November 2011: Robert Louis Stephenson's "Treasure Island" and our next book

Avast be'ind, mateys!  October was all about pirates.  We sailed on the Hispaniola from Bristol to the Caribbean with Jim Hawkins, hid in an apple barrel, defeated a mutiny, disposed of Israel Hands, discovered Captain Flint's treasure - and got safely back from the eighteenth century to Bath Library in time to discuss Robert Louis Stephenson's Treasure Island at our November meeting.  And no, we didn't talk like pirates ... much!

First serialised in 1881-2 and then published as a book in 1883, Treasure Island established the gold standard for pirate stories ever since, so there was much for us to talk about: the - often impenetrable - technical details of knots and rigging; the characterisations of the heroes and villains; the nature of leadership; the serial style of the book with its cliffhangers and short chapters; Long John Silver's longevity as a fictional icon; and the moral ambiguity and complexity of this most manipulative and yet most enduring of characters.

But does Treasure Island still appeal?  The answer seems to be a resounding "yes" - with some reservations.  Despite the occasional nautical language, it was variously described as gripping and easy to read, with atmospheric opening chapters and some truly terrifying characters - particularly Pew (who we learned is never actually called "Blind Pew" in the book).  However, there is an imbalance between Stephenson's multi-dimensional, often complex characterisations of the "baddies/pirates" versus his more one-dimensional and ultimately less interesting "goodies/gentlemen".  It is possible to believe in and be both terrified by and attracted to Silver ... as Jim was.  He has the qualities of a leader and the flaws of a man.  Squire Trelawney on the other hand has little depth as a character and less for the reader to care about or relate to in consequence.

Believed to be the first story book to deliberately target both adults and children, creating the "cross-over" genre exploited most recently by J K Rowling's Harry Potter series, Treasure Island is still borrowed from libraries by all age groups.  It has been reproduced in a wide range of formats, from film to audio, from cartoon books to Ladybird children's versions, and as a result the story is extremely accessible to a wide range of readers, listeners and watchers. 

As a group, our "memorable moments" were wide-ranging, demonstrating the book's breadth, depth and appeal.  From the skeleton arranged to point towards Flint's treasure, to Ben Gunn ("many's the long night I've dreamed of cheese - toasted, mostly"), to Jim's mortal combat with Israel Hands on the deserted Hispaniola, to Pew blindly tapping his way towards Billy Bones at the Admiral Benbow ... and many more.

Treasure Island has established an enduring legacy.  From established and familiar catch phrases like "Them that die'll be the lucky ones", or "Toasted mostly", or "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum" through to how we think about pirates and parrots and treasure maps where X marks the spot ... and NEVER forget the Black Spot!

Next month's book is What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge.  What a contrast that will be!

Galaxy Book Awards 2011 Shortlist - Children's Book of the Year

The winners of the Galaxy Book Awards 2011 will be announced on Friday 4 November.  This year's Children's Book of the Year shortlist has a familiar look to it (see previous blogs on other 2011 awards):

• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

• Dead Man’s Cove by Lauren St John

• My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher

• One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson 

• Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

• The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Rudyard Kipling: inspiration for Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth?

At our last meeting Isobel spoke about Rosemary Sutcliff's admiration for Rudyard Kipling.  Hannah remembered her mother having a book of Kipling's poems in which one of her favourites was "The Roman Centurion's Song" - first published in 1911 in a pamphlet called Three Poems, and immediately afterwards in A School History of England.  She wonders if this was one of Sutcliff's inspirations for The Eagle of the Ninth?  See what you think. The Roman Centurion's Song Roman Occupation of Britain, A.D. 300

