The Child's Guide to Knowledge

Fanny Umphelby’s handbook of information about everything under the sun ran through sixty-seven editions between 1825 and 1907. No family bookshelf lacked its copy. Its question-and-answer format lent itself to the rote-learning then in vogue. Even in his adult years scientist Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945) could recite most of it by heart. History, science, technology, geography, agriculture, the origin of every substance or article one could meet with : the author considered that the child’s naturally inquiring mind should be informed about everything and three generations were indebted to her for a lifetime’s store of useful knowledge. To the modern reader, much is still relevant, and what the passage of time has rendered no longer exact (the extent of the British Empire, the most up-to-date means of communication, the number of copies of The Times printed each day, etc) still opens an invaluable window on history.