Table of Contents

Contents Introduction: Reaching for the Narcissus: Byronic Boys, Toys, and the Plight of Persephone 1: Unearthing the Child Underworld: The History of Persephone and Developmental Psychology 2: Toying with Persephone: Herr Drosselmeier and Marie in E. T. A. Hoffmann’s Nutcracker and Mouse King (1816) 3: Jo’s Sensational Boy and the Gift of Amy’s Soul in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868-1869) 4: Lost Girls, Underworld Queens in J. M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy (1911) and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847) 5: Eleusinian Mysteries in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden (1911) 6: The Byronic Woman: E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (1952) 7: The Riddle of Féminine Écriture in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998) 8: Divorce and Other Mothers: Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (2005) and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002)

About the Author

Holly Blackford (Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley), is an associate professor of English at Rutgers University, Camden, where she teaches children’s and American literature. Her recent books include Out of this World: Why Literature Matters to Girls, 100 Years of Anne with an "e": The Centennial Study of Anne of Green Gables (ed.), and Mockingbird Passing: Closeted Traditions and Sexual Curiosities.

Reviews

"Blackford's far-reaching book is required reading for those interested in young-adult literature and/or gender studies. Summing Up: Highly recommended." --V. A. Murrenus Pilmaier, University of Wisconsin Sheboygan, CHOICE