1st Edition
The Fantasy of Family Nineteenth-Century Children's Literature and the Myth of the Domestic Ideal
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE
Redefining the Past
CHAPTER TWO
Snatched From "The Seed-plot" of Degeneracy: The "rescue" of the destitute child in tales of street arab life
CHAPTER THREE
Forever Cursed: Stepmothers, "otherness" and the reinscription of myth in transnormative family narratives
CHAPTER FOUR
"Uncles are one thing…[but] aunts are always nasty!": Relational failures and the discourse of gender bias in foster family stories
CHAPTER FIVE
Mother, Ally, Friend – or Foe? : The "dependable" female author as one of the family
CONCLUSION
Into the Future: The enduring potency of the nineteenth-century domestic ideal
APPENDIX
LIST OF WORKS CITED
NOTES
INDEX
Biography
Liz Thiel is a lecturer in Children's Literature at Roehampton University. A former journalist, her research interests lie in both historical and contemporary texts for children. Forthcoming publications include a study of the life and works of Victorian writer 'Brenda'.
'Each of Thiel's analyses are thought-provoking and incisive... The Fantasy of Family is an important and original contribution to the field, as lucidly written as it is admirably researched.' - Bjorn Sundmark, IRSCL
