Synopses & Reviews
The Water-Babies (1863) is one of the strangest and most powerful children's books ever published. Written by an Anglican clergyman with an insatiable love of science, the story combines an uplifting moral about redemption with a crash course in evolutionary theory, and has an imaginative exuberance equaled only by Lewis Carroll.
Young Tom is a chimney-sweeper's boy who one day falls into a river and drowns, only to be transformed into a water-baby. Through his encounters with friendly fish, curious lobsters, and characters such as Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby, he sloughs off his selfish nature and earns his just reward. Tom's comic adventures are constantly interrupted by Kingsley's sideswipes at contemporary issues such as child labor and the British education system, and they offer a rich satiric take on the great scientific debates of the day. The story's linguistic and narrative oddities make it an unclassifiable fantasy that is both a naturalist's handbook and an aquatic Pilgrim's Progress, and its vibrant symbolism also reveals some of Kingsley's more private obsessions regarding cleanliness and sanitation reform. An insightful Introduction by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst explores the genesis and context of Kingsley's tale, its linguistic oddities and multiple genres, its delight in nature and scientific discovery mixed with romance and mythic symbolism. Explanatory notes provide a wealth of background information concerning contemporary figures, literature, and events alluded to in the text. The book also includes part of Kingsley's essay "The Wonders of the Shore," in which he first wrote about the myriad creatures living underwater.
An attractive gift edition with ribbon marker, wood-engraved chapter initials, and the original illustrations, this volume captures the full richness of Kingsley's bizarre but compelling fairy tale.
Review
"Readers who prize books for their aesthetic qualities as well as for their content will find this new edition irresistable! ... [It] is...very fertile ground for insights into the mind of the ubiquitous Kingsley." --Sara H. Sohmer of Texas Christian University (ret.), Anglican and Episcopal History
Synopsis
'this is all a fairy tale...and, therefore, you are not to believe a word of it, even if it is true'The Water-Babies (1863) is one of the strangest and most powerful children's stories ever written.
In describing the underwater adventures of Tom, a chimney-sweeper's boy who is transformed into a water-baby after he drowns, Charles Kingsley combined comic fantasy and moral fable to extraordinary effect. Tom's encounters with friendly fish, curious lobsters, and characters such as Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby are both an exciting fairy tale and a crash course in evolutionary theory. They also reflect the quirky imagination of one of the great Victorian eccentrics. Tom's adventures are constantly interrupted by Kingsley's sideswipes at contemporary issues such as child labor, and they offer a rich satiric take on the great scientific debates of the day.
This edition reprints the original complete version of the story, and includes a lively introduction, detailed explanatory notes, and an appendix that reprints Kingsley's first attempt to describe the mysterious creatures that live under the sea.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
About the Author
Charles Kingsley was a clergyman, professor, historian, and writer who lived during the 19th century, and was known most prominiently for writing children's literature.
Brian Alderson has long been involved in the study of children's literature as editor, translator, lecturer, and exhibitions organizer. He takes a particular interest in bibliographic aspects, especially those related to the history of British and American publishing and illustration.
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst is the author of Becoming Dickens (Harvard UP, 2011), winner of the 2011 Duff Cooper Prize, and he has edited editions of Dickens's Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books and Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor for Oxford World's Classics. He writes regularly for publications including the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, TLS, and New Statesman.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Note on the Text
Select Bibliography
A Chronology of Charles Kingsley
THE WATER-BABIES
Appendix I: Textual Variants
Appendix II: 'The Wonders of the Shore'
Explanatory Notes