Classical Reception and Children's Literature
Greece, Rome and Childhood Transformation
Owen Hodkinson editor Helen Lovatt editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:18th Dec '17
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Reception studies have transformed the classics. Many more literary and cultural texts are now regarded as 'valid' for classical study. And within this process of widening, children's literature has in its turn emerged as being increasingly important. Books written for children now comprise one of the largest and most prominent bodies of texts to engage with the classical world, with an audience that constantly changes as it grows up. This innovative volume wrestles with that very characteristic of change which is so fundamental to children's literature, showing how significant the classics, as well as classically-inspired fiction and verse, have been in tackling the adolescent challenges posed by metamorphosis. Chapters address such themes as the use made by C S Lewis, in The Horse and his Boy, of Apuleius' The Golden Ass; how Ovidian myth frames the Narnia stories; classical 'nonsense' in Edward Lear; Pan as a powerful symbol of change in children's literature, for instance in The Wind in the Willows; the transformative power of the Orpheus myth; and how works for children have handled the teaching of the classics.
`This is an important book, which opens up a rich new field for classical reception studies. But more than that, it is a truly delightful book - a Wonderland of insights and surprises, as enchanting as it is learned.’ – Edmund Richardson, Lecturer in Classics, Durham University, author of Classical Victorians: Scholars, Scoundrels and Generals in Pursuit of Antiquity, `The contributors offer here a feast of information and striking perspectives on previously neglected topics. As well as marking out new ground in the field of children’s literature, this volume will generate greater understanding of the variety of ways in which classical themes and figures filter into the wider public imagination and often transform it. A great book!’ - Lorna Hardwick, Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies, Open University, co-editor of Classics in the Modern World, of A Companion to Classical Receptions and of Classics in Post-Colonial Worlds, and co-series editor of the 'Classical Presences' book series, `This is an imaginative and scholarly collection, with a hugely impressive list of contributors. I learned something new on almost every page.’ – Catherine Butler, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, Cardiff University, co-author of Reading History in Children’s Books and co-editor of Modern Children’s Literature: An Introduction
ISBN: 9781788310208
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
320 pages