Exploring how art and literature transformed perceptions of children and childhood in France during the nineteenth century.

Seeking Childhood: The Emergence of the Child in the Visual and Literary Culture of the French Long Nineteenth Century offers key insights into the development of modern concepts of childhood, arguing that modern manifestations of such conflict are linked to internal demands for national sovereignty, independence, and self-determination. It provides detailed conceptual accounts of issues related to cultural and social identity which are central to our contemporary understanding of childhood and children. It demonstrates how art and literature function as key markers in understanding major cultural and social shifts, and in doing so, allows readers to appreciate the relationship art and literature share with society’s cultural development. The book features the author’s illustrations which function as a form of symbolist illustration, inspiring ideas, thoughts, and feelings that reflect the mood and transmit the key messages of each chapter.