Context in Coram Boy - Edexcel

• Coram Boy is set in the 18th century between 1741 and 1750.

• It is important to know about the context of 18th century England in order to better understand the book.

• Context can refer to what was going on in society at the time, certain life events that might have influenced the author or thoughts about how an audience might have responded, then and now.

Remember

In your exam you will need to explore the question in relation to the context.

The best contextual comments are:

• Linked closely to the text
• Relevant to the points being made
• Relevant to the question you have been asked.

In the 18th century, society was organised around a strict class hierarchy. The wealthy few were very powerful and life was difficult for the working class.

• In the 18th century, power was in the hands of wealthy landowners like the Ashbrooks.

• These families often owned large estates, which were passed down the generations.

• There was an expectation that sons would follow fathers, so the Ashbrooks expect Alexander to take over the Ashbrook estate, even though this is not what he wants.

• For poor people in the 18th century, charity was often the only help available.

• Some people in the upper classes believed that poverty was caused by laziness and argued that supporting those in poverty would encouraged this.

• Gavin shows this attitude through Admiral Bailey who thinks that a successful orphanage will encourage people to have more children that they cannot care for.

• In the 18th century, women who became pregnant without being married brought disgrace on their families.

• Giving a child up for adoption or sending them to an orphanage were usually the only options for these women.

• In the Coram Boy, Otis Gardiner takes advantage of this desperate situation and exploits these mothers by promising to take their babies away, for a fee.

Like most other aspects of life in the 18th century, experiences of childhood and education depended on class.

• Education in the 18th century was usually only available to wealthy, upper-class children.

• Many wealthy families employed tutors or governesses to educate their children at home. The Ashbrooks employ Melissa’s mother, Mrs Milcote.

• Thomas is only able to attend the Cathedral school because he wins a scholarship.

• Very few poor families could afford to educate their children and often sent them out to work at a young age.

• Many families struggled to feed their families and some children were sent to orphanages even if their parents were still alive.

• In the novel, Lady Ashbrook is shocked by the terrible conditions in the parish orphanage.

Decide if you think each experience of 18th century childhood is from an upper class or a lower class child.

Captain Thomas Coram (1668 – 1751) was a successful sea captain. After he retired from life at sea, he lived near London and was shocked to see neglected and abandoned children in the streets.

He decided to use his money and influence to improve life for these children. It took him many years to raise enough money and support, but in 1739 the Foundling Hospital, also known as the Coram Hospital, was opened in London.

Facts about Coram Hospital

• Much of the early support for the hospital came from upper class women, similar to Lady Ashbrook.

• The first children were admitted into the Coram Hospital in 1741, meaning that Aaron and Toby would have arrived in the first few years of the hospital.

• The composer, George Frideric Handel, was a famous supporter of the hospital, and in the novel he is the person who notices Aaron’s musical talent.

• Other famous patrons of the Coram Hospital included the writer Charles Dickens and the painter William Hogarth.

Gothic literature is a genre of fiction which first became popular during the 18th century. Famous Gothic stories include Frankenstein, Dracula and The Woman in Black.

Watch this video to learn about the features of the Gothic genre.

Coram Boy contains many of the features of the Gothic genre. For example:

• Meshak experiences fear and terror in the forests when he is sent by Otis to dispose of the babies. He experiences supernatural sounds and visions – most notably the angels that he sees in church.

• Death runs throughout the novel, from the prologue where the mother drops dead with shock when her six children appear, to the end where Thomas dies protecting Alexander.

• Alexander breaks with societal norms when he chooses music over the Ashbury estate. He also falls in love with, and eventually marries, Melissa who is from a lower social class than he is. Meshak’s character doesn’t act or think in a way considered ‘normal’ by society either.

You can learn more about the Gothic genre on Bitesize English.

Read the statement and match it to the Gothic element.

The transatlantic slave trade is the name given to the forced enslavement and movement of people from Africa to the Americas.

Approximately 12 -15 million people were forcibly transported from their homelands in Africa to European colonies and plantations between 1500 and 1870. Some historians suggest the number of people transported may have been higher.

The labour of enslaved people was used in the Americas to produce goods such as tobacco, cotton, sugar and indigo dye. The exploitation of enslaved people made many Europeans, including the British, extremely wealthy.

It is estimated that British slave ships made around 10,000 voyages across the Atlantic, transporting approximately 3.4 million people, of whom only 2.6 million survived the journey.

British involvement in the slave trade increased in the 1700s after the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) gave them the right to sell enslaved people in the Spanish Empire.

By 1770, British ships were involved in the transportation of around 42,000 people a year.

Learn more about the transatlantic slave trade on Bitesize History.

Test your understanding of the context of Jamila Gavin's novel Coram Boy by taking this quiz.