First published in 1940, THE MAN WHO LOVED CHILDREN is Australian author Christina Stead's masterpiece about family life, set in depression-era Washington. Sam and Henny Pollit have too many children, too little money, and too much loathing for each other. As Sam uses the children's adoration to feed his own voracious ego, Henny watches in bleak despair, knowing the bitter reality that lies beneath his mad visions.