ISBN From Colonial to Modern: Transnational Girlhood in Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand Literature, 1840-1940 book English 280 pages

Through a comparison of Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand texts published between 1840 and 1940, From Colonial to Modern develops a new history of colonial girlhoods revealing how girlhood in each of these emerging nations reflects a unique political, social, and cultural context. Print culture was central to the definition, and redefinition, of colonial girlhood during this period of rapid change. Models of girlhood are shared between settler colonies and contain many similar attitudes towards family, the natural world, education, employment, modernity, and race, yet, as the authors argue, these texts also reveal different attitudes that emerged out of distinct colonial experiences. Unlike the imperial model representing the British ideal, the transnational girl is an adaptation of British imperial femininity and holds, for example, a unique perception of Indigenous culture and imperialism. Drawing on fiction, girls’ magazines, and school magazine, the authors shine a light on neglected corners of the literary histories of these three nations and strengthen our knowledge of femininity in white settler colonies.

Michelle J. Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Literary Studies at Monash University, Australia.Clare Bradford is a professor emeritus in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University.Kristine Moruzi is a lecturer in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University.

"From Colonial to Modern examines a century of books and magazine pieces for British colonial girls. Reclaiming material overlooked by scholars, Michelle J. Smith, Kristine Moruzi, and Clare Bradford describe the continuities and discontinuities within the print culture of Empire, particularly regarding the construction of girlhood and nation through a variety of axes including race, work, education, nature, the family, the Great War, and modernity." Claudia Nelson, Professor, Department of English, Texas A&M University"Examining children’s literature in the settler societies of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, From Colonial to Modern impressively maintains a balance between these three places and their literatures admirable – as a New Zealander I am used to being a footnote and appreciate the careful attention my country’s own literature has received, and the extent of archival work unearthed, both of literature and of contemporary critical commentary."Jane Stafford, Professor, School of English, Film, Theatre, and Media Studies, Victoria University of Wellington