Escape from the estate in British and Russian children's and autobiographical literature (second half of the 19th - early 20th century)

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries in English children’s literature emerged a new kind of character, defined as “a naughty child”. The writers, who had introduced this character, emphasized his merry adventures, eccentric acts, mischiefs and spoofs, presented now, in contrast with didactic literature of the 1800-1850s, with no negative intention The edifying lesson was marginalised, and essential was the portrayal of feelings and experiences of a child, his hectic life, full of adventures and events. Thereby, many motifs of didactic literature were rethought, including motifs of punishment, listening, and escape. At the same time, the imaginary of the estate was transformed in children’s literature: as idealized by the “sentimentalists” writers (J.H. Ewing, M.L. Molesworth), and developed in their writings as a benevolent Arcadia, the estate became a place of merry games and entertainment, in contrast with the city life and city dwelling as a prison behind dusty and high walls. At the same time, the estate as such, both the manor house and the surrounding lands, was modelled as a closed space perceived by the child as a prison from which he escapes. The cultivation of this motif benefits Richard Jefferies (1848-1887), Robert Louis Stevenson (1850- 1894), Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) and Beatrix Potter (1866-1943). Additionally, we try to identify similar motifs in the Russian literature of the period, tracing hypothetic overlaps.