imperialist ideologies current throughout Europe. It both reflects popular attitudes, ideas and preconceptions and it generates support for selected views and opinions. This book examines the various media through which nationalist ideas were conveyed in late-Victorian and Edwardian times: in the theatre, "ethnic" shows, juvenile literature, education and the iconography of popular art. It seeks to examine in detail the articulation and diffusion of imperialism in the field of juvenile literature by stressing its pervasiveness across boundaries of class, nation and gender. It analyses the production, distribution and marketing of imperially-charged juvenile fiction, stressing the significance of the Victorians' discovery of adolescence, technological advance and educational reforms as the context of the great expansion of such literature. An overview of the phenomenon of Robinson Crusoe follows, tracing the process of its transformation into a classic text of imperialism and imperial masculinity for boys. The imperial commitment took to the air in the form of the heroic airmen of inter-war fiction. The book highlights that athleticism, imperialism and militarism become enmeshed at the public schools. It also explores the promotion of imperialism and imperialist role models in fiction for girls, particularly Girl Guide stories.

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Rights Information

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo [DRC], Congo, Republic of the, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hongkong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, China, Macedonia [FYROM], Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Cyprus, Palestine, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan

Reviews

The mid-nineteenth century saw the creation of mass-produced juvenile literature whose form and ethos were to remain dominant until the 1950s, shaping the perceptions, attitudes and values of successive generations. The need to combat the perceived moral threat of the 'penny dreadfuls', the increasing availability of formal education after 1870 and the development of new printing technology all combined to promote, in books and magazines, a new genre of 'healthy' adventure fiction, geared to the inculcation of the national ideology - imperialism, a cluster of ideas which included, in various proportions, patriotism, militarism, racialism, Christianity, hero-worship and manliness. This cluster of ideas centred on the global concept of Britain's role in the maintenance of order and the spread of civilisation. In this book acknowledged experts in the field examine the articulation and diffusion of imperialism through juvenile literature, demonstrating that it acted not just as a mirror it age but as an active agency constructing and perpetuating a view of the world in which imperialism was an integral part of the cultural and psychological formation of successive generations of young people. It charts the changes and developments, continuities and contradictions through studies of individual authors, themes and genres and the strategies of production. To complement the concentration on boys' literature there is an essay on imperialist literature for girls and, for comparison, a study of the diffusion of imperial ideas in the dominions. Authoritative and accessible, it will appeal to academics and students of history, sociology, literature and popular culture as well as to the interested general reader.

Author Biography

Jeffrey Richards is Emeritus Professor of Cultural History at Lancaster University

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Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Manchester University Press
  • Publication Date March 2017
  • Orginal LanguageEnglish
  • ISBN/Identifier 9781526123558 / 152612355X
  • Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
  • FormatWeb PDF
  • ReadershipGeneral/trade
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Biblio NotesDerived from Proprietary 4563
  • SeriesStudies in Imperialism
  • Reference Code10286

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