Choice 评论

Picking up where DLB 141 (L.M. Zaidman's British Children's Writers 1880-1914, CH, Jan'95) left off, this source provides reliable, critical information for 37 influential authors of 20th-century children's literature. Biographical sketches vary in length according to the importance of the subject. Vestiges of the golden age of the late Victorian and early Edwardian years are represented by Lewis, Tolkien, Milne, Travers, Lofting, Farjeon, and others. Although selection criteria are unclear, subjects seem to be included for their skill with characterization, plot, setting, or overall use of language. Each essay is evaluative, signed, and includes several photographs of the subject and illustrations from selected works. Contributors place the author's accomplishments within the events of the times (such as the two World Wars) so readers may better understand how events affected their writings. Sketches conclude with an unannotated bibliography and notations about the locations of any special collections containing diaries, letters, or unpublished manuscripts. Rounding out the work are two essays about the uniquely British genres of the pony story and the school story; a one-page unannotated checklist of further readings; the names and affiliations of the contributors; and a cumulative index to the entire DLB series. Scholars, students, and educators will find this work invaluable for the period. I. F. Rockman California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo