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Invention of Childhood, 4th of 6 [audio 60min]

In six hour-long episodes, Michael Morpurgo, former Children's Laureate of Great Britain, examines the stories of the lives of British children over the last thousand years, epoque by epoque. Episode 4: The 19th Century. Moving into the 19th century, Michael Morpurgo recalls the profound impact of the new Public Schools on children from better off backgrounds, while other children worked in mills, down mines or up chimneys, and the least well-off were living on the streets. All this before the introduction of compulsory schooling in 1870. Read by Timothy West, Sara Kestelman, Anna Maxwell Martin and Adam Godley.
Read entire article at BBC Radio 4 "Invention of Childhood"