ABSTRACT
Childhood in England has a negative image. It tends to be associated with boarding schools, nannies, “six of the best” and expressions like “children should be seen and not heard” (Voice for the Child in Care, 1998). When Lloyd de Mause referred to childhood as a “nightmare” (1976: 1) he wrote in general terms, but many would confirm that childhood as experienced by English children comes close to this description. Of course, things have changed since the graphic portrayals in Jane Eyre, The Water Babies, David Copperfield or The Way of All Flesh, but these changes in childrearing and in attitudes have been recent – school-beatings were the norm a generation ago – and, perhaps, not all that profound.
