Harriet Hobbs
In light of author Jacqueline Wilson reviving a selection of her children’s stories as novels for adults, it seems a pertinent time to uncover the genius of Wilson’s repertoire. Harriet Hobbs delves into the nuances of her work and investigates what it really is that gained her devoted readership.
I recently came across a performance by an artist named Amanda Palmer of a piece that presents itself as a classic love song, containing lyrics such as, “you were in bed with me safe before anyone else”, “you opened beside me and held me when I needed help”. A sweet yet simple piece seemingly describing a romantic partner involving a playfully deceptive bait and switch in finally revealing that the true muse is, in fact, children’s author Judy Blume. This unique performance resonated with me as it is rare to come across such a specific outpouring of appreciation for the sacred relationship between children and the stories they uncover. Mine and so many others’ ‘Judy Blume’, is a seventy-nine-year-old woman named Jaqueline Wilson. Dame Jacqueline Wilson to award her her full title. Wilson is a master in the art of storytelling and captured the minds and hearts of millions of children through her wit and literary prowess. 
THE ADULT THEMES ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY SUBTLE, YET CONSTANT.
The wonder of Wilson’s storytelling lies in her unfaltering ability to nail into the visceral sensations of what it is like to be a child in adult circumstances. The key themes in her novels, often noted for their bleakness, were the very real themes in the lives of many of her readers. Poverty, abuse, bullying, illness and domestic tension are the distressing parts of life that she never shied away from – quite the opposite. There is also no ‘telling’ in Wilson’s work, no Mum and Dad fought when I went to bed, always ‘showing’, through acute focus on the untouched fish and chips or the shock of a sudden slammed door or a faint crimson mark below Mum’s eye. The adult themes are simultaneously subtle, yet constant. Some glaringly apparent and others, alluded to under the surface, to be sensed but found only if one looked.
Wilson’s greatest strength is her innate practice of meeting children where they are, not where one thinks they should be. Condescension is not her forte. Her narrators are fully fleshed and express the ugly, complex thoughts that traditional children’s characters often do not; would life be better if *insert abusive stepfather’s name here* got hit by a bus tomorrow? Wilson doesn’t bestow moral judgment but allows for the nuances of the child’s mind to be unabashedly honest, because there is darkness as well as light in any human psyche; Jacqueline Wilson validates these feelings by respecting them and awarding them the same reverence as one would any adult.
Similarly, children’s lives are dictated by rules and regulations. Constantly being hurried away from things that are deemed unsuitable by parents and authority figures. Eyes covered during rude scenes and sent to bed before the coveted nine o’clock watershed. Children crave the forbidden. The things they are told by grown-ups not to think about until they’re older become instantly more fascinating than what is ‘suitable’.
A key aspect of Wilson’s books that captivated a generation was their boldly adult themes hidden beneath the most animated and sunny front covers. The purple and pink flowers adorning My Sister Jodie did not negate the eponym’s tragic death being described in haunting clarity. Nor did the charming titles, Cookie and The Illustrated Mum, prevent their plots, including an abusive stepfather who purposely has his stepdaughter’s rabbit killed and detailed depictions of how a woman’s manic and depressive episodes put her children’s safety in jeopardy. Children’s curiosity is what helps them expand their minds and worldview. And given that the height of Wilson’s turnout was in the early 2000s, when social media was limited, and her readership was around 7-12 year olds without devices, these novels conjured excitement due to the fact that the contents were not as child-friendly as the covers suggested to parents. This was the magical secret kept between children and Jacqueline.
THROUGH HER BOOKS, CHILDREN ARE ABLE TO CHANNEL THEIR STORIES THROUGH ANOTHER’S AND FEEL SEEN.
Wilson’s repertoire was and continues to be a haven for so many young minds who feel lost and afraid of the circumstances around them. She provided a world they could escape to with characters who echoed their thoughts and feelings that may have otherwise had no place to be expressed. Through her books, children are able to channel their stories through others and feel seen. The song Judy Blume declares, “all of them lived in my head quietly whispering, ‘you are not so strange’. Palmer speaks to her childhood self as she continues with the lyric:
“You will not be alone with your thoughts,
Well, you will but you won’t in a way
‘Cause a girl thought it too
In a book
That the library bought”.
Wilson’s stories have earned her a special place in many hearts, and to misquote Palmer’s concluding line:
”You’ll be inside them forever, Jacqueline”.
Harriet Hobbs
Feature image courtesy of @abbeigh.reads on Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy @cosmopolitanuk on Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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