childhood; each chapter has extensive notes and references, with eight pages of recommendations for further reading at the end, and this brief review cannot do justice to the richness of detail in the writing. There is now little doubt that most parents in the past have loved their children, regardless of the elevated risk of early death. This book makes clear that the expression of emotion around child death in north-western Europe – whether grief, anger or despair – was considered natural, but was tempered by a framework of deep and literal religious belief, which considered that early death – and the surety of salvation – should ultimately be a source of joy. This does not sit easily within a modern, increasingly secular society, but it is a reminder that we cannot add to our understanding of childhood in the past by assuming that people were exactly like us.

中文翻译：

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阅读儿童：识字、财产和 19 世纪美国童年的困境

童年; 每章都有大量的注释和参考资料，最后有八页推荐供进一步阅读，这个简短的评论不能公正地反映写作细节的丰富性。现在毫无疑问，过去大多数父母都爱他们的孩子，不管早逝的风险增加了多少。这本书清楚地表明，在西北欧，围绕儿童死亡的情感表达——无论是悲伤、愤怒还是绝望——都被认为是自然的，但受到一种深刻而真实的宗教信仰框架的影响，该框架认为早逝——以及得救的保证——最终应该是喜乐的源泉。这在现代越来越世俗的社会中并不容易，