List of 18th-century British children's literature titles
Encyclopedia
- Divine Songs (1715) by Isaac WattsIsaac WattsIsaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
- A Description of Three Hundred Animals (1730)
- The Gigantick History of the Two Famous Giants (1730)
- A Little Pretty Pocket-BookA Little Pretty Pocket-BookA Little Pretty Pocket-Book, intended for the Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly with Two Letters from Jack the Giant Killer is the title of a 1744 children's book by British publisher John Newbery. It is generally considered the first children's book, and consists of simple...
(1744) - The Governess, or The Little Female AcademyThe Governess, or The Little Female AcademyThe Governess, or The Little Female Academy by Sarah Fielding is the first full-length novel written for children, and a significant work of children's literature of the 18th century.In her preface, the author says:-Bibliography:...
(1749) by Sarah FieldingSarah FieldingSarah Fielding was a British author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She was the author of The Governess, or The Little Female Academy , which was the first novel in English written especially for children , and had earlier achieved success with her novel The Adventures of David Simple... - The History of Little Goody Two-ShoesThe History of Little Goody Two-ShoesThe History of Little Goody Two-Shoes is a little children's story published by John Newbery in London in 1765. The story popularized the phrase "goody two-shoes", often used to describe an excessively virtuous person.-Plot:...
(1765) - The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus ChristThe Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (book)The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Done into Familiar Verse, with Occasional Applications, for the Use and Improvement of Younger Minds was written by Christopher Smart and published in 1768...
(1768) by Christopher SmartChristopher SmartChristopher Smart , also known as "Kit Smart", "Kitty Smart", and "Jack Smart", was an English poet. He was a major contributor to two popular magazines and a friend to influential cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding. Smart, a high church Anglican, was widely known throughout... - Hymns for the Amusement of ChildrenHymns for the Amusement of ChildrenHymns for the Amusement of Children was the final work completed by Christopher Smart. It was completed while Smart was imprisoned for outstanding debt at the King's Bench Prison, and the work is his final exploration of religion...
(1771) by Christopher SmartChristopher SmartChristopher Smart , also known as "Kit Smart", "Kitty Smart", and "Jack Smart", was an English poet. He was a major contributor to two popular magazines and a friend to influential cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding. Smart, a high church Anglican, was widely known throughout... - Lessons for ChildrenLessons for ChildrenLessons for Children is a series of four age-adapted reading primers written by the prominent 18th-century British poet and essayist Anna Laetitia Barbauld. Published in 1778 and 1779, the books initiated a revolution in children's literature in the Anglo-American world...
(1778-79) by Anna Laetitia BarbauldAnna Laetitia BarbauldAnna Laetitia Barbauld was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and children's author.A "woman of letters" who published in multiple genres, Barbauld had a successful writing career at a time when female professional writers were rare... - An Easy Introduction to the Knowledge of Nature (1780) by Sarah TrimmerSarah TrimmerSarah Trimmer was a noted writer and critic of British children's literature in the eighteenth century...
- Hymns in Prose for ChildrenHymns in Prose for ChildrenHymns in Prose for Children is a children's book by Anna Laetitia Barbauld.-Biographical background:Barbauld and her husband were concerned that they would never have a child of their own and in 1775, after only a year of marriage, Barbauld suggested to her brother, John Aikin, that they adopt one...
(1781) by Anna Laetitia BarbauldAnna Laetitia BarbauldAnna Laetitia Barbauld was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and children's author.A "woman of letters" who published in multiple genres, Barbauld had a successful writing career at a time when female professional writers were rare... - Sacred Dramas by Hannah MoreHannah MoreHannah More was an English religious writer, and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical...
- The Life and Perambulation of a Mouse (1783) by Dorothy KilnerDorothy KilnerDorothy Kilner was a prolific English writer of children's books during the late 18th century.-Life:...
- Cobwebs to Catch FliesCobwebs to Catch FliesCobwebs to Catch Flies is a children's book by Ellenor Fenn, originally anonymous, but later editions were advertised as being by Mrs Teachwell or "Mrs Lovechild"...
(1783) by Ellenor FennEllenor FennEllenor Fenn was a prolific 18th-century writer of children's books.-Early life:Fenn was born on 12 March 1743/44 in Westhorpe, Suffolk to Sheppard and Susanna Frere. John Frere was her elder brother and John Hookham Frere her nephew. In 1766 she married the antiquarian John Fenn and moved with... - The History of Sandford and MertonThe History of Sandford and MertonThe History of Sandford and Merton was a bestselling children's book written by Thomas Day. He began his book as a contribution to Richard Lovell and Honora Edgeworth’s Harry and Lucy, a collection of short stories for children that Maria Edgeworth continued some years after Honora died...
