Title

Even the Parrot and World War II: How Wartime Britain Influenced Dorothy L. Sayers’s 1944 Book for “Enlightened Children”

Authors

Rachel L. Knight, Taylor UniversityFollow

Document Type

Paper

Publication Date

Summer 2019

Abstract

“‘Even the Parrot,’ said my Nurse, severely, ‘knows better than to eat the peel.’” In this slim volume, Dorothy L. Sayers uses the structure of instructional children’s literature to satirically discuss World War II. Nurse Nature’s lessons to her two charges about the canary, the cat, the bee-hive, the boa-constrictor, and the rabbit are filled to the brim with references to wartime life. From mentions of Hitler to a discussion on post-war construction, Sayers uses Even the Parrot to examine wartime in a different way than her previous World War II writings.

Notes

Faculty Research Directors: Dr. Joe Ricke, Ms. Ashley Chu

This research opportunity, Young Inklings Summer Seminar, was made possible by a Women's Giving Circle Grant.

Rachel Knight is a junior Social Studies Education major.

Recommended Citation

Knight, Rachel L., "Even the Parrot and World War II: How Wartime Britain Influenced Dorothy L. Sayers’s 1944 Book for “Enlightened Children”" (2019). Celebration of Scholarship - All. 3.
https://pillars.taylor.edu/celebration-of-scholarship/3