Charles Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’, retold by Tanya Landman, reviewed by Pippa Goodhart

          

            This is an exciting retelling of the story of naïve, ambitious Pip who is so caught-up in the promise of his ‘great expectations’ that he turns snobbishly against dear blacksmith Joe, his childhood protector. That, to me, is the relationship in the story that matters most. Yet, to Pip, it his love for steely cold Estella, warped by the disappointed life of Miss Haversham who Pip supposes is the source of his suddenly gentlemany life with no trade to follow but a great deal of debt. We readers, along with Pip, are thrown when we discover that Pip’s benefactor is actually the scary convict Magwich who Pip had helped when a boy at the story’s opening. 

            This strange story of bitterness, revenge, snobbery and control, played out with moments of huge drama and a cast of deliciously, mostly awful, characters, is cleverly streamlined by Tanya Landman. We gallop enjoyably through the action, forever led-on by promises and fears and hope. This version is written with those with a reading age of 9+ in mind, yet is a full-blooded reading experience for fluent reading people into adulthood. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

            It’s wonderful that great stories can be filleted into relatively easy reads, accessible to so many more readers. 

Not-so-famous First Lines by Lynne Benton

 First I promised you the answers to my Famous First Lines quiz (January 14^th)

1 Marley was dead, to begin with.  A Christmas Carol  Charles Dickens

2 “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.  Little Women   Louisa May Alcott

3 All children, except one, grow up.  Peter Pan  J M Barrie

4 Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe  C S Lewis

5 A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood.  The Gruffalo  Julia Donaldson

6 They were not railway children to begin with.   The Railway Children  E Nesbit

7 In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit.   The Hobbit  J R R Tolkein

8 Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter.  The Tale of Peter Rabbit   Beatrix Potter

9 I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.  I Capture the Castle  Dodie Smith

10 Matilda told such dreadful lies/ they made one gasp and stretch ones eyes.  Matilda  Hilaire Belloc

And now for the Not-so-famous first lines.  At least, we all hope that some of ours may eventually become famous, but in order for any to be that quotable, they need to EITHER have been around for some time OR be so memorable that they stick in the mind instantly.

Because, inevitably, writing this quiz made me think about writing the first lines of my own books.  Even if, or maybe especially if, it’s a little book for early readers, the first line is so important – not only must it grab the reader right away, it may also be used to introduce the main character, or the setting, or the weather, as well as, if possible, setting the the tone of the whole book.  Sometimes this seems an impossible task - which may be why I often end up writing and rewriting the opening many times before I’m happy with it.  And even then I might go back and change it a few more times before I send it off.

Somehow last lines are different.  For one thing, you’ve usually finished writing the book by the time you get to it, so you know exactly what’s going on and how the story  ends.  In fact I often find I’ve written the last line without realising that was what it was until I’ve written it.  Then I think, “That’s it!  I’ll finish there!”

And I think I’ll finish this blog there, too!

Website: www.lynnebenton.com

FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT... 'A Christmas Carol' By Sharon Tregenza

 

Charles Dickens' story 'A Christmas Carol' has almost become an ingrained part of our holiday celebrations in the Western world. There have been countless radio, stage and screen adaptations of the classic story and even a 1973 mime performance starring Marcel Marceau. Mickey Mouse, The Muppets, and Mr Magoo have all featured in versions of the book. Here are some interesting facts about this iconic ghost story.

1.  Charles Dickens started A Christmas Carol in October 1843 and wrote obsessively for six weeks. He completed the novel at the end of November, and it was available in the shops on December 17th. It sold out in three days.

2. It originally had a much longer title. It was first published as: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost story of Christmas.

3. Dickens first composed the book in his head while on marathon walks around London.

4. Dickens was the first famous writer to give public readings of his books and the first reading was of A Christmas Carol. It took place in Birmingham in front of an audience of 2,000 people. On reading days Dickens had a strange ritual. He'd have two tablespoons of rum mixed with cream for breakfast, have a pint of champagne for tea, and half an hour before going on stage, drink a glass of sherry with a raw egg beaten into it.

5. 'Bah! Humbug!' has become a recognised catchphrase, even though it's only used twice in the book. A species of snail, Ba humbugi, was named in honour of the character of Scrooge.

Wishing you an early MERRY CHRISTMAS.

www.sharontregenza.com

Email: sharontregenza@gmail.com

 

Film Adaptations of my Favourite Books by Val Tyler

I think some novels can be made into excellent films; others not. In my opinion, the best film-makers have writers who adapt the original text whilst keeping the story close to the original. Sometimes I like the changes that are made and sometime I do not.

