The Women Who Invented Twentieth-Century Children’s Literature: Only the Best

Publishing for children between 1930 and 1960 has been denigrated as a relatively fallow period for creativity and quality, certainly in comparison with the ’golden ages’ of children’s literature that preceded and succeeded it. This book questions this perception by using archival evidence to argue that the work of what was predominantly a female group of editors, illustrators, authors and librarians (collectively referred to as bookwomen) resulted in many titles which are still considered as ’classics’ today. The bookwomen reframed ideas about how children’s publishing should be approached and valued and, in doing so, laid the foundations for a subsequent generation of children’s authors and publishers who were to achieve far greater prominence. The key to the success of the bookwomen was their willingness to experiment, the strength of their relationships and their comprehensive understanding of the book production process. By focusing on a selection of women working across all aspects of the book production process, this book demonstrates that, both individually and collectively, women capitalised on their position as ’other’ to the existing male institutions.

Elizabeth West received her PhD from the University of Reading, awarded in June 2021 in children’s book history. She received the David Almond Fellowship, Seven Stories/University of Newcastle, 2018 and the Brotherton Fellowship, University of Leeds, 2022. She is currently ECR Fellow at Reading’s Centre for Book Cultures and Publishing. Dr West has presented papers at the IRSCL Congress, 2019; Women in Publishing Symposium, 2019; 25th NCRCL MA/IBBY UK Conference, 2018; and Children’s History Society Conference, 2018. Publications include an article in Roundtable, 2(1), 5, and a chapter in the forthcoming The Edinburgh Companion to Women in Publishing, 1900-2000.