Jane Johnson, A Very Pretty Story

Pamela Price (Cardiff University)

Ed. by Dimitra Fimi, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1745

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Children's Literature
Story

Resources

A Very Pretty Story to tell children when they are about five or six years of age (1749), written by Jane Johnson (1706-1759), is a unique and private text aiming not only to educate but also entertain her children, Miss Barbara Johnson and Master George William Johnson. Johnson’s children “took vast delight in hearing it told over and over again a vast many times by Jane Johnson” (Johnson, 2001[1744], p. 77). A Very Pretty Story reflects the Lockean principles of the eighteenth century and the wider growing trend in the development of children’s literature, moving away from purely didactic texts to those that instruct and delight. It is original in that it is a private writing revealing …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2204 words

Citation: Price, Pamela. "A Very Pretty Story". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 July 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40701, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Save this article