I thought the changes made by Robert Nelson Jacobs to Joanne Harris’ Chocolat, and Tony Morphett’s TV adaptation of D’Arcy Niland’s The Shiralee worked exceptionally well. Both are well worth watching. But when it comes to Harry Potter, I find reading the books a better experience than viewing the films – of course, this is entirely personal preference.

Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche in Chocolat

Bryan Brown and Rebecca Smart in The Shiralee

Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliff

Naturally, it’s easy to have a fixed view when I only know one adaptation of each book. When it comes to the classics, there are so many that a definitive opinion might be more difficult.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over seeing Mrs Bennet and her daughters running down the street, screaming and showing their knees in that peculiar 1940s Hollywood adaptation. To a lesser extent, I was exasperated to watch Margaret Schlegel and Aunt Juley walking down a London street hatless. I can never quite work out whether the film makers are simply lazy or have a shallow notion of what makes a story relatable to a modern audience.

Greer Garson with her family in Pride and Prejudice.

Check out those weird costumes.

It is probably unfair to dwell on that awful Pride and Prejudice when we have Colin Firth’s amazing version (adapted by the magnificent Andrew Davies) and, despite the hatless scene, I have enjoyed Howard’s End (adapted by Kenneth Lonergan) that has just finished on TV.

This is more like it. BBC's 1995 wonderful adaptation.

 Hayley Atwell, Matthew Macfadyen and Tracey Ullman in Howard's End (BBC)

One tale has to be mentioned in December. A Christmas Carol has, arguably, been adapted more often than any other story, and a whole load of nonsense has been written about it too. I would like to confront one right now. Charles Dickens did not invent Christmas, as the title of the new film tells us. His wonderful story, teaching Ebenezer to value human beings more than money, is set at Christmas time, but is not about Christmas. The setting is what Dickens observed in his own day. Inventive as the characters and plot may be, his depiction of Christmas is not.

Michael Caine with the Muppets in The Muppets' Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is one of the few Dickens’ novels that I have read several times. I have, on the other hand, seen The Muppets’ Christmas Carol every Christmas for the last twenty years. I find I sometimes muddle what Mr Dickens wrote with dear old Kermit. These days I cannot read the line, ‘…and to Tiny Tim, who did not die,’ without hearing Gonzo’s strongly American inflection.

But I do know the original story was not big on present-giving. The only present given was an enormous turkey to the Cratchit family. Michael Caine handing around presents at the end of the Muppets’ film was most definitely added by the Hensons.

Dickens was only suggesting that people should show good will towards each other at Christmas and, as Ebenezer is totally out of step with the rest of society, I’m guessing Dickens did not invent that. He popularised snow at Christmas, something I am told usually happened back then, but he did not invent it. He simply relayed Christmas as he knew it and in such an enchanting (and short) way that it’s still eminently readable today.

I find it interesting that the nativity is never mentioned in the book. Recently, I heard a man on the radio talking about A Christmas Carol and he referred to ‘the other Christmas story’. It took me a moment to realise he was referring to the nativity. It has become the ‘other Christmas Story’, the implication being that A Christmas Carol is the real one, or at least the one that matters. I think Dickens would have liked that, I’m not too sure about the church...

I like to think that our family knows ‘how to keep Christmas well’ and I hope it is not too early to be one of those idiots ‘who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on his lips’ while hoping not to ‘be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart,’ to wish you all very merry this Christmas.

The Blue Remembered Hills - Savita Kalhan

I have found another perfect place for writing - overlooking the River Teme in Ludlow - a balcony, a river, a beautiful, tranquil setting, but within walking distance to a buzzing town full of fine food and access to the most amazing walks amongst the Blue Remembered Hills of A E Houseman's A Shropshire Lad.

I have been very lucky to visit Shropshire many times over the years, but I can honestly say that there is still so much to see and walks to be walked. Over the years Shropshire has been the home to many authors, and many other writers have spent time there writing and writing about it.

Charles Dickens' character Miss Haversham in Great Expectations was based on Elizabeth Parker who lived in Chetwynd Hall in Shropshire.

Mary Webb's novels are all set in Shropshire - there are several walks that take in many of the places where her books are set.

PG Wodehouse once said that Shropshire "is the nearest earthly place to Paradise". His Blandings Castle is set in Weston Park in Shropshire.

Stokesay Court - where Atonement by Ian McEwan was set

The Pond at Stokesay Court

 A mile away from Stokesay Court lies Stokesay Castle, a fortified medieval manor, which was home to Lawrence of Ludlow, one of the richest men in England. The castle has changed very little since the 13 Century and remains one of the best examples of a complete medieval manor house. It still has character and atmosphere - and it's freezing cold!

The Gatehouse at Stokesay Castle

Stokesay Castle

Woodcarvings on the way up to Bury Ditches

On one of the Mounds of Bury Ditches

Panoramic Viewpoint guide from the top of Bury Ditches

 Walking along the Ridgeway - with one foot in England and the other in Wales!

