'A MARVEL' PHILIP PULLMAN

Do you remember the first time you fell in love with a book?

The stories we read as children extend far beyond our childhoods; they are a window into our deepest hopes, joys and anxieties. They reveal our past – collective and individual, remembered and imagined – and invite us to dream up different futures.

In a pioneering history of children’s literature, from the ancient world to the present day, Sam Leith reveals the magic of our most cherished stories, and the ways in which they have shaped and consoled entire generations. Excavating the complex lives of beloved writers, Leith offers a humane portrait of a genre – one acutely sensitive to its authors’ distinct contexts.

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'Profoundly erudite and gloriously entertaining, this is the most purely enjoyable literary history I have ever read.' Tom Holland

'Sam Leith has been encyclopedic and forensic in this journey through children's books. It's a joy for anyone who cares or wonders why we have children's literature.' Michael Rosen

'Scholarly but wholly accessible and written with such love, The Haunted Wood is an utter joy' Lucy Mangan