Class, Leisure and National Identity in British Children's Literature, 1918-1950 (Critical Approaches to Children's Literature)

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. "In Britain, the years after 1918 witnessed an explosion of interest in the pursuit of leisure, which, after the austerity and restrictions of the First World War, was increasingly viewed as a right for all. With limited resources, particularly of space, the provision for, and impact of leisure became highly contested subjects. Focusing on hiking, camping and sailing stories, Class, Leisure and National Identity in British Children's Literature, 1918 - 1950 challenges and explores the popular suggestion that these books were merely escapist and demonstrates the continued importance of maritime Britain in children's literature. Drawing from an extensive range of children's books - from the ephemeral to the well-known novels of Arthur Ransome - this book places children's literature at the forefront of the struggle to shape readers' understanding of the countryside as a place of quietude, whilst rejecting the claims of mass tourism. As such, it situates children's literature at the centre of a range of complex arguments about the politics of leisure, class and national identity."-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-15 A Very Fuzzy Set-Defining Camping and Tramping Fiction....Pages 16-35 The Delights of the Open Road, Footloose and Fancy Free....Pages 36-58 Landscape and Tourism in the Camping and Tramping Countryside....Pages 59-86 Mapping the Geographical Imagination....Pages 87-112 The Family Sailing Story....Pages 113-128 England Expects: The Nelson Tradition and the Politics of Service in Naval Cadet and Family Sailing Stories....Pages 129-147 Conclusion: A Disappearing Act....Pages 148-155 Back Matter....Pages 156-208 Cover -- Contents -- Series Editors' Preface -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Introduction -- 2 A Very Fuzzy Set-Defining Camping and Tramping Fiction -- 3 The Delights of the Open Road, Footloose and Fancy Free -- 4 Landscape and Tourism in the Camping and Tramping Countryside -- 5 Mapping the Geographical Imagination -- 6 The Family Sailing Story -- 7 England Expects: The Nelson Tradition and the Politics of Service in Naval Cadet and Family Sailing Stories -- 8 Conclusion: A Disappearing Act -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index