BRITANNIA’S CHILDREN

Reading Colonialism Through Children’s

Books and Magazines

EDITED BY KATHRYN CASTLE

Kathryn Castle - 9781526123633
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 general editor John M. MacKenzie

When the ‘Studies in Imperialism’ series was founded by Professor

John M. MacKenzie more than thirty years ago, emphasis was laid upon the
conviction that ‘imperialism as a cultural phenomenon had as significant an effect
on the dominant as on the subordinate societies’. With well over a hundred titles
now published, this remains the prime concern of the series. Cross-disciplinary
work has indeed appeared covering the full spectrum of cultural phenomena, as
well as examining aspects of gender and sex, frontiers and law, science and the
environment, language and literature, migration and patriotic societies, and much
else. Moreover, the series has always wished to present comparative work on
European and American imperialism, and particularly welcomes the submission of
books in these areas. The fascination with imperialism, in all its aspects, shows no
sign of abating, and this series will continue to lead the way in encouraging the
widest possible range of studies in the field. Studies in Imperialism is fully organic
in its development, always seeking to be at the cutting edge, responding to the
latest interests of scholars and the needs of this ever-expanding area of scholarship.

Britannia’s children
Britannia’s children looks at the roots of society’s perception of
racial difference through the establishment and diffusion of the
image of imperial peoples in the period before and after the First
World War. Focusing on materials produced for children, by
textbook historians and the popular press, it provides an
important study of both the socialisation of the young and the
source of race perceptions in twentieth-century British society.
Britannia’s children introduces the reader to the imperial images
of the Indian, African and Chinese – created for the youth of
Britain through their history textbooks and popular periodicals.
By close study of the characterisation of the ‘other’, shaped in
this era, one can see how the young learned both the lessons of
imperial allegiance and a perception of racial difference which
would influence many generations to follow. This revealing book
shows how society secures the rising generation in the beliefs of
the parent society, and how the myths of race and nationality
became an integral part of Britain’s own process of self-
identification.
Written for historians, educators and a wider audience with an
interest in the issues of race and society, this book makes
important reading for those who wish to understand both the
popularisation of the imperial idea and the legacy of its workings
in contemporary society.

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 AVAILABLE IN THE SERIES

Propaganda and empire

The manipulation of British public opinion, 1880–1960 John M. MacKenzie

Imperialism and popular culture

ed. John M. MacKenzie

‘At duty’s call’

A study in obsolete patriotism W. J. Reader

Images of the army

The military in British art, 1815–1914 J. W. M. Hichberger

The empire of nature

Hunting, conservation and British imperialism John M. MacKenzie

Imperial medicine and indigenous societies

ed. David Arnold

Imperialism and juvenile literature

ed. Jeffrey Richards

Asia in Western fiction

ed. Robin W. Winks, James R. Rush

Empire and sexuality

The British experience Ronald M. Hyam

Imperialism and the natural world

ed. John M. MacKenzie

Emigrants and empire

British settlement in the dominions between the wars ed. Stephen Constantine

Revolution and empire

English politics and the American colonies in the seventeenth century Robert M. Bliss

Air power and colonial control

The Royal Air Force 1919–39 David E. Omissi

Acts of supremacy
The British Empire and the stage, 1790–1930 J. S, Bratton et al.

Policing the Empire

Government, authority and control, 1830–1940 ed. David Anderson, David Killingray

Policing and decolonization

Nationalism, politics and the police, 1917–65 ed. David Anderson, David Killingray

Popular imperialism and the military

1850–1950 ed. John M. MacKenzie

The language of empire

Myths and metaphors of popular imperialism, 1880–1918 Robert H. MacDonald

Travellers in Africa
British travelogues, 1850–1900 Tim Youngs

Unfit for heroes

Reconstruction and soldier settlement in the empire between the wars Kent Fedorowich

Colonial masculinity
The ‘manly Englishman’ and the ‘effeminate Bengali’ Mrinalini Sinha

Geography and imperialism

1820–1940 ed. Morag Bell, Robin Butlin and Michael Heffernan

Britannia’s children
Reading colonialism through children’s books and magazines Kathryn Castle

‘An Irish Empire’?

Aspects of Ireland and the British Empire ed. Keith Jeffrey

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Britannia’s children
Reading Colonialism
Through Children’s
Books and Magazines

Kathryn Castle

MANCHESTER
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Manchester

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Copyright © Kathryn Castle 1996

Published by Manchester University Press

Altrincham Street, Manchester, M1 7JA, UK
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Castle, Kathryn, 1946–
Britannia’s children: reading colonialism through children’s books and
magazines / Kathryn Castle.
p. cm. – (Studies in imperialism)
ISBN 0-7190-2853-1
1. Great Britain – Colonies – Public opinion. 2. Imperialism – Public opinion. 3.
Public opinion – Great Britain. I. Title. II. Series: Studies in imperialism
(Manchester, England)
JV1011.C33 1996
325’.32’07041 – dc20 95-39215
CIP

ISBN 0 7190 2853 1 hardback

First published 1996

00 99 98 97 96 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee
that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Printed in Great Britain

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