When I was a child

by Charles Shaw

A working class autobiography written as a series of articles for the Stafrordshire Sentinel in the 1890s when Charles Shaw was 60 years old, and published as a book in 1903 under the name of "An Old Potter", 3 years before he died.

258 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

There is more than one author in the Goodreads catalog with this name. This entry is for Charles ^1 Shaw. This is a dumping profile.

Reviews

[Misha Herwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An account of a childhood in the Potteries dating from the 1840s, this book tells the story of a young boy who was sent to work at a Pot Bank aged seven, spent time in the Workhouse, yet managed to become a preacher and a respected member of society who's autobiography is still being read.
This book is at once harrowing and inspirational. What I found particularly sad was that the gulf between rich and poor and the neglect of the working population by a government which cared only for its own advancement and prosperity is as pertinent today as it was well over a century ago.
A sobering read indeed, yet at the same time a fascinating one.

[Sergio Gómez Senovilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I Was a Child is the autobiography of Charles Shaw, in which he recounts his childhood in the industrial region of Staffordshire, England, during the 1840s. His account work as a primary source for understanding 19th-century working-class life.

The book highlight how industrialisation was built, in part, on the systematic exploitation of the most vulnerable, and the normalization of child labour.
Shaw shows religion as a tool of moral resistance; he found in his faith a reason not to give in to despair. His ethical view is based on the Christian values of justice, compassion, and social responsibility.

With a first person writing the author generate intimacy, using detailed and poetic descriptions and clear and emotional language. He speaks from real experience avoiding exaggeration. The book surprised me with the intensity of its narrative, its emotional weight, and its historical value, but the last two chapters have a decline in pace and coherence with the rest of the work. The tone becomes more diffuse, the reflections lack depth, and the narrative style abruptly changes, adopting a preachy voice of diluted nuances, resulting in a moralising discourse. Without a compelling conclusion, the story feels like becomes diluted rather than culminated.

In any case, When I Was a Child is a powerful and moving text. Charles Shaw manages to transform his personal story into a social indictment. A work worth reading.