«{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang2057{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Calibri;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Calibri;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Bembo;}{\f3\fnil\fcharset0 Verdana;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa160\sl252\slmult1\cf1\f0\fs24 This is a rare achievement - a book that ends where all other books on the subject begin! \i Before Tom Brown \i0 traces 2000 unexplored years of the school story, unearthing forgotten texts and manuscripts, and re-writing literary and educational history. This readable, scholarly, and meticulously researched book is truly remarkable in its range and originality. Robert Kirkpatrick, independent scholar, is one of a kind.\b \b0 -\b Peter Hunt, \b0 Professor Emeritus in Children's Literature, Cardiff University, Adjunct Professor, Dublin City University.\par \cf0\kerning2 Robert Kirkpatrick\rquote s \i Before Tom Brown\i0 is an erudite and informative history of the school story in English children\rquote s literature filling a silence not broached by others. It will be an invaluable source for researchers and those generally interested in the field. An essential read. - \b Professor Jean Webb\b0 , \cf1 Director of the International Forum for Research in Children\rquote s Literature, University of Worcester\f1\fs22\par \pard\hyphpar0\sl288\slmult1\qj\kerning0\outl\fs24 Robert Kirkpatrick is one of, if not the leading authority on the history of school stories, and here in a wide-ranging display of research, he traces the development of the genre as far back as the Sumerians and Greeks, while also examining such unusual sources as the Anglo-Saxon Aelfric and our own Geoffrey Chaucer. A readable and impressive work. - \b Dennis Butts, \b0 Former Chairman of the Children\rquote s Books History Society.\f2\fs18\line\par \pard\sa160\sl252\slmult1\cf0\kerning2\outl0\f0\fs24\par \pard\kerning0\f3\fs17\par } This is a much-needed and highly detailed collecting and drawing together of threads from disparate sources. Yes, perhaps there is not much here that is startlingly new, and the whole is not riddled with trendy or controversial theory (hurrah!) but the fact is no one has ever done this important job before and no one else was likely to do so. The author's breadth of relevant reference is impressive. Like all good works, Robert sets the scene for a potential sequel with a focus on Dickens and his contemporaries. Please, sir, can we have some more? Jonathan Cooper In Children's Books History Society Newsletter no 138, pp31-32, April, 2024»