British Children's Literature and the First World War: Representations Since 1914

ISBN-13: 9781474256858 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 256 str.

David Budgen

Opis

Using novels, school textbooks, comics and story papers, as well as publishers' archives, social surveys, Department of Education files and other primary documents, British Children's Literature and the First World War examines developments in understandings of the First World War throughout the 20th century. Children's literature has played an important role in shaping impressions of the First World War, but it also tells us much about the changing nature of British society. In his analysis, David Budgen raises important questions about the presentation of history. Are modern children's books about the past more accurate than their forebears? Why do children's authors want to write about the war? Do they successfully represent the reality of the past, and is accuracy important?Beginning with the war years themselves, Budgen goes on to examine representations of the conflict during the interwar period and the Second World War, ending with the centenary in 2014. The presentation of war to children is a contentious issue, and debates about the war are continuing. This book demonstrates how children's literature has a major role to play in explaining the past to young readers and can help us to understand modern popular perceptions of both the First World War and 20th-century British society.