Part I. Theory and Experience: 1. The terms of reference
2. Looking back into the blank of my infancy
3. The history of children - little innocents and limbs of Satan
Part II. Texts and Contexts: The Old Books: 4. The lesser great tradition
5. Class and classic - the greatness of Arthur Ransome
6. Girl or boy: home and away
7. Let's be friends
8. Cult and culture: a political-psychological excursus
Part III. Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained: The New Work: 9. History absolves nobody - ritual and romance
10. Rumours of angels and spells in the suburbs
11. Experiments with time and notes on nostalgia
12. Love and death in children's novels
13. Resolution and independence
Bibliography
Index.

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