This book provides a concise history of British children' literature, focusing particularly on the past 130 years. It traces the evolution from moralizing, 'improving' works to books which are empathetic to the world of the child. But it also demonstrates that the history of children's literature can be approached from several angles-that of the women who predominate among children's writer, of the relationship between children's books and contemporary ideologies, and of the part played by illustrations and illustrators in the development of the genre.