Women and children's literature

Children's literature has been considered a natural preserve of women. KAUSALYA SANTHANAM on an exhibition held at Cambridge University which looks at the history of women writing for children.

FORTY million copies of her books have been sold worldwide. Children line up for hours before the shops when her latest book is released. Adults lap up the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends.

The phenomenol success of Joanne Kathleen Rowling focusses attention on the tradition of British women writing for children. Highlighting this 250-year-old tradition was the exhibition "The Journey to Hogwarts: Women writing for children 1750-2000" held recently by the Cambridge University Library at its historic premises.

As exhibitions go in Britain, it was not an elaborately got-up event or a very creative one. But it provided a bird's-eye view of the scene. The social forces and influences that have shaped the choice of genre and themes and the entire range of children's fiction came under scrutiny. The panels traced the development of the genre and case studies were provided. A thematic rather than a chronological approach was adopted and the categories were not very clear at first glance. But for those interested in literature, women or children there was quite a bit to be learnt.

Much has changed in this literary landscape in these past two centuries. What has not is that women writers are still compelled to mask their female identities in order to attract male readership. Joanne Kathleen Rowling has chosen to publish her books under her initials as she was afraid boys may not read her books if they knew they had been written by a women. Just as in the 1740s women writers were forced to conceal their identities under male pseudonyms - only in the 1790s did female names begin to appear on the books.

Unlike novels for adults where women had to storm a male bastion, writing for children was from the beginning considered the natural preserve of women - as mothers, teachers and nurterers of physical and moral well-being and as those "possessing finer sensibilities". With such a didactic aim, it was natural that these books had an overt moral purpose. Whether it was inculcating Christian virtues of charity or deflecting young minds from what was believed to be theirl propensity to evil, the early writers did not believe in sublety.

Slowly, the idea of women not just as ministering angels or the helpmate of man but as individuals in their own right took root. Emphasis began to be placed on their education and the need for rational and scientific thinking. From here it was a small step forward in children's literature to adventure stories where the young felt empowered by discovering treasure and nabbing criminals. And on to fantasy where they revelled in a world of fun and challenge so different from the one they inhabited. Historical novels featuring young heroes became popular and so did a combination of history and fantasy with children entering the past and mingling with legendary figures.

Translations of fairy tales from the German and Danish gave yet another dimension to the reading for the young. The viewpoint that children need not be sheltered from unpleasantness and harsh reality gave rise to novels that dealt frankly with broken homes and family conflict. Children placed in homes where violence and alcoholism are a feature of daily life find ways to tackle the situation and come to terms with their environment. The ever popular school story has had numerous variations culminating in the Harry Potter phenomenon which is essentially a school series with wizards taking the place of eccentric French teachers and the game of Quidditch replacing lacrosse and cricket.

All the books displayed at the exhibition belonged to the university. Since 1709, the Cambridge University Library has been entitled to claim a copy of any book published in Great Britain and Ireland and the books have been acquired through the legal deposit privilege.

One of the earliest books here is by evangelist Sarah Trimmer (1741-1810),. The Story of the Robins which would please any animal rights activist today. It was designed to teach children the proper treatment of animals. Trimmer was one of the first writers to recommend the use of pictures in the education of children and also one of the first writers to review children's books in the journal she founded, the Guardian of Education. Sarah Fielding (1710-1768), the sister of the novelist Henry Fielding, is credited with producing the first novel for children which is also the first school story - The Governess.

The mouse as hero has had a great welcome, right from Dorothy Kilmer's (1755-1836) The Life and Perambulation of a Mouse to the books of Susannah Moodie (1803-1855), who later migrated to Canada, and on to Beatrix Potter. Her adored creation Peter Rabbit has a soulmate in Alison Utley's (1884-1976) series of Rabbit stories. Anna Sewell's Black Beauty, on the plight of cab horses, has a place all its own in this category of animal stories.

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), the mother of Mary who married the poet Shelley, was a pioneer among feminists. She believed that women should learn to develop their individuality by nurturing rational thought. Her book Original Stories from Real Life was illustrated by the great poet-artist William Blake. A heartening aspect of the exhibition is that the illustrator of each book is mentioned. Sometimes the illustrators themselves turned authors as in the case of Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) who wrote verse.

