Arnaud Berquin

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Title page from L'Ami des Enfans (1782)
Title page from L'Ami des Enfans (1782)

Arnaud Berquin (September 1747—21 December 1791) was a French children's author.

His most famous work was L'Ami des Enfans (1782-3), the first English translation of which was published in London in 1783-4. The work remained popular until the middle of the nineteenth century. Berquin's stories consisted of events that might happen to children in their everyday lives—they did not contain fairy tales or other imaginative literature. His books envision childhood reading as a familial exercise; for example, some of his "stories" are actually plays with parts for every member of the family. Berquin's books helped solidify the creation of the nuclear family, for "if Berquin's work has a theme, it is that parents and children live in a perfect symbiosis, the parents looking after their children's interests and the children, if behaving properly, filling their parents with joy."[1]

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Persondata
NAME Berquin, Arnaud
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION French children's author
DATE OF BIRTH September 1747
PLACE OF BIRTH France
DATE OF DEATH 21 December 1791
PLACE OF DEATH France