The next meeting of the reading group will take place on Monday 2 March between 6.00 and 7.30 at the Lit and Phil (Literary and Philosophical Society) in Newcastle upon Tyne. Wine and nibbles are available, and everyone is welcome. Roisin McCloskey, PhD candidate in English Literature at Durham University will be introducing the readings.
‘Children’s Stories in Psychology and Literature’
James Sully was a leader in the newly emerging field of child psychology in the late nineteenth century. Frances Hodgson Burnett was one of the best-selling children’s writers of the time. Sully’s ostensibly tongue-in-cheek contribution to The Cornhill Magazine (1887) tells the story of a formidably articulate child; the protagonist of Burnett’s highly successful novel, A Little Princess (1905), is equally articulate, and equally good. What are the parallels between these two generically diverse texts? What are the differences? And what is the significance of divergent fates of the two precocious children who feature in them? Two influential writers of the period will facilitate a discussion of attitudes to precociously articulate children in this ‘golden age’ for both children’s literature and child study.
To access the readings and for further information about the reading group, click here.