Title: Through the northern gate
First published: 1996
Description: This study challenges critical orthodoxy by showing that childhood became a focus of interest in British fiction well before the Romantic period. It also argues that children in the Victorian novel, far from being sentimental figures, are psychologically unique and contribute positively and significantly to the narrative discourse. Contemporary ideology, the novelists' autobiographical and humanitarian impulses, and gender issues, are all examined as factors in this development.

Works by the major authors are analysed alongside others by non-canonical and children's writers.
Subjects: Bildungsromans, Children in literature, English Psychological fiction, English fiction, History and criticism, Maturation (Psychology) in literature, Psychological fiction, English, Youth in literature, English fiction, history and criticism, 19th century, English fiction, history and criticism, 18th century, English Bildungsromans
Time periods: 18th century, 19th century
LC classification: PR868.C5 B36 1996