Societies at War

Omnivorously well read, intelligently speculative, occasionally cavalier with with detail while always succeeding with the bigger picture, [Edwards] is an unashamed enthusiast for most of the authors he has quarried so extensively. -- Nicholas Tucker Books for Keeps This is a splendid book for those who love children's literature. Dudley Edwards displays such erudition, such real enthusiasm for his subject, that one's heart warms... Buy it, and dip in; you will be beguiled. -- Ann Martin The Scotsman This is without doubt one of the most stimulating and enjoyable books I have read for some time. -- Newsletter, issue 90, April 2008 Children's Book History Society This is a remarkable book. It is cogent, intriguing and illuminating... This book is a serious and scholarly undertaking, triumphantly carried out. -- Patricia Craig Irish Times By the end, the reader has read not only a fascinating analysis of the subject, but also an invaluable anthology... one of those admirable exercises in one small area of knowledge which throws light on something much bigger, namely the effect of the Second World War on the Home front, an effect which is still being felt. -- A. N. Wilson Times Literary Supplement Omnivorously well read, intelligently speculative, occasionally cavalier with with detail while always succeeding with the bigger picture, [Edwards] is an unashamed enthusiast for most of the authors he has quarried so extensively. This is a splendid book for those who love children's literature. Dudley Edwards displays such erudition, such real enthusiasm for his subject, that one's heart warms... Buy it, and dip in; you will be beguiled. This is without doubt one of the most stimulating and enjoyable books I have read for some time. This is a remarkable book. It is cogent, intriguing and illuminating... This book is a serious and scholarly undertaking, triumphantly carried out. By the end, the reader has read not only a fascinating analysis of the subject, but also an invaluable anthology... one of those admirable exercises in one small area of knowledge which throws light on something much bigger, namely the effect of the Second World War on the Home front, an effect which is still being felt.

Owen Dudley Edwards is Fellow in History at the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely on the history, culture and literature of Ireland, Scotland, and America.

Contents; Part One; 1. Orwell v. Richards: Children's Fiction to 1940; 2. Rations and Quislings; 3. Evacuees and Gurus; 4. Women and Fathers; 5. Officials and Genteel-men; Part Two; 6. God's Things and Others'; 7. Identity, Authority and Imagination; 8. Gender; 9. Class; 10. Race; Epilogue; Sources, Guides and Regrets; Index