Georgian Euphmism?

[stanmapstone]

From the OED
Interesting 2;  Adapted to excite interest; having the qualities which rouse curiosity, engage attention, or appeal to the emotions; of interest.
Searching Google Books for "interesting child" bring up a number dating from the middle of the 19th Century
Stan

[arthurk]

Someone other than me has tripped across this;

From USENET, alt.usage.english, 2003, via google groups

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.usage.english/pQKiqaUnxCw/hC0qAv76WvoJ

 BugBear

That was an interesting read (sorry, no pun intended) - and sadly didn't reach a conclusion. I thought it might be going to end up with interesting = poor, unfortunate (ie appealing to the emotions), but the way it was used in the last extract ("It (a recently deceased child) was eight months old and an interesting child.") seemed to me to imply that this was a deliberate description which might not have been applied to other children.

I can see how it might be taken in the sense 'special' sometimes is now, but on balance, I think for now I'm inclined to stick with my suggestion of 'engaging' or 'charming' or perhaps 'bright'.

[melba_schmelba]

From the OED
Interesting 2;  Adapted to excite interest; having the qualities which rouse curiosity, engage attention, or appeal to the emotions; of interest.
Searching Google Books for "interesting child" bring up a number dating from the middle of the 19th Century
Stan

This passage from Confessions of an Opium Eater by Thomas de Quincey (1821) suggests it could variously mean particularly precocious, pretty or well behaved, in describing a child, who in this case may have been the illegitimate daughter or merely a servant, of the owner of a house de Quincey had rented a room from a number of years previously:

"Apart from her situation, she was not what would be called an interesting child : she was neither pretty, nor quick in understanding, nor remarkably pleasing in manners. "

https://archive.org/details/confessionsanen00shargoog/page/n54

[bugbear]

From the OED
Interesting 2;  Adapted to excite interest; having the qualities which rouse curiosity, engage attention, or appeal to the emotions; of interest.
Searching Google Books for "interesting child" bring up a number dating from the middle of the 19th Century
Stan

This passage from Confessions of an Opium Eater by Thomas de Quincey (1821) suggests it could variously mean particularly precocious, pretty or well behaved, in describing a child, who in this case may have been the illegitimate daughter or merely a servant, of the owner of a house de Quincey had rented a room from a number of years previously:

"Apart from her situation, she was not what would be called an interesting child : she was neither pretty, nor quick in understanding, nor remarkably pleasing in manners. "

https://archive.org/details/confessionsanen00shargoog/page/n54

Indeed - this appears (to me) to be a perfectly modern (normal?) use of the word interesting, and quite different to the odd examples I gave earlier in the thread.

I remain convinced that "interesting child" means more than the bare meaning of the two words, rather like "confirmed bachelor".

   BugBear

[melba_schmelba]

From the OED
Interesting 2;  Adapted to excite interest; having the qualities which rouse curiosity, engage attention, or appeal to the emotions; of interest.
Searching Google Books for "interesting child" bring up a number dating from the middle of the 19th Century
Stan

This passage from Confessions of an Opium Eater by Thomas de Quincey (1821) suggests it could variously mean particularly precocious, pretty or well behaved, in describing a child, who in this case may have been the illegitimate daughter or merely a servant, of the owner of a house de Quincey had rented a room from a number of years previously:

"Apart from her situation, she was not what would be called an interesting child : she was neither pretty, nor quick in understanding, nor remarkably pleasing in manners. "

https://archive.org/details/confessionsanen00shargoog/page/n54

Indeed - this appears (to me) to be a perfectly modern (normal?) use of the word interesting, and quite different to the odd examples I gave earlier in the thread.

I remain convinced that "interesting child" means more than the bare meaning of the two words, rather like "confirmed bachelor".

   BugBear

But there is no evidence as far as I can see. You would expect there to be some indication at least in some book, somewhere, that it meant disabled in some way, but there isn't any I could find. Unfortunately in those days people were not particularly kind to the disabled, at best, they were seen as stupid, at worst, cursed. And people had no compunctions in dismissing them as lunatics, feeble minded, imbeciles etc., all official terms used on census forms.

[bugbear]

But there is no evidence as far as I can see. You would expect there to be some indication at least in some book, somewhere, that it meant disabled in some way, but there isn't any I could find. Unfortunately in those days people were not particularly kind to the disabled, at best, they were seen as stupid, at worst, cursed. And people had no compunctions in dismissing them as lunatics, feeble minded, imbeciles etc., all official terms used on census forms.

Agreed - but the usage is so strange I will continue to research it. It may turn out I'm doing original research.

  BugBear