Oscar Wilde and the Cultures of Childhood
Congratulations to Distinguished Professor Joseph Bristow on the publication of his new edited volume, Oscar Wilde and the Cultures of Childhood (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). This is the first collection of critical essays that explores Oscar Wilde’s interest in children’s culture, whether in relation to his famous fairy stories, his life as a caring father to two small boys, his place as a defender of children’s rights within the prison system, his fascination with youthful beauty, and his theological contemplation of what it means to be a child in the eyes of God. The collection also examines the ways in which Wilde’s works―not just his fairy stories―have been adapted for young audiences.
“This collection,” writes Jarlath Killeen, “represents scholarship of the highest quality . . . it addresses many important issues currently attracting the attention of scholars and critics (including the renewed interest in gender studies), and may be the last word on this subject for some time.” Read more about the book here.