''Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood'' is a 1952 autobiographical memoir by the English wood engraver

Gwen Raverat Gwendolen Mary "Gwen" Raverat (née Darwin; 26 August 1885 – 11 February 1957), was an English wood engraver who was a founder member of the Society of Wood Engravers. Her memoir ''Period Piece'' was published in 1952. Biography Gwendolen Ma ...

covering her childhood in late 19th-century

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

society. The book includes anecdotes about and illustrations of many of her extended family (see

Darwin–Wedgwood family The Darwin–Wedgwood family are members of two connected families, each noted for particular prominent 18th-century figures: Erasmus Darwin, a physician and natural philosopher, and Josiah Wedgwood FRS, a noted potter and founder of the epon ...

). 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 The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

, 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 throughout with

wood engravings Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively lo ...

by the author. The book is dedicated to her cousin

Frances Cornford Frances Crofts Cornford (née Darwin; 30 March 1886 – 19 August 1960) was an English poet. Biography She was the daughter of the botanist Francis Darwin and Newnham College, Cambridge, Newnham College fellow Ellen Wordsworth Darwin, Ellen ...

. It was originally published by

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

in 1952 in hardback and as a paperback in 1960. It was reviewed in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and by

David Daiches David Daiches (2 September 1912 – 15 July 2005) was a Scottish literary historian and literary critic, scholar and writer. He wrote extensively on English literature, Scottish literature and Scottish culture. Early life He was born in Sunde ...

in ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' ''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 Sir Charles Galton Darwin (19 December 1887 – 31 December 1962) was an English physicist who served as director of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) during the Second World War. He was a son of the mathematician George Darwin and a gr ...

, Margaret, and William "Billy". At the very beginning of the book, two

family trees A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations o ...

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 Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

died before Gwen's birth, but his wife

Emma Darwin Emma Darwin (; 2 May 1808 – 2 October 1896) was an English woman who was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin. They were married on 29 January 1839 and were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Early lif ...

("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 William Erasmus Darwin (27 December 18398 September 1914) was the first-born son, and the eldest of all the children of Charles Darwin, Charles and Emma Darwin, and the subject of Psychology, psychological studies by his father. Life He was ed ...

("Uncle William") *

Sir Francis Darwin Sir Francis Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born at Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was the third s ...

("Uncle Frank") *

Leonard Darwin Leonard Darwin (15 January 1850 – 26 March 1943) was an English politician, economist and eugenicist. He was a son of the naturalist Charles Darwin, and also a mentor to Ronald Fisher, a statistician and evolutionary biologist. Biography ...

("Uncle Lenny") *

Sir Horace Darwin Sir Horace Darwin, (13 May 1851 – 22 September 1928) was an English engineer specializing in the design and manufacture of precision scientific instruments. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Personal life and education Darw ...

("Uncle Horace"). Aunts *

Henrietta Litchfield Henrietta Emma Litchfield (née Darwin; 25 September 1843 – 17 December 1927) was a daughter of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma Wedgwood. Henrietta was born at Down House, Downe, Kent, in 1843. She was Darwin's third daughter and the eldest da ...

("Aunt Etty") *

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

("Aunt Bessy"). Uncle's and aunt's spouses * Sara (née Sedgwick - "Aunt Sara") - William's wife *

Richard Buckley Litchfield Richard Buckley Litchfield (6 January 1832 – 11 January 1903) was a British scholar and philanthropist. Life R. B. Litchfield was the only son of Captain Richard Litchfield of Cheltenham, England. He was educated at Cheltenham College and Trin ...

("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 Florence Henrietta Darwin, Lady Darwin (''née'' Fisher, previously Maitland; 31 January 18645 March 1920), was an English playwright. Early life Florence Henrietta Fisher was born in Kensington, London, to Herbert William Fisher and his wife Mar ...

, Frank's third wife is briefly mentioned but the marriage was after the time period in the book). Cousins *

Bernard Darwin Bernard Richard Meirion Darwin CBE JP (7 September 1876 − 18 October 1961) was a golf writer and high-standard amateur golfer. A grandson of the British naturalist Charles Darwin, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Biography B ...

(son of Frank by his first wife Amy Ruck) *

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

(daughter of Frank and Aunt Ellen) * Erasmus Darwin IV (son and eldest child of Horace and Ida) *

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ark ...

(elder daughter of Horace and Ida) *

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (1931–2025), French historian * Simon Nora (1921–2006), French politician Place ...

(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 Arthur Felix Wedgwood (18 July 1877 – 14 March 1917) was an English author, mountaineer and soldier who died on active service during the First World War. Background He was born at The Upper House in Barlaston, Staffordshire, a scion of th ...

(brother of Ralph) *

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

Chapter synopses

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Period Piece 1952 non-fiction books British autobiographies Culture in Cambridge Faber & Faber books