The Figure of the Child in WWI American, British, and Canadian Children’s Literature: Farmer, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

245 Pages·2022·15.171 MB·English

by  Elizabeth A. Galway

The Figure of the Child in WWI
American, British, and Canadian
Children’s Literature
Over the past century, much attention has been paid to the literature
written for adults in response to the First World War, but there has been
comparatively little consideration of how the war influenced literature
for young readers at the time. Based on extensive archival research,
this study examines an array of wartime writing for young people and
provides a new understanding of the complexities and nuances within
children’s literature of the period. In its discussion of nearly 150 pri-
mary sources from Britain, Canada, and the United States, this volume
considers some well-known texts but also brings to light forgotten chil-
dren’s literature of the era, providing new insights into how WWI was
presented to the young people whose lives were indelibly impacted by the
crisis. Paying special attention to the varied ways in which child figures
were depicted, it reflects on what these portrayals reveal about adult
conceptualizations of youth, and it considers how these may have shaped
young readers’ own views of armed conflict, citizenship, and childhood.
From the helpless victim to the heroic combatant, child figures appeared
in many guises, exposing a range of adult concerns about nation, empire,
and children’s citizenship. Exploring everything from alphabet books
for beginning readers, to recruitment materials for high school students,
this book examines works from multiple genres and provides a uniquely
comprehensive study of transatlantic children’s literature produced
during the first global war.
Elizabeth A. Galway is Associate Professor of English and Board of
Governors Research Chair in Children’s Literature and Culture at the
University of Lethbridge, where she serves as Co-Director of the Insti-
tute for Child and Youth Studies. She has published widely on children’s
literature and is the author of From Nursery Rhymes to Nationhood:
Children’s Literature and the Construction of Canadian Identity (Rout-
ledge, 2008). She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Exeter, an M.A.
from Durham University, and an Honours B.A. from the University of
Toronto.
Children’s Literature and Culture
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Philip Nel, Series Editor, 2011–2018
Kenneth Kidd and Elizabeth Marshall, Current Series Editors
Founded by Jack Zipes in 1994, Children's Literature and Culture is the
longest-running series devoted to the study of children’s literature and
culture from a national and international perspective. Dedicated to pro-
moting original research in children’s literature and children’s culture,
in 2011 the series expanded its focus to include childhood studies, and it
seeks to explore the legal, historical, and philosophical conditions of dif-
ferent childhoods. An advocate for scholarship from around the globe,
the series recognizes innovation and encourages interdisciplinarity. Chil-
dren's Literature and Culture offers cutting-edge, upper-level scholarly
studies and edited collections considering topics such as gender, race,
picturebooks, childhood, nation, religion, technology, and many others.
Titles are characterized by dynamic interventions into established sub-
jects and innovative studies on emerging topics.
Dust Off the Gold Medal
Rediscovering Children’s Literature at the Newbery Centennial
Edited by Sara L. Schwebel and Jocelyn Van Tuyl
Sexuality in Literature for Children and Young Adults
Edited by Paul Venzo and Kristine Moruzi
Poetics and Ethics of Anthropomorphism
Children, Animals and Poetry
Christopher Kelen and Chengcheng You
The Figure of the Child in WWI American, British, and Canadian
Children’s Literature
Farmer, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Elizabeth A. Galway
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.
com/Childrens-Literature-and-Culture/book-series/SE0686
The Figure of the Child in
WWI American, British,
and Canadian Children’s
Literature
Farmer, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Elizabeth A. Galway
Cover credit: “Trooper Tom – Slightly Wounded” by
G.F. Christie from Blackie’s Children’s Annual
(1915)
First published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Elizabeth A. Galway
The right of Elizabeth A. Galway to be identified as author
of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-032-04356-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-04358-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-19160-5 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003191605
Typeset in Sabon
by codeMantra
Contents
List of Figures vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: Wartime Tales of Innocence and Experience 1
1 Family Ties and Family Feuds: National Identities in
a Time of War 16
2 ‘What Have We Done?’: The Vulnerable and
Victimized Child 45
3 The Child at Play: Blurring the Boundaries between
Children’s Pastimes and the Business of War 68
4 Tinker, Tailor, Farmer, Thrift-Maker: The Child
Contributor on the Home Front 100
5 Young Recruiters and Youthful Recruits: Promoting
Enlistment and Other Participation on the Frontlines 126
6 A Babe in Arms: The Conflicted Figure of
the Boy Soldier 152
7 “Why We Fought the Hun”: Portraying the German
Enemy to Child Readers 174
Conclusion: The Child as the Embodiment of Hope 202
Works Cited 209
Index 225

