The Water-Babies (1863) has claim to being the most peculiar book ever to achieve the status of a children's classic. The story follows Tom in his land-life as a climbing boy for a chimney sweep and in his after-life as a water-baby, where he gains redemption from selfishness as well as from drudgery. On to this fantasy Kingsley grafts a series of digressions and comic asides, through which he comments on a range of contemporary issues. Kingsley ostensibly wrote The Water-Babies for his infant son, but its erratic flights of fancy are liable to take it beyond the immediate comprehension of adults and children alike. Often seen as an attack on the exploitation of child labour, it is rather a heterogeneous commentary on Kingsley's life and times. He writes with vibrant and humorous symbolism, fierce satire, and uninhibited imagination. This is the first edition to explore fully Kingsley's text, its variants, and its iconography, and to annotate the many references which enrich the story. This book is intended for students of children's literature, Victorian literature, from first-year undergraduate upwards.

 

This book is part of a book series called Worlds Classics .

This book is aimed at children in university.

There are 266 pages in this book. This book was published 1995 by Oxford University Press .

Kingsley resigned from Cambridge in 1869 and between 1870 and 1873 was canon of Chester cathedral. He was appointed canon of Westminster cathedral in 1873 and remained there until his death in 1875. Brian Alderson is a pioneer of children's literature studies and is a prolific writer and translator. His other titles include Thumbelina (CWP, 2009) and Be Merry and Wise: Children's Books in Britain before 1850 (British Library, 2006). Michael Foreman is a Kate Greenaway medal-shortlisted author who has illustrated many best-selling books that are much loved by children, including War Boy and War Game.