LEGATE, I had the news last night - my cohort ordered home By ships to Portus Itius and thence by road to Rome. I've marched the companies aboard, the arms are stowed below: Now let another take my sword. Command me not to go! I've served in Britain forty years, from Vectis to the Wall, I have none other home than this, nor any life at all. Last night I did not understand, but, now the hour draws near That calls me to my native land, I feel that land is here. Here where men say my name was made, here where my work was done; Here where my dearest dead are laid - my wife - my wife and son; Here where time, custom, grief and toil, age, memory, service, love, Have rooted me in British soil. Ah, how can I remove? For me this land, that sea, these airs, those folk and fields suffice. What purple Southern pomp can match our changeful Northern skies, Black with December snows unshed or pearled with August haze - The clanging arch of steel-grey March, or June's long-lighted days? You'll follow widening Rhodanus till vine an olive lean Aslant before the sunny breeze that sweeps Nemausus clean To Arelate's triple gate; but let me linger on, Here where our stiff-necked British oaks confront Euroclydon! You'll take the old Aurelian Road through shore-descending pines Where, blue as any peacock's neck, the Tyrrhene Ocean shines. You'll go where laurel crowns are won, but -will you e'er forget The scent of hawthorn in the sun, or bracken in the wet? Let me work here for Britain's sake - at any task you will - A marsh to drain, a road to make or native troops to drill. Some Western camp (I know the Pict) or granite Border keep, Mid seas of heather derelict, where our old messmates sleep. Legate, I come to you in tears - My cohort ordered home! I've served in Britain forty years. What should I do in Rome? Here is my heart, my soul, my mind - the only life I know. I cannot leave it all behind. Command me not to go!

October 2011: Rosemary Sutcliff's "The Eagle of the Ninth" and our next book

The group tackled Rosemary Sutcliff's The Eagle of the Ninth today: sadly Waitrose was right out of mulsum and dormice so we had to make do with coffee and mini Bakewells, but what an interesting discussion we had, with plenty of historical and social context.

In the book’s Foreword, Sutcliff wrote that she created the story from two elements: the disappearance of the Ninth Legion (Hispana) from the historical record following an expedition north to deal with Caledonian tribes in 117 AD; and the discovery on 9 October 1866 of a wingless Roman eagle in excavations at Silchester, near Basingstoke.   The lost legion is an enduring legend and exciting unsolved mystery - conjuring up an image of Roman soldiers tramping out from York, only to be swallowed forever by the swirling northern mists and rain. 

The first two chapters are challenging, introducing adult characters and using complex dialogue and descriptions - possibly a reason for the book being described by some as "difficult to get into".  Today's publishers would probably choose to edit out these chapters or move them down the order to become a reflective back story once some serious action has taken place.  But even for those who didn't enjoy them, the rest of the book was ample reward for persevering.

Sutcliff made no concessions to her readers: she expected there to be some familiarity with Latin names and places and with the history and geography of Roman Britain.  Is this evidence of the change in educational focus in the past sixty years - dumbing down, even - with the teaching of history no longer having a linear contextual approach, and most children having little Latin education?  

Although this is a story about two male characters, it was felt to be an enjoyable read for both girls and boys of around Year 8 and upwards - once the problem of getting them to take it down from the library shelves had been overcome.  It was noticeable that the key female character was written from a 1950s perspective: the subservient home-maker/girlfriend/wife, who had no adventures or strong views of her own - despite historical evidence to the contrary about early British women's role in society - and the issue of slavery is dealt with lightly: whilst entirely foreign to us, neither Marcus or Esca had any cause for comment.

Sutcliff was writing about a time of significant upheaval and unrest, when British tribes and the Roman occupiers were colliding and society was fragmenting, with some choosing to stay and build their lives here while others returned home.  According to one reviewer, Marcus is 'a typical Sutcliff hero: a dutiful Roman who is increasingly drawn to the British world of "other scents and sights and sounds; pale and changeful northern skies and the green plover calling'."  We liked him, but we liked Esca better.

In summary: we enjoyed Eagle of the Ninth very much and some of us would like to read more of Sutcliff's work - perhaps The Silver Branch which is the next in the series, or some of her Arthurian legends, or The Queen Elizabeth Story (1950), or Black Ships Before Troy (which was published posthumously in 1993).

Our book for 2 November is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson (1883): a pirate tale of buried gold, Pew and the black spot, Captain Flint, Ben Gunn and his requests for cheese, Long John Silver - that most enduring of pirates - and the boy Jim.  "Them that die'll be the lucky ones!"

September 2011: Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" and our next book

We're enjoying getting together on the first Wednesday morning of each month in the Children's Activity Room at Bath Library to talk about our books - old favourites and new discoveries.  Today was our fourth meeting, and we discussed Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908).

Once again, this has been an interesting experience for us all.  Experienced readers, we thought we knew the book well through various audio, TV and theatre productions, but quickly discovered that the unabridged text holds many surprises.  Lyrical and highly descriptive, with its anthropomorphic animal characters reminiscent of something of a "boys' club",  the book has two distinct threads - the jolly and rumbunctious stories of Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad underlining the value and nature of true friendship, sitting alongside the mystical and nostalgic commemoration of Nature; an allegory perhaps for the passing of a more rustic age.

