Out of the Attic: Some Neglected Children's Authors of the Twentieth Century
Pat Pinsent - Editor

paperback £18   ISBN 978 0 9546384 7 4 
2006

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Now that it is possible to look back on the children's literature of the twentieth century it is easy to see that certain writers stand out, whether for reasons of mass sales, popular or critical acclaim, or even controversy. Sometimes all of these factors have been responsible for keeping an author in the public gaze. But other authors who may have been no less popular in their own time than the ones who have become part of the children's literature 'canon' seem now to be almost totally forgotten. Yet it could be argued that in some respects they reflect the beliefs, attitudes and culture of their period more accurately than do writers whose literary merit or large sales cause them to figure large in the histories of children's literature. In this book, a few of these 'minor' authors are discussed within their sociohistorical context, with a view towards developing understanding both of their work and of the 
periods in which they lived.

This book focuses on a wide range of authors: Mary Treadgold, Meriol Trevor, Frederick Grice, Cecily Hallack, Muriel Wace, D K Broster, Cynthia Harnett, Richard Armstrong, Antonia Forest, Vivien Alcock, Kitty Barne & Margot Pardoe. It provides a context for the authors and their writing within the twentieth century and provides an indication of the influence they have had on subsequent children's fiction. Although not genre focussed the authors and their books are discussed in relation to the genres and sub-genres within which their writings can be 
categorised.

Contents Introduction 1 Pat Pinsent   Chapter One 5 Equine Fiction Between the Wars: The Stories of Muriel Wace, ‘Golden Gorse’   Jenny Kendrick   Chapter Two 33 A Nation at War: The Work of Kitty Barne and Mary Treadgold   Cheri Lloyd   Chapter Three 67 Balancing Reader Interest and Historical Accuracy: The Novels of D K Broster and Cynthia Harnett   Chris Clark   Chapter Four 105 Going Back in Time: The ‘Argle’ Books of Margot Pardoe   Sue Phelan   Chapter Five 127 Us and Them: Richard Armstrong: A Working Class Writer for Boys   Clive Barnes   Chapter Six 159 ‘Let not the pit close its mouth over me’: Frederick Grice’s The Bonnie Pit Laddie and his other books   Peter Bramwell   Chapter Seven 185 Two Catholic Writers for Children: Cecily Hallack and Meriol Trevor   Pat Pinsent   Chapter Eight 203 School Stories Don’t Count: The Neglected Genius of Antonia Forest   Hilary Clare