lunes, 1 de noviembre de 2010
Ken Follett
BIOGRAPHY
Ken Follett is one of the world’s best-loved novelists. He has sold more than 100 million copies. His last book, World Without End, went straight to the No.1 position on bestseller lists in the USA, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
He burst into the book world in 1978 with Eye of the Needle, a taut and original thriller with a memorable woman character in the central role. The book won the Edgar award and became an outstanding film starring Kate Nelligan and Donald Sutherland.
He went on to write four more best-selling thrillers: Triple; The Key to Rebecca; The Man from St Petersburg; and Lie Down with Lions. Cliff Robertson and David Soul starred in the miniseries of The Key to Rebecca. In 1994 Timothy Dalton, Omar Sharif and Marg Helgenberger starred in the miniseries of Lie Down with Lions.
He also wrote On Wings of Eagles, the true story of how two employees of Ross Perot were rescued from Iran during the revolution of 1979. This book was made into a miniseries with Richard Crenna as Ross Perot and Burt Lancaster as Colonel 'Bull' Simons.
He then surprised readers by radically changing course with The Pillars of the Earth, a novel about building a cathedral in the Middle Ages. Published in September 1989 to rave reviews, it was on the New York Times bestseller list for eighteen weeks. It also reached the No. 1 position on lists in Canada, Great Britain and Italy, and was on the German bestseller list for six years.
It was voted the third greatest book ever written by 250,000 viewers of the German television station ZDF in 2004, beaten only by The Lord of the Rings and the Bible. When The Times of London asked its readers to vote for the 60 greatest novels of the last 60 years, The Pillars of the Earth was placed at No.2, after To Kill a Mockingbird. (The sequel, World Without End, was No.23 on the same list.) In November 2007 'Pillars' became the most popular ever choice of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club, returning to No.1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The miniseries, produced by Ridley Scott and starring Ian McShane and Matthew Macfadyen, is due for broadcast in 2010.
For a while he abandoned the straightforward spy genre, but his stories still had powerful narrative drive, strong women characters, and elements of suspense and intrigue. He followed Pillars with Night over Water, A Dangerous Fortune, and A Place Called Freedom.
Then he returned to the thriller. The Third Twin is a scorching suspense novel about a young woman scientist who stumbles over a secret experiment in genetic engineering. Miniseries rights were sold to CBS for $1,400,000, a record price for four hours of television. The series, starring Kelly McGillis and Larry Hagman (and with Ken appearing briefly as the butler), was broadcast in the USA in November 1997. In Publishing Trends' annual survey of international fiction bestsellers for 1997, The Third Twin was ranked No. 2 in the world, beaten only by John Grisham's The Partner.
The Hammer of Eden, another nail-biting contemporary suspense story, came in 1998. Code to Zero (2000), about brainwashing and rocket science in the Fifties, went to No.1 on bestseller lists in the USA, German and Italy, and film rights were snapped up by Doug Wick, producer of Gladiator, in a seven-figure deal.
Ken returned to the WWII era with his next two novels: Jackdaws (2001), a World War II thriller about a group of women parachuted into France to destroy a vital telephone exchange – which won the won the Corine Prize for 2003 – and Hornet Flight (2002), about a daring young Danish couple who escape to Britain from occupied Denmark in a rebuilt Hornet Moth biplane with vital information about German radar.
Whiteout, a contemporary thriller about the theft of a dangerous virus from a laboratory, was published in 2004, and made into a miniseries in 2009. Set in the remote Scottish Highlands over a stormy, snow-bound Christmas, Whiteout crackles with jealousies, distrust, sexual attraction, rivalries, hidden traitors and unexpected heroes.
World Without End, the long-awaited sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, was published in October 2007. It is set in Kingsbridge, the fictional location of the cathedral in Pillars, and features the descendants of the original characters at the time of the Black Death. It was a No.1 bestseller in Italy, the USA, the UK, Germany, France and Spain, where it was the fastest-selling book ever published in the Spanish language, outstripping the last Harry Potter book.
A board game based on The Pillars of the Earth was released worldwide in 2007-2008 and won the following prizes: Deutscher Spielepreis 2007; Game of the year 2007 in the USA (GAMES 100); Jeu d'annee 2007 (Canada); Juego del ano 2007 (Spain); Japan Boardgame Prize 2007; Arets Spill 2007 (Norway); Spiele Hit 2007 (Austria). It was a nominee in Finland, France and the Netherlands and got a recommendation in Germany by the Jury "Spiel des Jahres".
In 2008 Ken was awarded the Olaguibel Prize by the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos Vasco-Navarro for contributing to the promotion and awareness of architecture. A statue of him by the distinguished Spanish sculptor Casto Solano was unveiled in January 2008 outside the cathedral of Santa Maria in the Basque capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz in northern Spain.
