The Water-BabiesAmong the most popular children’s books of the Victorian period, The Water-Babies continues to delight readers of all ages. It tells the story of a young boy named Tom, who escapes his harsh life as a chimney sweep by being transformed into a “water-baby.” His adventures underwater introduce him to strange animals, gentle fairies, and exotic seascapes, and Kingsley frequently digresses from the mythical narrative with his commentary on political and scientific topics. Many of Linley Sambourne’s remarkable illustrations from the 1886 edition are included in the text of the novel. This Broadview edition reproduces the first edition of The Water-Babies, published in 1863. The appendices include a broad selection of other 19th-century children’s literature and excerpts from Kingsley’s essays on evolution, hygiene, and education. |
Contents
| 7 | |
| 9 | |
A Brief Chronology | 33 |
A Note on the Text and Illustrations | 37 |
THE WATERBABIES | 39 |
William Blake TheChimney Sweeper from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience 1789 1794 | 233 |
Matthew Arnold The ForsakenMerman from The Strayed Reveller and Other Poems 1849 | 235 |
From Heinrich Hoffman Struwwelpeter New York Frederick Warne 1845 | 239 |
From Lewis Carroll TheMockTurtles Story in Alices Adventures in Wonderland 1865 | 243 |
From Margaret Gatty Whereunto? Parables From Nature 1861 | 247 |
From Samuel G Goodrich Peter Parleys Method of Telling About Geography to Children 1831 | 265 |
Reflections of Charles Kingsley on Nature and Sanitation | 269 |
Joseph Noel Patons Illustrations for the First Edition of The WaterBabies 1863 | 295 |
Reviews of The WaterBabies | 297 |
Bibliography | 313 |