Book Publishing and the British Sphere of Influence in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Using an expansive definition of children’s literature, this chapter traces the distinct trajectories whereby British books spread to the West and East Indies through three streams of influence: 1) commercial and charitable publishers circulating books internationally, 2) international publishers adapting British books, and 3) British publishers defining global literature. The legacies of slavery meant that books offered to Afro-Caribbean children failed to represent their experiences, while South and East Asian trade politics yielded myriad translations and adaptations, resulting in local production of transcultural texts. Later, British publishers created so-called global series that diverged from international practices of hybrid experimentation.