Figures
1.1 Illustration by Stanley North from The Child’s ABC of
the War, 1914. [FSU Digital Repository] 20
1.2 Illustration by André Hellé from French Toys, 1915 36
2.1 Illustration by Angusine Macgregor from Mrs. Bunny’s
Refugee, c.1918 57
2.2 Image by Fortunino Matania of a Scottish soldier
carrying a French girl to safety, from Work and Play, 1916 60
3.1 Illustration by Reginald Birch from “An Amateur
Censor” in St. Nicholas, 1917. [University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill – Digitized by Internet Archive] 74
3.2 “The Martial Spirit” by Phyllis Cornish from Collins’
Children’s Annual, 1915 76
3.3 “Germania Objects to Her Part” by Phyllis Cornish
from Collins’ Children’s Annual, 1915 77
3.4 “‘Charge’!!” by Phyllis Cornish from Collins’ Children’s
Annual, 1915 77
3.5 Illustration by Charles Robinson from “Dad’s Soldier
Boy” from Wonder Book, 1918 79
3.6 “Bobby Astride his Battle Horse” from Charlotte
Schaller’s At War!, c. 1916. [BnF] 81
3.7 Illustration by Mary Roberts from “The Dream of Boy
Scout Bliss” from Mother Goose’s Garden c. 1917 90
4.1 “The Littlest One” by Edith Price from St. Nicholas,
1918. [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill –
Digitized by Internet Archive] 103
4.2 “Her Sacrifice” and “Doing Her Bit” by Decie C.
Merwin” from St. Nicholas, 1918. [University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill – Digitized by Internet Archive] 105
4.3 Illustration by Chloë Preston from Peek-A-Boos in
Wartime, c. 1916 107
5.1 Savile Lumley’s “Daddy, What Did You Do in the Great
War?,” 1915 129
viii Figures
5.2 Illustration by Oscar H. Schmidt from “The
Ambulance-Girl” from St. Nicholas, 1917. [University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Digitized by Internet
Archive] 145
6.1 Illustration by Gordon Browne from “What Can a
Little Chap Do?” in Princess Mary’s Gift Book, 1914 154
6.2 Ad for Fry’s Cocoa from Work and Play, 1916 158
6.3 “Les dernier soldats du Kaiser” French postcard,
c.1914–1918 169
7.1 “Remember Belgium” by Ellsworth Young, 1918.
[Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division] 177
7.2 “Boche Gluttony” from Charlotte Schaller’s At War!,
c. 1916. [BnF] 187
7.3 “The German Captain’s Family” by Frank Evans from
St. Nicholas, 1919. [University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill – Digitized by Internet Archive] 189
7.4 “You and Daddy in the Mud” by Frank Evans from
St. Nicholas, 1919. [University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill – Digitized by Internet Archive] 189
7.5 “Everybody Looked Like Goblins” by Frank Evans
from St. Nicholas, 1919. [University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill – Digitized by Internet Archive] 190
8.1 Illustration by Honor C. Appleton from Josephine and
Her Dolls, c. 1916. [University of Delaware] 206
Acknowledgements
The research undertaken for this project was made possible by generous
funding from Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Coun-
cil (SSHRC) and the University of Lethbridge, for which I am very grate-
ful. I must thank the staff and librarians who helped me along the way at
Library and Archives Canada; University of Toronto Libraries; Osborne
Collection at the Toronto Public Library; Coutts Education Library and
Bruce Peel Special Collections at the University of Alberta; University of
British Columbia Library; Free Library of Philadelphia; Boston Public
Library; Bodleian Library; British Library; Blythe House at the V&A;
and Imperial War Museum (with special thanks to Jane Rosen). I also
want to express my gratitude to the team at Routledge and to my peer
reviewers for their thoughtful feedback.
I greatly appreciate the research assistants who helped with this proj-
ect in its early stages including Amy Bright, Courtney Killam, Jessica
Ruzek, Sarah Scott, and Rylan Spenrath. I also want to thank everyone
involved with the Institute for Child and Youth Studies for fostering an
inspiring and supportive working environment – it is great to have the
dingoes in my corner! My friends and colleagues in Lethbridge have kept
me motivated when life has intervened in challenging and unexpected
ways, and special thanks go to Louise Barrett, Kiki Benzon, and Goldie
Morgentaler for their friendship and advice over the years.
My research in the United Kingdom was facilitated by the hospi-
tality and generosity of Roger, Mary, and Charlotte Heath-Bullock,
Carol Davies, and Andrew Bond. Closer to home, Linda and Murray
McGeough helped me keep my head above water on more than one
occasion.
I am grateful for the continued love and support of my family, includ-
ing my siblings and my parents, Michael and Zina Galway, and I want
to thank Angelina and Rosie Howey for helping me in the home stretch
and for teaching me more about children’s mettle and wisdom than I
could ever learn from books. Above all, I need to express my love and
appreciation for Kevin and Lucy – thank you for keeping the home fires
burning!