Seen and Not Heard: Memories of Childhood in the Early 20th Century - Hardcover

Nelson, G. K.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0750904607 ISBN 13: 9780750904605

Publisher: Sutton Pub Ltd, 1993

Synopsis

Drawing on the first-hand accounts of those who grew up during the first half of the twentieth century, G.K. Nelson has constructed a vivid picture of what childhood was like then. The individual accounts, told in the contributors' own words reveal the different styles of life in England during the period. This was a time when most children started work while still at school, often helping in the fields before they had their tea, and were frequently employed full-time by the age of fourteen. Many had to journey a few miles to school on foot, and their leisure was filled with simple pleasures and games of their own making.
Here are tales of village school and Sunday School and of the harshness of childhood at a time when common ailments could mean damage for life; of joyful occasions such as May Day and harvest when the whole village would join in; and of the closeness of family life. In urban districts, too, children's lives were a world away from the experience of today, and their accounts are also included in this book.
Illustrated with black and white contemporary photographs and complemented by the commentary of the author, Seen and Not Heard enables the reader to gain an insight into what a child's life was truly like during the first half of the twentieth century.

About this title

About the Author:

G.K. Nelson was a lecturer in sociology at the Birmingham College of Commerce, now the University of Central England. In 1988 he retired from the post of principal lecturer in sociology and since then has been an honorary research fellow.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sutton Pub Ltd
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0750904607
• ISBN 13: 9780750904605
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 150