It’s a rare bookshop that doesn’t have shelves groaning under the weight of books advising parents how to rear their offspring. They are, of course, pretty much guaranteed money spinners, exploiting as they do the anxiety of mums and dads. The shocking/reassuring reality is that the typical impact of the average parent upon the future development of their child lies somewhere between 0 – 10%, pretty much the same as schools. Its peers and genes that do most of the heavy lifting. Nonetheless, since when have facts stopped someone coining a tidy profit or making a lucrative career from people’s fears. And, in the eighteenth century, things weren’t much different. Enjoy this account of Georgian attitudes to parenting – here.
‘Casanova in Paris: The Shadows of the King’ is freely available here.
27 long form articles on Casanova’s life and times are freely available here.
#parenting #children #europe #eighteenthcentury
