Narrative

16. The dissemination of literature for children was powered in part by authors such as Sherwood and organizations such as the Religious Tract Society with clear intentions to disseminate a particular understanding of middle-class values and characteristics. But overall, the record of dissemination, including popular publishers such as Harris and Darton (as well as John Marshall and later John Evans for the Religious Tract Society) who aimed to sell while instructing and/or entertaining, suggests that commercialization was at least as important.