Alternativa de solución al problema específico 3):

As commercial publishers joined their forces in the development of book-making technique and publication of juvenile books, motifs and patterns of books for children underwent a change, eventually branching out into books for boys, for girls and for young children towards the end of the century* Particularly two Scottish publishers were quick to respond to the change. James Nisbet, son of a Scottish farmer, engaged in evangelical activities in London and opened a Sunday school,

where he taught children and read the books he gave them. In 1809 he began his book publishing business, at first selling religious books. Nisbet founded the Select Theological Circulating Libraiy in 1824 * to promote the cause of pure and undefiled religion, so that Christian Parents may, ivith safety, allow their Children to select any Book from the catalogue»,^ ^

Even Nisbet®s stock, acclaimed to be most safe to the

scru.tinising eyes of educational and religious societies, vjas gradually to contain fictional books. According to J.S. Bratton, 'between the slight tracts and books for small children, and the carefully-selected novels, there are more than a hundred titles vdiich represent the growing area of fiction for older children and young persons, including examples of the several varieties of story that were to develop into the genres of the 1860so^^^) Nisbet's catalogue of 1832 shows, according to Bratton, how commercial publishers were far ahead of the religious

societies. Nisbet expanded his business by importing popular romances fcom the United States where religion was less influential on children's books than in Britain.

Outside the circle of religious publishers, juvenile books in the 1860s and the following decade culminated in such memorable works as The Water Babies (IB63) by Charles Kingsley, At the Back of the North Wind (I87I) and The Princess and the Goblin (I872) by George Macdonald

and. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (I865) and Through the Looking Glass (I872) by Lewis Carroll. They, however, were not written for the majority of children of the time.

Thomas Nelson, Scottish evangelical bookseller, was another pioneer in malting a great success as commercial publisher. Nelson started the business of second-hand bookselling and, as publisher, opened his first

London office in 1845 and New York office in I854. His son invented the first rotary printing machine and it was installed at their factory in Scotland in I85O. Their list of publications ranged from cheap paper- covered tract stories to more elaborate books 'for the family library'

with gilded bindings as well as picture books. The firm started their own magazine. The Family Treasure, in I869 and, like Nisbet, introduced American juvenile stories. The firm secured Charlotte Tucker and Robert Lallantyne, who were the most popular vn?iters for young readers of the

1860s.

Lallantyne wrote about the beginning of his association ivith Nelson that Nelson, vdio had read his first story, asked him to write a

story saying 'do so, and go to work at once'.^^^^ Nelson was first to publish in 1849 the Emglish version of the most popular and most often reprinted German story. The Basket of Flowers, that became one of the archetypes of the Sunday school books.

Another regular writer for Nelson, Charlotte Tucker (1821-1895),

was a forerunner of a new wave of writers who produced allegorical

stories, beast fables and stories of moral fairies during the mid-century. This didactic transformation of fantastic and fairy stories flourished and set a tradition to be followed by many didactic writers. Tucker, a daughter of a wealthy upper-middle class family, began her writing for her family magazine, a customary practice of women writers at the out­ set of their career. Her conversion turned her away from frivolous society life and she worked for the poor. At the age of 54 she went to India as a missionary and devoted the rest of her eighteen years of

life for the benefit of the people there. She wrote stories of con­ ventional subjects including servants, deathbed conversion and grave­ yard meditation but her didactic intention was thoroughly coated with

fictionalised plots. Her evangelical allegories 'have a strong

imaginative appeal and yet offer her opportunities for direct and un- (32)

mistakable moralising and preaching'.

Commercial firms like Nisbet and Nelson were more and more pressed hard to discover new writers to meet the increasing demand for fictional books, with higher literary quality rather than with religious moral- teaching. Such change was represented by the works of Sara Smith, another memorable writer of the time, \&io wrote under the pseudonym of Hesba

Stretton. She worked among poor people and was one of the founders of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. From her experiences, she depicted the real life of slum children. The stoiy of gamins was a leading subject in the 1860s as vjriters were becoming interested in social conditions.

Three books by Stretton especially won enormous popularity. Jessica's First Prayer (I867) sold 1,500,000 copies and Little Meg's Children (I868) and Alone In London (I869) together 750,000 copies,

C 33)