(1783-89) by Thomas DayThomas DayThomas Day was a British author and abolitionist. He was well-known for the children's book The History of Sandford and Merton which emphasized Rousseauvian educational ideals.-Life and works:... - Anecdotes of a Boarding School (1784) by Dorothy KilnerDorothy KilnerDorothy Kilner was a prolific English writer of children's books during the late 18th century.-Life:...
- The Female Guardian (1784) by Ellenor FennEllenor FennEllenor Fenn was a prolific 18th-century writer of children's books.-Early life:Fenn was born on 12 March 1743/44 in Westhorpe, Suffolk to Sheppard and Susanna Frere. John Frere was her elder brother and John Hookham Frere her nephew. In 1766 she married the antiquarian John Fenn and moved with...
- A Description of a Set of Prints of Scripture History (1786) by Sarah TrimmerSarah TrimmerSarah Trimmer was a noted writer and critic of British children's literature in the eighteenth century...
- Fabulous HistoriesFabulous HistoriesFabulous Histories , is the best-known work of Sarah Trimmer. Originally published in 1786, it remained in print until the beginning of the twentieth century.-Plot:...
(1786) by Sarah TrimmerSarah TrimmerSarah Trimmer was a noted writer and critic of British children's literature in the eighteenth century... - The History of Little Jack (1788) by Thomas DayThomas DayThomas Day was a British author and abolitionist. He was well-known for the children's book The History of Sandford and Merton which emphasized Rousseauvian educational ideals.-Life and works:...
- Original Stories from Real LifeOriginal Stories from Real LifeOriginal Stories from Real Life; with Conversations Calculated to Regulate the Affections, and Form the Mind to Truth and Goodness is the only complete work of children's literature by 18th-century British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Original Stories begins with a frame story, which sketches out...
(1788) by Mary WollstonecraftMary WollstonecraftMary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book... - The Parent's AssistantThe Parent's AssistantThe Parent's Assistant is the first collection of children's stories by Maria Edgeworth, published by Joseph Johnson in 1796. The first edition had six stories: Lazy Lawrence, Tarlton, The Little Dog Trusty, The Orange Man, The False Key, and the Barring Out...
(1796) by Maria EdgeworthMaria EdgeworthMaria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe... - Adventures of a Pincushion by Mary Ann KilnerMary Ann KilnerMary Ann Kilner was a prolific writer of children's books during the late eighteenth century. Her most famous book was The Adventures of a Pincushion c.. Together, she and her sister-in-law, Dorothy Kilner, published over thirty books...
- Evenings at HomeEvenings at HomeEvenings at Home, or The Juvenile Budget Opened is a collection of six volumes of stories written by John Aikin and his sister Anna Laetitia Barbauld. It is an early example of children's literature. The late Victorian children's writer Mary Louisa Molesworth named it as one of the handful of...
(1794-98) by John AikinJohn AikinJohn Aikin was an English doctor and writer.-Life:He was born at Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England, son of Dr. John Aikin, Unitarian divine, and received his elementary education at the Nonconformist academy at Warrington, where his father was a tutor. He studied medicine at the...
and Anna Laetitia BarbauldAnna Laetitia BarbauldAnna Laetitia Barbauld was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and children's author.A "woman of letters" who published in multiple genres, Barbauld had a successful writing career at a time when female professional writers were rare... - Keeper’s Travels in Search of His MasterKeeper’s Travels in search of his masterKeeper's Travels in Search of His Master is a children's novel written in 1798 by Edward Augustus Kendall, and reprinted throughout the nineteenth century. This work of popular romanticism is crucially important in marking the great change in the representation of animals in literature, from the...
(1798) by Edward Augustus KendallEdward Augustus KendallEdward Augustus Kendall, translator, social campaigner and miscellaneous writer, was born about 1776. He died at Pimlico 14 October 1842. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.... - The Rational Brutes (1799) by Dorothy KilnerDorothy KilnerDorothy Kilner was a prolific English writer of children's books during the late 18th century.-Life:...
- Moral Tales for Young People (1801) by Maria EdgeworthMaria EdgeworthMaria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe...