L'Ami des Enfans

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Arnaud Berquin (1747-1791) was a French children's author. This is his most famous work, first published 1782-3. It was also translated into English, albeit bowdlerised, by Mary St ockdale and published in London in 1783-4 by Mary's father John Stockdale. The work remained popular until the middle of the nineteenth century. Berquin's stories consisted of events that might happen to children in their everyday lives - they did not contain fairy tales or other imaginative literature. His books envision childhood reading as a familial exercise; for example, some of his "stories" are actually plays with parts for every member of the family. Show more