From Lewis Carroll’s Alice books to Harry Potter and beyond, this course provides an opportunity to trace the development of British fantasy writing for children. We will explore the specifics of the fictional worlds encountered, and raise fascinating questions about the relationship between the child and the adult, the imaginary and the real, and what it is to be a reader of fantasy. 

The course will follow a chronological trajectory, moving from classics in the genre to contemporary texts that challenge our readings of those classics. We will consider influential children's books for a range of ages, from picture books to young adult fiction, and consider the notion of ‘crossover’ fiction. Writers studied are likely to include JRR Tolkien, JM Barrie, CS Lewis and Roald Dahl, as well as more recent authors such as Philip Pullman, Neil Gaiman, JK Rowling and Patrice Lawrence.

The course will be shaped by theoretical and critical approaches to children's literature, embedded as it is in Romanticism, and will consider the various ways in which these texts provide a response to the modern and postmodern condition. We will consider the importance of narrative voice, the relationship between fantasy and realism, and debates over whether children's books are for enlightenment or entertainment. How is the 'the child' of children's literature constructed, and to what extent do children's authors challenge the adult/child hierarchies embedded in Western culture?

Related study trips

The class visits places in Oxford connected to the lives of writers studied in this course, often including The Kilns, CS Lewis's Oxfordshire home, and Christ Church.

ASE reserves the right to change the content of course-specific study trips where necessary.