Child labor greatly contributed to the cultural and economic success of the British Victorian theatrical industry. This book highlights the complexities of the battle for child labor laws, the arguments for the needs of the theatre industry, and the weight of opposition that confronted any attempt to control employers.

Child Labor in the British Victorian Entertainment Industry, 1875-1914 provides new insights into the interplay of large social, political, and economic factors with the particularized experience of stage children. It should be read by anyone interested in the history of British childhood, the Victorian era, the economics of theater, and the child-performer industry. (Shauna Vey, The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth, Vol. 10 (1), 2017)

Autorentext
Dyan Colclough is Associate Lecturer in the Department of History, Politics, and Philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.

Inhalt
Introduction

1. Raw Material, Labor and the Finished Product - the theatrical child as employee.
2. Laboring Fairies: The Theatrical Child as a Family
3. The Performing Child and its Audience
4. Performing Their Duty: Child savers and the theatrical child
5. Protective legislation and the theatrical child
   Conclusion