Eighteenth-Century Studies

Gillian Brown argues that the eighteenth century witnessed important transformations in the conception of the nature and status of the child. John Locke's philosophy of education, presenting the child as a prototypical agent rather than the mere subject of adult authority, was a key factor in registering and promulgating these changes. The children's literature publishing industry that emerged during this period both incorporated and advanced these reconceptions through the very form in which books were published.