The cult of the child performer was a significant emergence of the Victorian age. Fierce public debate and lasting legislation grew out of the conflict between a desire for juvenile display and a determination to stop exploitation. This study explores the social and artistic context of their lives and their developing professionalism as actors.

Autorentext
ANNE VARTY is a Senior Lecturer in the English Department at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Her research interests include the literature, theatre and culture of the Victorian period and she is author of A Preface to Oscar Wilde (1998) and Eve's Century. A Sourcebook of Writings on Women and Journalism 1895-1918 (2000).

Inhalt
Introduction Training Juvenile Actors Looking-Glass Children: The Performing Child as Erotic Subject Pastorals and Primitives: Child Actors in Arcadia Classifying the Juvenile Actor Theatre Children and the School Boards Vigilance and Virtue Theatre and Cruelty Conclusion: Dressing Up Appendix A: List of Child Actors in Lewis Carroll's Diaries and Letters Appendix B: National Vigilance Association, Regulations for Employment of Children in Theatres