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The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories:…
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The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories: 001 (The encyclopaedia of school stories) (edición 2000)

por Susan Sims

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This encyclopaedia covers the history, critical reception, authors, topics and critical analyses of girls' school stories from 1876-1999. An overview of the development of the stories is covered along with their influence on authors and publishers.
Miembro:lizplummer
Título:The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories: 001 (The encyclopaedia of school stories)
Autores:Susan Sims
Información:Ashgate (2000), Hardcover, 300 pages
Colecciones:Tu biblioteca
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Etiquetas:Children's books

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The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories por Sue Sims

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Although the very first English-language novel written specifically for children - Sarah Fielding's 1749 The Governess; or, The Little Female Academy - was a school story of sorts, and a girls' school story at that, the genre has been curiously absent, according to the excellent introductory essays in this marvelous encyclopedia, from the histories and works of critical scholarship in the field of children's literature. What limited attention has been given to the school story, has been mostly reserved for the boys' school story, despite the greater antiquity of the girls' school story, its far greater output, in terms of total publications, and its very different (and possibly greater) social significance, as a record of, and response to a time when education was becoming more widely available to girls and young women in Britain. Despite these excellent reasons for devoting equal time to the study of the girls' school story, and for taking it seriously, from a historical and sociological perspective, and despite some excellent contributions to the genre, from a literary perspective, the genre has not only not received the critical attention it deserves, it has been the target of a particularly pointed kind of sneering disdain, and treated as the epitome of all that is shallow and unworthy, in the world of children's books.

This popular, and astonishingly ill-informed view, is exemplified by Elizabeth Bowen's comment, in her introduction to the 1957 edition of Antonia White's (adult) novel, Frost in May, set at a convent school for girls: "[school stories] for boys are infinitely better than those for girls. The curl-tossing tomboys of the Fourth at St. Dithering’s are manifestly and insultingly unreal to any girl child who has left the nursery; as against this, almost all young schoolgirls devour boys’ school books, and young boys, apparently, do not scorn them." Similarly, in her 1961 study of children's books, Intent Upon Reading, Margery Fisher speaks, in a chapter entitled "Fossils and Formulas," of the "silliness and triviality which resulted from half a century of Angela Brazil and her imitators," buying into the common misconception that Brazil was the first, or even most important practitioner in the genre. Interestingly enough, Fisher praises various practitioners in the boys' school story field - Talbot Baines Reed, Anthony Buckeridge and William Mayne - but dismisses all the major girls' school story authors as 'fossils.'

This attitude, invariably resting upon incomplete knowledge of the genre, and often upon outright incorrect information (viz. the idea that Brazil, or even L.T. Meade, is the founder of the girls' school story), can be seen even in later works as well, which treat the boys' school story as the real genre, and the girls' school story as an interesting, and rather risible footnote. According to the essay here, Isabel Quigly, in her The Heirs of Tom Brown: The English School Story, is really studying the boys' school story, not the school story in general, and her analysis of the girls' side of things is confined almost exclusively to the work of Angela Brazil, who is ridiculed both as an author and as a person: In traditional scholarship criticism of women’s achievements has often been an excuse for criticism of the women themselves: Brazil is mocked because she did not marry, because she had no relationships with men except family, because she was ‘genuinely fond’ of her girl fans, and because she wrote books whose ‘eye-level is that of adolescence, yet they are the work of a middle-aged woman, then of an old woman.' It seems likely, according to the authors here, that Quigly based her analysis solely upon Gillian Freeman's biography of Brazil, The Schoolgirl Ethic: The Life and Work of Angela Brazil, and didn't actually read any of the school stories she mentioned. "As a piece of disrespectful, inaccurate and misogynistic writing, Quigly’s chapter is unparalleled," opine the authors here, who also point out the pit-falls, often encouraged by exactly this kind of misogyny, in assuming that there are hidden lesbian messages in such books (something some activists took seriously, in the 1960s, leading to campaigns of 'awareness,' when it came to the 'dangers' of the girls' boarding school).

