John Locke and Children's Books in Eighteenth-Century England

Children's books during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in both England and this country frequently contained detailed instructions on what polite society considered to be good manners for children. This passage from an English children's book written in 1762 was read and committed to memory by many children in England and also in this country: Of Behavior Before you speak make a Bow or Curtesy, and when you have received your Answer make another. Be careful how you speak to those who have not spoke to you. Nothing shows the difference between a young Gentleman and a vulgar Boy so much as Behavior in eating. Never touch your Meat with your Fingers. Pick your Bones clean and leave them on your plate; they must not be thrown down. Seldom blow your Nose and use your Handkerchief for that Purpose, making as little noise as you can. Never spit in a Room. Never sing or whistle in Company: these are the idle tricks of vulgar children. Take care not to make Faces nor Wink. Keep your Hands quiet, and use no antick Motions. Never laugh immoderately at a Story told by another Person. Never laugh at all at what you tell yourself. Never talk about any Thing but what you know. How foreign all this would seem to the contemporary child!

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READING CHILDREN'S BOOKS IN LATE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY DISSENTING FAMILIES

The Historical Journal ◽

10.1017/s0018246x99001156 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 453-473 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

AILEEN FYFE

Keyword(s):

Eighteenth Century ◽

Church Of England ◽

Parental Attitudes ◽

Natural World ◽

Children's Books ◽

Children’S Books ◽

Children's Book ◽

Non Fiction ◽

Late Eighteenth Century ◽

History Of

The eighteenth-century commodifications of childhood and the sciences overlapped in the production of science books for children. This article examines a children's book written by two members of the Unitarian circle around Warrington Academy in the 1790s, and contrasts it with a Church of England work. The analysis reveals the extent to which religious differences could affect parental attitudes to the natural world, reason, the uses of the sciences, and the appropriate way to read and discuss books. Although the sciences were admitted as suitable for children, the issues of the subjects to be chosen, the purposes they were intended for, and the pedagogical methods by which they were presented, were still contested. This article also goes beyond the usual studies of children's books by focusing on non-fiction, and by emphasizing readers and use, rather than authors or publishers. Yet producing a history of reading based entirely on actual readers will be exceedingly difficult, so this article suggests an alternative, by combining accounts of actual readers' experiences with attitudes towards practices like orality and discussion.

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