• About
  • Introducing…
  • Analysis
  • Misc.
  • For the Student of Literature

Christian Victorian Literature

Christian Victorian Literature

Tag Archives: atheist

Introducing “A Child’s Garden of Verses” by Robert L. Stevenson

14 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by ChristianVictorianLiterature in Introducing...

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

atheist, children's literature, poetry, Robert L. Stevenson

In addition to literature for grown-ups, the Victorians bequeathed us wonderful stories and poems for children. Alice in Wonderland and Peter Rabbit are two such Victorian classics no child should grow up without reading. The poems of Robert Louis Stevenson (best known for Treasure Island) in A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885) are no different. Some more well-known titles from this poetry collection include “My Shadow,” “Land of Nod” and “The Swing.”

The Victorians possessed a marvelous talent for capturing the glorious wonder and fantasy of childhood. Somehow, writers like Stevenson, though grown-up themselves, retained the eyes and mind of a child. In A Child’s Garden of Verses the reader can relive with an uncanny vividness young delights such as soaring through the air on a swing or making forts out of furniture, and, most significantly, perceiving nature as a portal to fairyland. And yet Stevenson frames the wonder and wild adventure of youth with the comforting and constant structures of daily domestic routines such as mealtimes and bedtime, the cycles of the sun and moon and the changing of the seasons in soothing, rhythmic rhyme. Stevenson gives children strange and fantastical spaces to explore and familiar, safe spaces to retreat.

A Child’s Garden of Verses is an excellent introduction to classic literature for children of any age (my three-year-old daughter wants me to read it to her every day). It’s also much more interesting for the parent to read than the typical picture book! Many illustrated editions of this poetry collection exist, but two that stand out are Gyo Fujikawa’s and Tasha Tudor’s. The text is the same; only the illustrations are different.

But there’s a caveat. Stevenson was actually an atheist. Look for an upcoming post that explains why I still consider A Child’s Garden of Verses Christian Victorian literature.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Print
  • Email
  • Tumblr
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Pocket
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Recent Posts

  • 10 Years of CVL
  • “The Way We Live Now” by Anthony Trollope
  • Introducing “Sylvia’s Lovers” by Elizabeth Gaskell
  • Introducing “Home Education” by Charlotte Mason
  • My Story: A Victorian Healing
  • Christian Victorian Readings for Advent
  • A Christian Jane Austen Biography
  • Introducing: “Aurora Leigh” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 58 other subscribers
Follow Christian Victorian Literature on WordPress.com

Tags

agnes grey Anne Bronte C.S. Lewis Charlotte Bronte class Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Gaskell George MacDonald industrial England Jane Austen Jane Eyre literature Lorna Doone marriage mary barton masculinity Nature novel R.D. Blackmore Wild At Heart

Blogroll

  • The Victorian Review
  • The Long Victorian
  • Kingdom Poets
  • Vintage Novels
  • Faces of the Victorian Era
  • Christian Novel Studies
  • This Victorian Life
  • Christian Mom Thoughts
  • Far Cry

Links

  • Earn free amazon.ca gift cards.
  • Excellent essay on Christianity in literature over the centuries
  • More amazon giftcards for free
  • My Curriculum for Sale at TeachersPayTeachers
  • Progeny Press

BlogCatalog

Books Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Christian Victorian Literature
    • Join 58 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Christian Victorian Literature
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: