Includes bibliographical references (p. [179]-195) and index.

First communion until the eve of Quam Singulari -- The Eucharist in English published texts (1568-1910) -- The implementation of the decree Quam Singulari in England (1910-11) -- The shifting social and religious context for the celebration of first communion across the twentieth century -- First communion as sacrament of initiation in Vatican II -- The ethnography of first communion -- Discourses of meaning on the ground -- Power and conflict in the preparation for first communion -- Different ritual patterns in the first communion mass -- First communion and consumption.