The moral stance is most evident in the books of Mary Martha Sherwood (1775-1851). The History of the Fairchild Family's subheading is revealing - "The Child's Manual being a collecton of stories calculated to shew the importance and effects of a religious education." Hymns in prose, chapbooks (small popular pamphlets) and instructive tales were much sought after during this period. The "Christian tone and temper" were carried forward by writers sch as Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, Barbara Hofland, Elizabeth Sewell and Anna Maria Hall in the 19th to 20th Centuries. Catherine Sinclair, Hesba Stretton and Maria Charlesworth advocated charity work for children. The Religious Tract Society and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge were very active in the field of children's literature.

As the religious influence in daily life declined, the moral tone became less pronounced. Stories of family life became popular. Charlotte Mary Yonge wrote 160 books around families which served as role models. The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) is widely read even today. and Richmal Crompton's William still enchants us with his exploits. Eve Garnett (1900-1991) depicted the problems of the working class while Helen Cresswell takes a humorous look at family life in her Bagthorpe saga. Unusual female role models were provided by Elizabeth Thomasina Meade (1884-1914) who wrote for girls. Nina Bawden, Anna Fine and Bertie Doherty are among the writers today who take a realistic and close look at family relationships while Jaqueline Wilson sees events from the young person's perspective.

The popularity of translated fairy tales gave rise to fantasy either set in an imaginary world or the real. Cuckoos popping out of clocks and guiding children, sand fairies leading them to lost treasure, living scarecrows who make for curmudgeonly heroes and fantastic struggles between good and evil were featured in the books of writers such as Maria Louisa Molesworth, Rumer Godden, Barbara Euphan Todd, Mary Norton, Penelope Farmer and Susan Cooper. History is used by many modern writers as a setting for fantasy. Among the writers who have used history effectively as a background are Penelope Lively in her Whispering Knights, Joan Aiken in Black Hearts in Battersea, Jill Paton Walsh in The Dolphin Crossing, Rosemary Sutcliff in The Eagle of the Ninth and Celia Rees in the Witch Child.

Adventure yarns took young readers by storm in the late 19th Century. Robinsonnades (shipwreck novels) were avidly read. By the 20th Century, authors began to write of treasure hunts by children. Philippa Pearce's Minnow on the Say is located in Cambridgeshire and Enid Blyton's Five go on a Treasure Hunt is an all time favourite in this genre. Thrillers, mysteries and pony stories jostled for space on the bookshelves with stories on career aspirations. School stories which were first written for boys began to cater to girls after the first boarding school for girls was founded in the 1850s. Gillian Cross's The Demon Headmaster is seen s a predecessor to the Harry Potter novels, for, the background is a modern school where real life and fantasy mingle. Harriet Martineau and Elizabth Thomasina Meade are early authors who made substantial contribution to this genre. Angela Brazil, Elinor May Brent Dyer (with her Chalet series) and Elsie Jeanette Oxenham (the Abbey girls) are other writers whose school stories were immensely popular. Enid Blyton of course stands by herself - her books are integral to the process of growing up almost everywhere in the world. Mabel Esther Allan deals with the reality of present day Britain by writing of events in a multi-racial school (First Term at Ash Grove) while Rowling carries the school story to yet another sphere.

The comments in the visitor's book were worth a look. While some said they met old friends here, others pointed out favourite authors who had been omitted. "Why have you included Enid Blyton?" asked one angry entry. "Enid Blyton is not a genius, she is the Agatha Christie of children's books - racist, commercial and stupid."

The exhibition was devised by Nicola Thwaite, Under-Librarian, Department of Rare Books at the CUL. It was sponsored by the Bloomsbury Publishing Place. Bloomsbury was responsible for bringing out Rowling's first novel which was being tossed from one publisher to another. It has not looked back since. And women as writers for children have come a long way racing ahead of other novelists and proving that they and the genre are second to none.

(Pictures reproduced with the permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library)

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