The ruins of Clun Castle. The village of Clun was EM Forster's Oniton in Howards End.

In the hills

 John Osbourne retired to Clun.
The Hurst - John Osbourne's home - is now part of the Arvon Foundation, a writers' retreat

Clun Church where John Osbourne is buried

Below are the Stiperstones in Shropshire. They are described by D H Lawrence in St Maur as a wild and frightening place. One of the stones in particular - the Devil's Chair is full of evil and foreboding. It's not so easy to imagine in full sunlight with blue skies, but I have been there when the skies have been dark, the clouds grey and heavy before opening to pelt us with the rain and wind. Then, it became a very different place.

Children's writers Pauline Fisk, Catherine Cooper were Shropshire based, and Malcolm Saville's Lone Pine series is set in and around Clun (I read them all when I was a kid). Ellis Peters, also known as Edith Pargeter, set her Brother Cadfael Series of medieval mysteries in and around Shrewsbury.

So, I'm leaving Shropshire with batteries recharged, summer coming to an end and nights drawing in. It's time to start the next piece of work...

Savita Kalhan 

Savita's website

Pearly Gatekeepers by Rosalie Warren

In one of my recurring nightmares, I'm ascending the golden staircase that leads up to the pearly gates, and there stands St Peter in his robes and spectacles, frowning.

I clutch my bundle of documents, all 12 point Times New Roman double-spaced (or should that be single-spaced, where the synopsis is concerned? Or 1.5? I've consulted a bunch of archbishops on the matter - no one seems to know. Not that it matters to them, they're already in the system...)

I've counted my words, headed my headers and footed my footers. My printer's been well fed with the choicest cartridges and the smoothest, whitest paper money can buy. I've defined my genre and 'placed' myself with respect to other authors, though I haven't mentioned Charles Dickens, George Eliot or JKR. My pages are pristine, my sentences grammatical, my metaphors well-chosen, poignant and surprising (though no longer so surprising, after nine revisions, to me).

I hand over my submission with trepidation.

St Peter casts an eye over Chapters 1-3 of my life. Shakes his head, tuttting solemnly. 'Typo on page 2,' he intones. 'I'm afraid this is completely unacceptable. We can't consider anyone who has a typo on page 2 of their life story. And this is even worse - an exclamation mark on page 4!'

Chapters 1-3 are dropped (passive alert!) carelessly to the ground, which I notice is soggy and slush-like, consisting as it does of a thick layer of decaying manuscripts. St Peter glances at my letter and gives another frown.

'I didn't mention that my children love my work,' I venture (no, sorry, I say. One must never use a different word for 'say'). 'Nor did I tell you anything about my garden, my goldfish or my penchant for golden syrup sandwiches.'

'Adverbs...' intones St P. 'Three of them. To say nothing of four adjectives in the first two paragraphs of your synopsis.'

I bristle. 'There may be the occasional adverb, but only where strictly needed to make my meaning clear.'

'Strictly?' bellows St Peter. 'That's an adverb if I ever heard one. Save it for those dancing programmes on TV. I've sent devoted believers to hell for less.'

'But surely...' I adopt a pleading tone. No, make that a wheedling tone. 'St Peter, please. I've spent a lifetime honing and polishing my life story. Is there nothing I can do to get you to read it - so you can actually judge my life on its merits rather than on my comma use?'

Another bellow. 'Actually?'

I see my case is lost.

But no. All is not lost, even though I just repeated the word 'lost', after only a couple of sentences. I hurry (is it OK to say 'hurry'?) to the library, which fortunately (gulp!) for me is one of the old-fashioned kind that (a) still exists and (b) has books, including a large stock of how-to manuals for budding writers.

And I see where I've been going wrong. Long before I started to type my synopsis or concoct my letter. Long before I even began to compose my draft. The potions! The ointments! The fragrances. The offerings. The slaughter, the sacrifice. The call to prayer, the prostration (just checked and yes, it does have an 'r'...)

I've been doing it all wrong. My day needs to start with 5 hours of prayer to the God of all agents, to the Lord of blog posts, to the ancient guardians of the publishers' domain. I have not been sufficiently 'umble. No postcards of cute kittens or bottles of wine, apparently - but a lifetime of praise, prayer and devotion and then, maybe, at the end of it, good St Peter will let me into Agent Heaven.

Or maybe I'll choose to stay in agent-less hell, where I actually seem to be doing OK.



Best wishes
Rosalie

PS No agents were harmed (I hope) in the writing of this post. I don't have anything against agents anyway - it's the screeds of advice on how to appease them that sometimes get my goat...

Blogging at Rosalie Reviews
Author of Coping with Chloe for age 11+
New series for 7-9s coming soon!