His next project is his most ambitious yet. The Century Trilogy will tell the entire history of the twentieth century, seen through the eyes of five linked families: one American, one English, one German, one Russian, and one Welsh. The first book, Fall of Giants, focusing on the First World War and the Russian Revolution, was published worldwide simultaneously on 28 September 2010. He is already at work on the second, provisionally titled The Winter of the World, about the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, and the development of nuclear weapons.
Ken Follett is married to Barbara Follett, a political activist who was the Member of Parliament for Stevenage in Hertfordshire for thirteen years and Minister for Culture in the government of Gordon Brown. They live in a rambling rectory in Stevenage and also have an eighteenth-century town house in London and a beach house in Antigua. Ken Follett is a lover of Shakespeare, and is often to be seen at London productions of the Bard’s plays. An enthusiastic amateur musician, he plays bass guitar in a band called Damn Right I Got the Blues, and appears occasionally with the folk group Clog Iron playing a bass balalaika.
He was Chair of the National Year of Reading 1998-99, a British government initiative to raise literacy levels. He was president of the charity Dyslexia Action for ten years. He is a member of The Welsh Academy, a board director of the National Academy of Writing, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2007 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Literature (D.Litt.) by the University of Glamorgan, and similar degrees by Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan, where his papers are kept in the Ken Follett Archive; and (in 2008) by the University of Exeter. He is active in numerous Stevenage charities and was a governor of Roebuck Primary School for ten years, serving as Chair of Governors for four of those years.
He was born on 5 June 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector. He was educated at state schools and graduated from University College, London, with an Honours degree in philosophy. He was made a Fellow of the college in 1995.
He became a reporter, first with his home-town newspaper the South Wales Echo and later with the London Evening News. While working on the Evening News he wrote his first novel, which was published but did not become a bestseller. He then went to work for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director. He continued to write novels in his spare time. Eye of the Needle was his eleventh book, and his first success. Around 100 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide.
Ken Follett is one of the world’s best-loved novelists. He has sold more than 100 million copies. His last book, World Without End, went straight to the No.1 position on bestseller lists in the USA, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
He burst into the book world in 1978 with Eye of the Needle, a taut and original thriller with a memorable woman character in the central role. The book won the Edgar award and became an outstanding film starring Kate Nelligan and Donald Sutherland.
He went on to write four more best-selling thrillers: Triple; The Key to Rebecca; The Man from St Petersburg; and Lie Down with Lions. Cliff Robertson and David Soul starred in the miniseries of The Key to Rebecca. In 1994 Timothy Dalton, Omar Sharif and Marg Helgenberger starred in the miniseries of Lie Down with Lions.
He also wrote On Wings of Eagles, the true story of how two employees of Ross Perot were rescued from Iran during the revolution of 1979. This book was made into a miniseries with Richard Crenna as Ross Perot and Burt Lancaster as Colonel 'Bull' Simons.
He then surprised readers by radically changing course with The Pillars of the Earth, a novel about building a cathedral in the Middle Ages. Published in September 1989 to rave reviews, it was on the New York Times bestseller list for eighteen weeks. It also reached the No. 1 position on lists in Canada, Great Britain and Italy, and was on the German bestseller list for six years.
It was voted the third greatest book ever written by 250,000 viewers of the German television station ZDF in 2004, beaten only by The Lord of the Rings and the Bible. When The Times of London asked its readers to vote for the 60 greatest novels of the last 60 years, The Pillars of the Earth was placed at No.2, after To Kill a Mockingbird. (The sequel, World Without End, was No.23 on the same list.) In November 2007 'Pillars' became the most popular ever choice of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club, returning to No.1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The miniseries, produced by Ridley Scott and starring Ian McShane and Matthew Macfadyen, is due for broadcast in 2010.
For a while he abandoned the straightforward spy genre, but his stories still had powerful narrative drive, strong women characters, and elements of suspense and intrigue. He followed Pillars with Night over Water, A Dangerous Fortune, and A Place Called Freedom.
Then he returned to the thriller. The Third Twin is a scorching suspense novel about a young woman scientist who stumbles over a secret experiment in genetic engineering. Miniseries rights were sold to CBS for $1,400,000, a record price for four hours of television. The series, starring Kelly McGillis and Larry Hagman (and with Ken appearing briefly as the butler), was broadcast in the USA in November 1997. In Publishing Trends' annual survey of international fiction bestsellers for 1997, The Third Twin was ranked No. 2 in the world, beaten only by John Grisham's The Partner.
The Hammer of Eden, another nail-biting contemporary suspense story, came in 1998. Code to Zero (2000), about brainwashing and rocket science in the Fifties, went to No.1 on bestseller lists in the USA, German and Italy, and film rights were snapped up by Doug Wick, producer of Gladiator, in a seven-figure deal.
Ken returned to the WWII era with his next two novels: Jackdaws (2001), a World War II thriller about a group of women parachuted into France to destroy a vital telephone exchange – which won the won the Corine Prize for 2003 – and Hornet Flight (2002), about a daring young Danish couple who escape to Britain from occupied Denmark in a rebuilt Hornet Moth biplane with vital information about German radar.
