Victorian Horizons: The Reception of the Picture Books of Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, and Kate Greenaway

This text explores the contemporary response to the picture books of the three pioneer Victorian illustrators of children’s books: Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway. In the first chapter the author frames the horizons of expectation - the context of assumptions and values - that shaped the way their picture books were read and reviewed by their audience. Other chapters examine the critical reception to these books. Each chapter is organized by a brief chronicle of the individual renown, early career, a survey of reviews related to their children’s books, and a summary of reputation history over the last century.