Browse Items (11 total)

This Robinsonade about a young girl and her family marooned on an island after a shipwreck was written by Scottish author Ann Fraser Tytler, followed by two more stories featuring the same characters. The novel has heavy religious overtones.

The ubiquitous Aesop's Fables, attributed to the Greek slave and oral storyteller, Aesop, were highly recommended for children by British philosopher John Locke. This English edition by Samuel Croxall was advertised in Trinidad by Henry James Mills…

Also known as Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby, this classic children's book popularized the school story genre, directly inspiring later books including J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. The book's circulation in the Caribbean is interesting, given that…

Part of a parcel of books by Barbara Hofland, author of over 60 children's books and schoolbooks, this novel features the story of Dora, a young woman whose patience is tried with the events of early married life. As the title page mentions, Hofland…

A book included in Jacob Abbott's Fireside Series, China and the English gives an account of Marco Polo's expedition, the arrival of Portuguese traders in Guangzhou, the establishment of an English embassy, and attempts to spread Christianity. The…

This edition of Daniel Defoe's novel, advertised in Trinidad, was published in London as part of Roscoe's novelist's library, with a biographical note by Thomas Roscoe and illustrations by Jacob George Strutt.

A popular card game manual, from whence derives the phrase "according to Hoyle," aka "according to the rules." The book exists in multiple variations and was probably shared by adults and children alike. Some versions notably include the game All…

This extremely popular book features Isaac Watts's religious poetry, some of which was later satirized by Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland. Missionary records attest that some enslaved children memorized and copied these rhymes.

A Grammar of General Geography featured several foldout maps, including a map of The World.

The frontispiece of A Grammar of General Geography featured an interactive element, in which children could spin a paper wheel to visualize whether it was morning, evening, or night in 34 locations around the world.