Class, Leisure and National Identity in British Children's Literature, 1918-1950

"This is a readable, well-researched, and remarkable re-reading of the inter-war years in British culture and children's literature. The hugely popular genres of 'camping and tramping' novels not previously researched in such detail and family sailing stories are linked to radical interpretations of landscape and of the British maritime tradition. The result is a fresh and original linking of key, but often unconsidered, cultural elements which provides a new and often disturbing perspective on what has been seen as a quietist period in children's literature, and a retreatist historical period generally. This is literary-cultural investigation at its best." - Peter Hunt, Cardiff University, UK

This book places children's literature at the forefront of early twentieth-century debates about national identity and class relations that were expressed through the pursuit of leisure. Focusing on stories about hiking, camping and sailing, this book offers a fresh insight into a popular period of modern British cultural and political history.This book places children's literature at the forefront of early twentieth-century debates about national identity and class relations that were expressed through the pursuit of leisure. Focusing on stories about hiking, camping and sailing, this book offers a fresh insight into a popular period of modern British cultural and political history.