Abstrakt: | The article examines the position of children’s literature classics in the wake of the emergence of
multicultural society in post-war Britain. Given that the so called Golden Age of children’s literature
coincided with the high point in the development of the British Empire in the second half of
the 19th century, it is hardly surprising that many novels, particularly adventure stories set in exotic
locations, convey the imperialist spirit of the day and, more or less wittingly, prepare juvenile
readers for the role of empire-builders. However, because of their implication in the imperial past
and European superiority these classical works can be problematic to the point of being unwelcome
in contemporary libraries and classrooms, as they tend to contain racial bias offensive to diverse
ethnic groups forming today’s multicultural Britain. Since the label of classics affords these
texts some critical reverence or caution, the debate concerning their presence in multicultural education
relates less to the question whether but rather how to read them. |