Catholicism and Children's Literature in France: The Comtesse De SeGur (1799-1874)

Description

The first book-length history of the classic French children's author, the comtesse de Segur (1799-1874). Virtually unknown in the English-speaking world, in France Segur is a national icon and a cultural phenomenon. This study of her life and works will interest scholars of children's literature, gender studies, and nineteenth-century France. -- .

Sophie Heywood is Lecturer in French at the University of Reading

A masterful essay...it will be impossible to claim knowledge of the comtesse de Segur if you have not read Sophie Heywood's book Remi Saudray, review in Cahiers Seguriens, 10 (2012) pp. 161-167. Heywood has made Segur a figure of considerable interest to historians, not just biographers or literary scholars. Sarah A. Curtis, French History, 2012 Winner of the 2012 University of Reading Research Endowment Trust Fund Best Research Output Prize The strength of this informative and insightful book is its ability to contextualize the life story and the writings of the comtesse de Segur without losing sight of the complexities that both present. Neither Segur's life nor her writings were always consistent, yet in showing how they intersected with new ideas about childhood, a militant Catholic revival, new publishing strategies, and shifting notions of gender, Heywood hasmade Segur a figure of considerable interest to historians, not just biographers or literary scholars. Sarah A. Curtis, French History, vol 26, no 4, December 2012 -- .