Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood is a 1952 autobiographical memoir by the English wood engraver Gwen Raverat covering her childhood in late 19th-century Cambridge society. The book includes anecdotes about and illustrations of many of her extended family (see Darwin–Wedgwood family).

As the author explains in the preface it is "a circular book" and although it begins with the meeting of her parents (Sir George Darwin and Maud du Puy) and ends with Gwen as a student at The Slade, it is not written chronologically, but rather arranged in a series of fifteen themed chapters, each dealing with a particular aspects of life. The book is illustrated with numerous pen and ink drawings by the author.

The book is dedicated to her cousin Frances Cornford.

It was originally published by Faber & Faber in 1952 in hardback and as a paperback in 1960. It was reviewed in The TimesChildhood Memories Cambridge In The Nineties. The Times, Wednesday, Oct 15, 1952; pg. 3; Issue 52443; col F and by David Daiches in The Manchester GuardianA CAMBRIDGE CHILDHOOD David Daiches. The Manchester Guardian (1901-1959) [Manchester (UK)] 28 Oct 1952: 4

Period Piece has been translated into Danish (, 1980), Swedish (, 1985) and German (, 1991).

Family trees

The author's immediate family consisted of her father, Sir George Darwin, her mother, Lady Maud Darwin, and their four children; Gwen and her younger siblings Charles Galton Darwin, Margaret, and William "Billy". At the very beginning of the book, two family trees are given, one for the author's mother and one for her father. The family trees are reproduced here with minor modification:

Mother's family tree

Father's family tree

The author's father was Sir George Darwin. Her father had a large extended family. Gwen's grandfather, Charles Darwin died before Gwen's birth, but his wife Emma Darwin ("Grandmama") lived until 1896. Charles and Emma had seven children who survived to adulthood - four uncles and two aunts to Gwen. All bar one of the uncles and aunts were married, and two uncles had children, resulting in five cousins:

Uncles William Erasmus Darwin ("Uncle William") Sir Francis Darwin ("Uncle Frank") Leonard Darwin ("Uncle Lenny") Sir Horace Darwin ("Uncle Horace").

Aunts Henrietta Litchfield ("Aunt Etty") Elizabeth ("Aunt Bessy").

Uncle's and aunt's spouses Sara (née Sedgwick - "Aunt Sara") - William's wife Richard Buckley Litchfield ("Uncle Richard") - Aunt Etty's husband Ellen (née Crofts, "Aunt Ellen") - Frank's second wife Elizabeth (née Fraser, "Aunt Bee") - Leonard first wife Mildred Massingberd - Leonard's second wife The Hon. Ida née Farrer ("Aunt Ida") - Horace's wife.

(Note: Florence Henrietta Darwin, Frank's third wife is briefly mentioned but the marriage was after the time period in the book).

Cousins Bernard Darwin (son of Frank by his first wife Amy Ruck) Frances (daughter of Frank and Aunt Ellen) Erasmus Darwin IV (son and eldest child of Horace and Ida) Ruth (elder daughter of Horace and Ida) Nora (younger daughter of Horace and Ida)

Second cousins

Although not in the trees drawn in the book, the following second cousins are also mentioned: Ralph Wedgwood Felix Wedgwood (brother of Ralph) Ralph Vaughan Williams

Chapter synopses

Chapter Name Synopsis I Prelude Gwen's family background; how her parents met, "Great Aunt Cara" (Caroline Lane Reynolds Slemmer Jebb) and "Great Uncle Dick" (Richard Claverhouse Jebb). The reference to Maud's suitor "Mr T" is Henry Martyn Taylor.Frances Spalding's biography of Gwen Raverat II Newnham Grange is the family home in Cambridge, where Gwen grows up with her younger siblings Margaret, Charles (Charles Galton Darwin) and "Billy" (William). It regularly subject to flooding. III Theories IV Education Being educated privately. V Ladies Aunt Cara's earlier life. VI Propriety Acting as a "chaperon", the courting process as viewed by a child, and the need to keep up appearances to avoid scandal. VII Aunt Etty "Aunt Etty" (Henrietta Litchfield) and her husband "Uncle Richard" (Richard Buckley Litchfield) are described. Ill health as a Darwin characteristic. VIII Down Description of Down House, in Downe, Kent the former family home of the author's grandfather Charles Darwin, who had died before her birth, and where his widow "Grandmama" (Emma Darwin) resides with unmarried "Aunt Bessy" (Elizabeth Darwin) during the summers (spending winters in Cambridge) until the former's death. IX Childhood fears. X Descriptions of the "five uncles", the Darwin brothers, sons of Charles and Emma Darwin, split into subchapters: "Uncle William" (William Erasmus Darwin) and his wife "Aunt Sara". "Uncle George" (Sir George Darwin) - Gwen's father but described as an uncle because "among uncles I include my father. A father is only a specialized kind of uncle anyhow" "Uncle Frank" (Sir Francis Darwin), his son Bernard; his second wife "Aunt Ellen" and their daughter Frances, and third wife Lady Florence Henrietta Darwin, "Uncle Lenny" (Leonard Darwin) and his first wife "Aunt Bee", and his second wife Charlotte Mildred Massingberd "Uncle Horace" (Sir Horace Darwin), his wife "Aunt Ida" (Ida Darwin) and their children Nora, Erasmus and Ruth. XI Religion The author's childhood understanding of God, and morality. Going to a boarding school as a non-conformist. XII Sport Childhood games; cycling; card games, "Being Kind to Poor Pamela" XIII Clothes Clothes, makeup and their difficulties. XIV Society Disliking dance class; tea at Trinity, seeing "Great Men" (Lord Kelvin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir Francis Galton and Paul Cambon); a family picnic; the end of childhood with Frances's wedding.

References