Abstract
<jats:p>The article examines the influence of English metaphysical poets of the 16th and 17th centuries (A. Marvell, G. Vaughan, T. Traherne, J. Herbert) on the children’s “estate” novel of the Victorian era. We will analyze for what purpose the children’s writers (M. Gatty, J.H. Ewing et al.) introduce the appropriate intertext into their novels and stories (to emphasize the unsteadiness of the world; to create “volatile” nostalgic images; depicting the estate as an earthly paradise, etc.). We will also discuss the quotes they use (both as epigraphs and included in the fabric of the narrative), as well as consider how these ideas and representations were perceived by English “estate” authors of the 20th century (K. Grahame, F.H. Burnett, Ph. Pearce, et al.). We will pay special attention to the novel “Under the Salisbury Spire” by E. Marshall, the first novel for children, where a poet, a representative of the “metaphysical school”, is introduced as one of the main characters.</jats:p>