Celebrate the enduring power of childhood reading. Join acclaimed literary critic and journalist, Sam Leith for a memorable evening in conversation with children's author Richard O'Neill.
Can you remember the first time you fell in love with a book? Maybe you tumbled down a rabbit hole, or flew out of your bedroom window, or found the key to a secret garden?
Stories written for children offer a glimpse into our deepest hopes, joys and anxieties.
With observations on psychology, collective memory and nostalgia, and the adventurous, perceptive close reading one would expect from an acclaimed literary critic and journalist, The Haunted Wood is an enchanting, epic and beautifully illustrated history of children’s literature for a general audience.
Join Sam Leith at Seven Stories for an enchanting event suitable for readers, writers, illustrators, book-lovers and critics of all ages.
Accompanied by children’s author and storyteller, Richard O’Neill, this In Conversation will discuss the everlasting joy of children’s stories.
About
The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading is a book to treasure; the first general history of canonic literature written for children through the ages, from Aesop’s Fables to Malorie Blackman. Authored by one of Britain’s leading literary commentators, it explores the magic of our most beloved stories.
Sam Leith is the current literary editor of the Spectator. He has written extensively for the Guardian, TLS, Financial Times, Telegraph and Daily Mail. His previous books include You Talkin’ To Me?: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Trump and Beyond and Write To The Point: How to be Clear, Correct and Persuasive on the Page.