John Newbery
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John Newbery (1713 - 22 December 1767) was an English publisher of books who specialized in children's literature. He was the eponym of the Newbery Medal.
Newbery has been credited with "inventing" children's literature. His A Little Pretty Pocket-Book published in 1744 is often cited as the first children's book although much of his work was influenced by Puritan children's literature and chapbooks (cheap books for the poor that contained everything from calendars to hagiographies to fairy tales). His firm published, in addition to books for adults, children's stories, ABC books, children's novels and children's magazines; his daughter continued the business after his death.
Newbery, it seems, both hired authors to write his books and wrote himself. Scholars have speculated that Oliver Goldsmith wrote one of Newbery's best-selling stories, The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes. Newbery's stories look painfully didactic today but were clearly popular and enjoyed by children of the eighteenth century and nineteenth century. Most of his stories centered around an orphan who slowly, through hard work (what he referred to as "industry") and virtue, prospered. The world of his stories was a meritocratic world in which the child independently rose or fell on his or her own merits. Furthermore, many of his stories showed the entire life of the character, from childhood to adulthood, in order to illustrate the punishments and rewards associated with "good" and "bad" behavior.
Newbery also published a series of books written by "Tom Telescope" that were wildly popular. These were based on the emerging science of the day and consisted of a series of lectures given by a boy, Tom Telescope. The most famous is entitled The Newtonian System of Philosophy Adapted to the Capacities of Young Gentlemen and Ladies.
Best-selling Newbery books
- A Little Pretty Pocket-book (1744)
- The Newtonian System of Philosophy (1761) (perhaps written by Oliver Goldsmith or Christopher Smart)
- The Renowned History of Giles Gingerbread (1764)
- The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765) (perhaps written by Oliver Goldsmith)
References
Darton, F. J. Harvey. Children's Books in England. 3rd ed. Rev. Brian Alderson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Hilton, Mary, Morag Styles and Victor Watson, eds. Opening the Nursery Door: Reading, writing and childhood 1600-1900. London: Routledge, 1997.
Jackson, Mary V. Engines of Instruction, Mischief, and Mag!c: Children’s Literature in England from Its Beginnings to 1839. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989.