I read my Swallows and Amazons hard copy recently, thoroughly enjoyed it and did not really see anything sexist about it especially as the Amazons were girls who actually had more nouse than the Swallow boys.
Susan does all the cooking, and they wear dresses. But it’s more the sections about natives and savages that now read so badly. I wouldn’t want my granchikdren to read it.
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How interesting - I don’t remember and it didn’t register. But then I didn’t identify with Susan (anymore than in the Narnia books). I’m Nancy (or Lucy in Narnia). For me, what’s wonderful about these older books is how well they were written. Also, as there was just me and my brother I loved these stories where there were more children. The Swish of the Curtain was another one.
And I think too I never felt “compartmentalised” as a girl - I love my parents for that. Yes, I had dolls, but also loved playing with my brothers meccano (came in useful when I bought my first flat and built a bookcase / storage space for the spare bedroom out of dexion).
OH cooks and irons and does housework (sometimes). I do the DIY. I never iron or and only do housework when we have guests coming. I don’t feel I was put into some sort of box as a female child in the early 50s and certainly never took that from the books I read. In fact I think I was in less of a box than young girls and women seem to be today.
Natives/savages? I hope we’ve come a long way, but I still remember books like She, Beau Geste, and so on and loving them for their adventure and how exotic they were.
And that cave? Of course I’d go in!
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I do think I had a very privileged childhood in terms of parents who encouraged reading, and wanted me to be successful. And yes I have fond memories of childhood books. But the ones we get now for young family members are brilliant! And well written, also depicting more than middle class white children. I’ve stopped reading back my old books although they are still in a cupboard as had too much dodgy stuff.
There is also more intergenerational stuff like Harry Potter which I think is great to get families talking about books.
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Good point. I remember commuting into London with nearly everyone in the carriage reading the latest Harry Potter with an “adult” cover. 
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So where does that put books like Jane Eyre, Sense & Sensibility, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Tale of Two Cities?
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Ok, more precisely the pre-age 10 books. Daft really but some dodgy ideas are easier to cope with when part of “classic literature”
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I think the question is about whether the children reading the books are old enough to be able to see any things that are unacceptable nowadays as part of (our?) historical culture and attitudes, or at least be able to understand this if it’s explained by an adult. I do feel it’s important that everyone has a sense of where we’ve come from historically, whether the attitudes of that time were acceptable to us or not. If we “sanitise” all literature, art, theatre etc we lose a great opportunity for understanding the progress (and regress!) of our societies now…
Nothing to do with cave entrances, mind you, but for once I thought I’d express an opinion 
Nobody has to accept it, of course…
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Completely agree, but at the appropriate age. And if all they see/read/hear are these outdated notions then equally bad.
My favorite reading as a youngster was my father’s medical text books with pictures of dreadful diseases! Plus we were force fed Struwwelpeter by my garndmother. And I’ve survived with becoming an axe murderer.
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Crikey !!
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I’m hoping Jane’s post is missing a critical “out” somewhere.
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Whoops! I can categorically state I only wield axes on defenceless kindling.
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Are kindling small German children? 
My maternal grandmother read Greek fables to me, but I didn’t go round looking for Gorgons or bathing nymphs (that came later 
). Children will most likely compartmentalise stories as being real in their own universe, just like superhero comics or Barbie. The story is a story and for all but a tiny number they will stay that way.
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Well it would be rude not to go in….
At this point the cave lowers to about 1m tall but continues on further than we have been so far.
Also found another cave:
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Intriguing…
Isn’t it really, maybe ask your neighbours if they have any history, because they have been mined/cut out and it looks like quite a hard stone as well 
We were given a book of history of the house - it has loads!!
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Don’t keep us in suspenders then 
Tell all! Jam butty mine? Knights Templar hideaway? Early theme park ride? We need to know 
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Oubliette?