Book Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Series Editor's Foreword; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Chapter One: Mythologizing Ireland; Chapter Two: Borderlands: Dead Bog and Living Landscape; Chapter Three: Cleaning up the Mess? The Child and Nation in Historical Fiction Set between 1890 and 1922; Chapter Four: 'What Foot Does He Dig With?' Inscriptions of Religious and Cultural Identity; Chapter Five: Young Adult Fiction and Youth Culture; Chapter Six: Fictionalizing Families; Chapter Seven: 'Binding with Briars': Romanticizing the Child
Summary
What constitutes a 'national literature' is rarely straightforward, and it is especially complex when discussing writing for young people in an Irish context. Until recently, there was only a slight body of work that could be classified as 'Irish children's literature' (whatever the parameters) in comparison with Ireland's contribution to adult literature in the twentieth century. This volume looks critically at Irish writing for children from the 1980s to the present, examining the work of many writers and illustrators and engaging with all the major forms and genres. Topics include the gothi