Be Merry and Wise: Origins of Children's Book Publishing in England, 1650-1850

by Brian Alderson, Felix de Marez Oyens

The child as the audience for books in the English language is the subject of this bibliographical study, which had its origins in an exhibition held at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. From this beginning, Felix de Marez Oyens and Brian Alderson have compiled Be Merry and Wise and shown how certain creative talents, driven by a sense of purpose, or a wish to make some money, attempted to appeal directly to children, and how the publishing industry came to realise that this audience might prove to constitute a profitable market.

318 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2006

About the author

Brian Alderson is the chief children's book reviewer for the London Times and a lecturer and writer on the history of children's literature.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very useful and beautifully put-together survey of publishers in England - I kept thinking, "oh, I'll put this down now," but
I kept coming back for more. A great one to browse around in.