This book makes a significant contribution to the history of reading and children's literature in the eighteenth century. Drawing upon the Jane Johnson (1706 - 1759) archives in the Bodleian Library, Oxford and the Lilly Library, University of Indiana, it is able to document in unmatched detail the typical reading practices of an upper middle class family in this period. More particularly, it draws on these unique collections to throw light on a series of questions currently preoccupying scholars in the fields of the history of reading, the history of children's literature and the history of women. At the same time, the vivid human presence of Jane Johnson and her children gives this book a wide appeal to non-specialist readers and will be the first publication to make thorough use of the Johnson archives. Although the book is academic, theoretical and critical works, it is written in a jargon-free manner which is accessible to any intelligent reader.