Following the announcement of the Guardian children’s fiction prize yesterday, here’s a brief introduction to our extensive collection of children’s literature:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. These are just a few of the books that 21st-century parents now read to their children before tucking them up in bed. A few centuries ago, children had to chew upon more didactic titles such as Maria Edgeworth’s Moral Tales or Anna Letitia Barbauld’s Lessons for Children. As one might guess from the title alone, morality was the key lesson to be learnt by 18th and early 19th-century children, yet the format of children’s books changed as the ‘little adults’ were increasingly acknowledged as the children that they were. Here at Chawton House Library we have a large collection of children’s literature which demonstrates this change; some of those titles are shown below:

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Just a few of the children’s books held in Chawton House Library’s collection.

Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849) has long been considered one of the most influential authors of children’s books. In his biography of the author, P. H Newby wrote – perhaps not entirely accurately – that Edgeworth created ‘the first living and breathing children in English literature since Shakespeare’ (P. H. Newby, Maria Edgeworth, p.24). Queen Victoria was so influenced by Edgeworth’s writing that, at the age of ten, the then-Princess wrote the story ‘Sophie and Adolphus: in the Style of Miss Edgeworth’s Harry and Lucy’. We have numerous copies of Miss Edgeworth’s Harry and Lucy as well as a first edition illustrated of The Parent’s Assistant (pictured above in the top right corner) and Moral Tales (pictured above in the top left corner) . Also pictured below is Lucy Peacock’s book The Little Emigrant, a tale. Interspersed with moral anecdotes and instruction of youth. (1802).

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The pictorial title page of The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog

Sarah Catherine Martin (1768-1826) is usually attributed with writing The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard pictured above. The rhyme was first printed in 1805 and proved to be instantly popular, however it was later criticized for being silly and frivolous compared to the more edifying tales also popular at that time.

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One of the pocket-sized volumes of Lessons for Children by Anna Letitia Barbauld

Anna Letitia Barbauld (1743-1825) is regarded as a revolutionary author of children’s literature. As can be seen by the picture of Chawton House Library’s copy of Lessons For Children (1835) above, the needs of the child were her priority. For the first time, children’s books were printed on a smaller scale and with large text, so that they could be held and read by children.

To find out more about our collection, click here for information about the library, and here to access our online catalogue.