Childhood and the Classics: Britain and America, 1850-1965

The dissemination of classical material to children is a major form of popularization with far-reaching effects, but until very recently it has received little attention within the growing field of classical reception studies. This volume fills the gap by exploring the ways in which children encountered the world of ancient Greece and Rome in Britain and the United States over a century-long period beginning in the 1850s. Rather than discussing the role of classics in education, it focuses on books read for enjoyment, especially two genres of children’s literature - the myth collection and the historical novel - and on the connections made between childhood and antiquity in works for adults.