The Family in English Children’s Literature

This book focuses on the ideological construction of the family in children’s literature from Mrs Sherwood’s Evangelical text of 1818 The History of the Fairchild Family to Jacqueline Wilson’s recent social reality novels, interrogating the idea that portrayals of family in children’s literature have changed dramtically, and suggesting instead that children’s literature is remarkably conservative in its desire to promote the ideals of family to its readers.