The Wild Girl, Natural Man, and the Monster

This study looks at the lives of the most famous 'wild children' of eighteenth-century Europe, showing how they open a window onto European ideas about the potential and perfectibility of mankind. Julia V. Douthwaite recounts reports of feral children such as the wild girl of Champagne (captured in 1731 and baptized as Marie-Angélique Leblanc), offering a fascinating glimpse into beliefs about the difference between man and beast and the means once used to civilise the uncivilised.

Year

2002

Language

English

Publisher

University Of Chicago Press

Editions

5

Pages

322

ISBN

9780226160566

Data source: Wikidata