So pervasive is this odd contempt for the girls' school story, in British culture, that it has even given rise to an entire sub-genre of girls' school story satires, invariably written by men, from Arthur Marshall to Peter Glidewell. And it is this kind of wrong-headed thinking, and the incomplete and inaccurate scholarship it has spawned, that this brilliant encyclopedia was created to counter. One of two volumes - this one, devoted to the girls' school story, and another, The Encyclopaedia of School Stories: Volume 2: The Encyclopaedia of Boys' School Stories - it was published in 2001, and is the first major critical work devoted to the school story genre that gives equal time to both strands in the tradition. The introductory essays, outlining the history of the girls' school story, and its (abysmal) critical reception, are followed by the encyclopedia proper, which includes an astonishing 460 author entries, some short and simple, and others quite extended. All the major contributors to the genre are discussed in detail, and almost all the lesser known authors are also present. There are a few typos and misspellings, and one or two authors that I'm aware of (such as Eveline M. Williams) that are omitted, but overall the encyclopedia proper is astonishingly complete and accurate. Following this main part of the book, are fourteen thematic essays, devoted to such topics as: adult school stories, annuals, ballet school stories, college stories, convent school stories, early school stories, evangelistic school stories, fantasy and historical school stories (grouped together because so many historical school stories rely upon the time-slip fantasy element), The Girls Own Paper, girls' school story papers, Guide school stories, Little Folks (magazine), pony school stories, and Scottish school stories.

Not being British myself, or a citizen of one of the Commonwealth nations whose children's literature scenes were dominated, until recently, by the UK, I grew up wholly unaware of the 'school story genre,' and was only introduced to it a few years ago, by some friends. As always, when encountering something about which I know nothing, but which seems interesting, I immediately set out to become an expert (an impossible task that usually gives way, with me, after the initial period of obsessive interest, to a more reasonable expectation), reading as much as I could about these kinds of stories, and trying to track down as many examples as possible. Not always easy to do, since many of these British books were never published here in the states, and often aren't available in US libraries. A kind friend loaned me this encyclopedia, which is currently out of print, and exceedingly costly to obtain, and I thank her (thank you, Emily!) for the opportunity provided, to read such an important and informative work. Because, yes, I read this encyclopedia from cover to cover (doesn't everybody do that, with encyclopedias?), and took 111 pages of notes. I feel much better informed now, needless to say, although my reading of the primary sources isn't quite where I'd like it to be.

I do wish there had been something more, perhaps an essay, on American contributions to the genre, perhaps comparing the late 19th and early 20th century college-novel genre, in this country, to the British school story, but I understand that they couldn't cover everything (and, of course, it may have been outside the authors' area of expertise). I also wish there had been something on paperback contributions to the school story (the encyclopedia focuses exclusively on authors who published in hardcover), as I recently stumbled across a paperback example (Daphne Dare's The Feud in the Fourth Form), and would love to know more about its author, and about this more ephemeral kind of children's publishing (I only see one of Daphne Dare's stories listed in Worldcat, so they don't appear to have been archived either). Still, leaving aside these issues, and the occasional typo or error (Sims and Clare seems to have gotten Australian author Constance Mackness' biography a little wrong, if one is to believe the Bonza Schooldays site), this is a magnificent work, one which sets out an amazing array of information in an organized and comprehensible fashion, and which corrects any number of glaring errors in the scholarship which came before it. Truly, a remarkable achievement, and one which I enjoyed reading! If they ever reprint it, I will be first in line to buy a copy for myself. ( )
  AbigailAdams26 | Jul 17, 2013 |
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Sue Simsautor principaltodas las edicionescalculado
Clare, Hilaryautor principaltodas las edicionesconfirmado
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This encyclopaedia covers the history, critical reception, authors, topics and critical analyses of girls' school stories from 1876-1999. An overview of the development of the stories is covered along with their influence on authors and publishers.

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