A new exhibition has opened at Orkney Museum in Kirkwall which makes for a rich new addition to the history of Scottish children’s literature – and to the role of children themselves as writers and readers.
In the 1860s, three young Orcadian girls – Maria and Clara, and their cousin, Isabella – created their own library. Held by Orkney Library and Archives, this extraordinary collection of short stories, poems, plays, and fairy tales – which the children astutely named ‘The Minervian Library’! – can now be seen.
We are delighted that Lucy Gibbon, Orkney Library and Archive’s Assistant Archivist, will be sharing more of the history of this wonderful collection with us in a future blogpost.
Meanwhile, you can find out more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-40247004, and follow the Library’s dedicated blog here.
