{"product_id":"9781780377858","title":"History of the Child","description":"\u003cb\u003ePenelope Shuttle's \u003ci\u003eHistory of the Child\u003c\/i\u003e is a highly evocative exploration of childhood, memory, and imagination, blending personal and historical perspectives.\u003c\/b\u003eThe book's themes include parenting, grief, nature, emotional recovery and connections to the past, guided by the idea of childhood as a transformative and rebellious space. \u003cbr\u003eThe first of the book's four sections features poems about Katherine of Aragon, the Vestal Virgins, Stanley Spencer and Wallace Stevens, with a focus on grief, nature, and animals. The second, \u003ci\u003eBook of Lullabies\u003c\/i\u003e, steps closer to the theme of the child, with poems about memory, inwardness, climate change, sexuality in older age, and the natural world. The third part, \u003ci\u003eHistory of the Child\u003c\/i\u003e, is a journey back to Penelope Shuttle's own childhood, blending personal memories with imagined perspectives to explore psychological crises, emotional recovery, and the traumas of childhood. It introduces an alternative girl child self', inspired by Persian legends, by her late husband Peter Redgrove's dream of such a girl (my death, and she is my soul'), and by a friend's fanciful wish. The culminating fourth section is a playful sequence abouta little table, inspired by her mother and her childhood. The table symbolises connection to her mother, who lived to be 100 years old, and their shared history. \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eHistory of the Child\u003c\/i\u003e is guided by themes of memory, imagination, foreboding, magic, history and humour, and seeks to articulate the essence of being' through fiery language and elemental imagery. She draws inspiration from Donald Winnicott's concept of the potentive space' where play, fantasy and reality intersect.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penelope Shuttle","offers":[{"title":"Bloodaxe |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2026-04-24","offer_id":47353565741311,"sku":"9781780377858","price":30.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_2312d2be-63fe-4a66-b77c-c1126e0ad0a8.jpg?v=1760540795","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9781780377858","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}