2nd Floor, Central City Library, 44-46 Lorne Street,
21 November 2005 - 26 Febuary 2006.
When does a book become a classic?
When a book outlives its immediate popularity and continues to appeal to readers, it transcends its own time and becomes a part of our culture. We may never have read the original work, but we know the story or have seen the film, and we recognise the phrases that have entered the language.
Many of the books in this exhibition from the Library’s Special Collections were instantly famous, such as Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Others had a slower rise in popularity, like Coleridge’s Rime of the ancient mariner. Often books that began as adult stories have been adapted and abridged for children, such as Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s travels.
There have also been books written for children, which have been enjoyed just as much by adults, like Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s adventures in Wonderland.
This exhibition is a selection of some of these well-loved favourites, which have captured the imagination of artists, and been re-interpreted by them in numerous illustrated versions.
View exhibition list (pdf)
Exhibition room hours
Monday - Friday: 9:30am to 5pm
Saturday: 10am to 4pm
Sunday: 12pm to 4pm |