We talked about Grahame's own life - his disrupted childhood, his unfulfilled academic ambitions and the early death of his only child - and how these aspects may have influenced his writing.  We also discussed the "A A Milne effect" and how Milne's dramatisation of Toad of Toad Hall has probably helped succeeding generations to become familiar with the inhabitants of the Wild Wood without needing to deal with the more lyrical and challenging aspects of the text.

Next month we are reading The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (1954), the first - and probably the best known - in her series of seven novels loosely tracing a family of the Roman Empire and then of Britain.  The book was filmed as a movie (The Eagle) which opened earlier this year to mixed reviews.   Directed by Kevin MacDonald it is now available on DVD.

Our next meeting, What Katy Did and goldfish in Gamages

I was pleased to find a Ward Lock & Co edition of Susan Coolidge's What Katy Did on Bath Market yesterday.  Beautifully inscribed "Christmas 1923, from Dada to Muriel", its original purchase sticker is still inside the back cover, showing that it was bought from the famous department store A W Gamage Ltd of Holborn, London for two shillings and sixpence.  Gamages first opened in 1878 and became famous particularly for its stock of wonderful toys.  It finally closed in 1972.  In a letter dated 19 July 1922 to Elsie Kipling, his eldest surviving daughter, Rudyard Kipling wrote "I to Gamages in Holborn where, with everything else, they sell gold-fish."

Looking forward to our next meeting at Bath Library this coming Wednesday 7 September at 1030, when we will be discussing The Wind in the Willows.  The summer holidays mean that we'll still be missing a couple of regular members, but we look forward to seeing everyone again in October after we will have read The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Jan Needle's Wild Wood (1981)

Anyone interested in reading a companion piece to The Wind in the Willows might like to try Jan Needle's Wild Wood, published in 1981.  Here's Jan's explanation for how he came to rework the story from the perspective of the stoats, ferrets and Grahame's other anti-heroes:

"Much as I had always loved Toad, it occurred to me that if you looked at him through jaundiced left-wing eyes he might turn out somewhat less lovable. A fat and jolly plutocrat, more money than sense, with friends who lived lives of idleness and eternal pleasure. From there, it was a small step to redreaming the villains of the Wild Wood as sturdy, starving heroes of the rural proletariat.

"Here is the moment, in Chapter Seven, when my hero, Baxter Ferret, meets his nemesis. He is in a steam traction engine, with his fellow farmhand Tetley, going to pick up the wreck of their boss's motor lorry, a Throgmorton Squeezer.

We had rounded the bend. Determined to try and hear the end of the tale I had clenched my fists and kept my eyes on Tetley's clattering dentures rather than look up. Now I did. Alongside the dismal wreck, peering into the cab, was a figure.
"Thieves!" shrieked old Tetley. "Robbers! Villains come to lay hands on gaffer's stuff."
He banged open Old Betsy's throttle another fraction with a handy wrench, although she was already giving her very best speed. His free hand waved above his head till it contacted the whistle wire, on which he dangled frantically, one booted foot hovering in the air. A hoarse blast of sound and steam rent the clear and frosty morning.
The figure looked up, apparently not in the least alarmed. He moved to the front of the Squeezer in fact, and lounged on the sagging bonnet, about where the mudguard should have been. He was waiting for us.
As we lumbered forward, it appeared that there was another vehicle parked beside the lorry, which we had not been able to see at first. It slowly came into view, took shape and colour. I felt my stomach begin to flutter, my fingers to tremble. It was a motor car. A battered motor car. A very severely battered motor car.
Old Tetley drove the last few yards in the grim silence of concentration. He eased the steam back, judging his distance to a tee. The huge engine ground and grunted to a halt only inches from where the Throgmorton's radiator used to be. There was a moment of absolutely uncanny quiet after the din, until the engine settled down to a contented and familiar hissing as she built up pressure.
The black-coated figure pushed himself upright with a leather-gauntleted paw and walked towards us.
"Hello, you chaps," he said at last. "What a splendid day."
It was Mr Toad.

"My story follows the lines of the original with remarkable closeness ... all the things we know and love about Mr Toad's life and adventures are seen through different eyes, at different angles. Toad Hall is renamed Brotherhood Hall, and all the River Bankers' triumphs - including the final great assault which clears the denizens of the Wild Wood out of Toad's home lock, stock and barrel - are revealed to be a dreadful sham."

Jan Needle's website