 First UK edition | |
| Author | Gwen Raverat |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Gwen Raverat |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Published |
|
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| OCLC | 475803 |
Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood[1] is a 1952 autobiographical memoir by the English wood engraverGwen Raverat covering her childhood in late 19th-centuryCambridge society. The book includes anecdotes about and illustrations of many of her extended family (seeDarwin–Wedgwood family).
As the author explains in the preface it is "a circular book" and although it begins with the meeting of her parents (Sir George Darwin and Maud du Puy) and ends with Gwen as a student atThe Slade, it is not written chronologically, but rather arranged in a series of fifteen themed chapters, each dealing with a particular aspects of life. The book is illustrated throughout withwood engravings by the author.
The book is dedicated to her cousinFrances Cornford.
It was originally published byFaber & Faber in 1952 in hardback and as a paperback in 1960. It was reviewed inThe Times[2] and byDavid Daiches inThe Manchester Guardian[3]
Period Piece has been translated into Danish (Min forunderlige barndom, 1980), Swedish (Så var det då : min barndom i Cambridge, 1985) and German (Eine Kindheit in Cambridge, 1991).[4]
The author's immediate family consisted of her father,Sir George Darwin, her mother,Lady Maud Darwin, and their four children; Gwen and her younger siblingsCharles Galton Darwin, Margaret, and William "Billy". At the very beginning of the book, twofamily trees are given, one for the author's mother and one for her father. The family trees are reproduced here with minor modification:
The author's father wasSir George Darwin. Her father had a large extended family. Gwen's grandfather,Charles Darwin died before Gwen's birth, but his wifeEmma Darwin ("Grandmama") lived until 1896. Charles and Emma had seven children who survived to adulthood - four uncles and two aunts to Gwen. All bar one of the uncles and aunts were married, and two uncles had children, resulting in five cousins:
Uncles
Aunts
Uncle's and aunt's spouses
(Note:Florence Henrietta Darwin, Frank's third wife is briefly mentioned but the marriage was after the time period in the book).
Cousins
Second cousins
Although not in the trees drawn in the book, the following second cousins are also mentioned:
| Chapter | Name | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| I | Prelude | Gwen's family background; how her parents met, "Great Aunt Cara" (Caroline Lane Reynolds Slemmer Jebb) and "Great Uncle Dick" (Richard Claverhouse Jebb). The reference to Maud's suitor "Mr T" isHenry Martyn Taylor.[5] |
| II | Newnham Grange | Newnham Grange is the family home inCambridge, where Gwen grows up with her younger siblings Margaret, Charles (Charles Galton Darwin) and "Billy" (William). It regularly subject to flooding. |
| III | Theories | |
| IV | Education | Being educated privately. |
| V | Ladies | Aunt Cara's earlier life. |
| VI | Propriety | Acting as a "chaperon", thecourting process as viewed by a child, and the need to keep up appearances to avoidscandal. |
| VII | Aunt Etty | "Aunt Etty" (Henrietta Litchfield) and her husband "Uncle Richard" (Richard Buckley Litchfield) are described. Ill health as a Darwin characteristic. |
| VIII | Down | Description ofDown House, inDowne, Kent the former family home of the author's grandfatherCharles Darwin, who had died before her birth, and where his widow "Grandmama" (Emma Darwin) resides with unmarried "Aunt Bessy" (Elizabeth Darwin) during the summers (spending winters in Cambridge) until the former's death. |
| IX | Ghosts and Horrors | Childhood fears. |
| X | The Five Uncles | Descriptions of the "five uncles", the Darwin brothers, sons of Charles and Emma Darwin, split into subchapters:
|
| XI | Religion | The author's childhood understanding of God, andmorality. Going to a boarding school as anon-conformist. |
| XII | Sport | Childhood games; cycling;card games, "Being Kind to Poor Pamela" |
| XIII | Clothes | Clothes, makeup and their difficulties. |
| XIV | Society | Disliking dance class; tea atTrinity, seeing "Great Men" (Lord Kelvin,Ralph Vaughan Williams,Sir Francis Galton andPaul Cambon); a family picnic; the end of childhood withFrances's wedding. |
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