Whiteout, a contemporary thriller about the theft of a dangerous virus from a laboratory, was published in 2004, and made into a miniseries in 2009. Set in the remote Scottish Highlands over a stormy, snow-bound Christmas, Whiteout crackles with jealousies, distrust, sexual attraction, rivalries, hidden traitors and unexpected heroes.
World Without End, the long-awaited sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, was published in October 2007. It is set in Kingsbridge, the fictional location of the cathedral in Pillars, and features the descendants of the original characters at the time of the Black Death. It was a No.1 bestseller in Italy, the USA, the UK, Germany, France and Spain, where it was the fastest-selling book ever published in the Spanish language, outstripping the last Harry Potter book.
A board game based on The Pillars of the Earth was released worldwide in 2007-2008 and won the following prizes: Deutscher Spielepreis 2007; Game of the year 2007 in the USA (GAMES 100); Jeu d'annee 2007 (Canada); Juego del ano 2007 (Spain); Japan Boardgame Prize 2007; Arets Spill 2007 (Norway); Spiele Hit 2007 (Austria). It was a nominee in Finland, France and the Netherlands and got a recommendation in Germany by the Jury "Spiel des Jahres".
In 2008 Ken was awarded the Olaguibel Prize by the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos Vasco-Navarro for contributing to the promotion and awareness of architecture. A statue of him by the distinguished Spanish sculptor Casto Solano was unveiled in January 2008 outside the cathedral of Santa Maria in the Basque capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz in northern Spain.
His next project is his most ambitious yet. The Century Trilogy will tell the entire history of the twentieth century, seen through the eyes of five linked families: one American, one English, one German, one Russian, and one Welsh. The first book, Fall of Giants, focusing on the First World War and the Russian Revolution, was published worldwide simultaneously on 28 September 2010. He is already at work on the second, provisionally titled The Winter of the World, about the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, and the development of nuclear weapons.
Ken Follett is married to Barbara Follett, a political activist who was the Member of Parliament for Stevenage in Hertfordshire for thirteen years and Minister for Culture in the government of Gordon Brown. They live in a rambling rectory in Stevenage and also have an eighteenth-century town house in London and a beach house in Antigua. Ken Follett is a lover of Shakespeare, and is often to be seen at London productions of the Bard’s plays. An enthusiastic amateur musician, he plays bass guitar in a band called Damn Right I Got the Blues, and appears occasionally with the folk group Clog Iron playing a bass balalaika.
He was Chair of the National Year of Reading 1998-99, a British government initiative to raise literacy levels. He was president of the charity Dyslexia Action for ten years. He is a member of The Welsh Academy, a board director of the National Academy of Writing, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2007 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Literature (D.Litt.) by the University of Glamorgan, and similar degrees by Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan, where his papers are kept in the Ken Follett Archive; and (in 2008) by the University of Exeter. He is active in numerous Stevenage charities and was a governor of Roebuck Primary School for ten years, serving as Chair of Governors for four of those years.
He was born on 5 June 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector. He was educated at state schools and graduated from University College, London, with an Honours degree in philosophy. He was made a Fellow of the college in 1995.
He became a reporter, first with his home-town newspaper the South Wales Echo and later with the London Evening News. While working on the Evening News he wrote his first novel, which was published but did not become a bestseller. He then went to work for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director. He continued to write novels in his spare time. Eye of the Needle was his eleventh book, and his first success. Around 100 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide.
domingo, 17 de octubre de 2010
sábado, 16 de octubre de 2010
Parahamansa Yogananda
Autobiography of a Yogi
As the life story of Paramahansa Yogananda — who is often referred to as the Father of Yoga in the West — the book has touched the hearts and minds of millions around the globe. Translated into many languages, it has served as an ambassador for India’s ancient science of Yoga, introducing countless readers to the methods for attaining God-realization that are India’s unique and lasting contribution to world civilization.
In 1999, a Harper Collins panel of distinguished authors and scholars selected Autobiography of a Yogi as one of the “100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century.”
Alive with all the love, warmth, joy, and wisdom that characterize Paramahansa Yogananda, this masterwork of religious literature includes chapters about:
the science of Kriya Yoga meditation;
the law of miracles;
the lives and missions of Mahavatar Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Swami Sri Yukteswar;
Yogananda’s meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Ramana Maharshi, Luther Burbank, Therese Neumann, and other spiritual luminaries of East and West.
Initially published in 1946 to widespread critical acclaim, Autobiography of a Yogi quickly gained recognition as a literary masterpiece as well as a seminal work in the field of Eastern philosophy.
Before his passing in 1952, Paramahansaji revised the book — adding extensive material, including the lengthy last chapter. Since then, Self-Realization Fellowship has kept the book in print continuously. A perennial bestseller, it is one of the most widely read and respected books ever published on the wisdom of the East, and is used as a text and reference work in colleges and universities throughout the world.
“There has been nothing before,
written in English or in any other European language,
like this presentation of Yoga.”
—Columbia University Press
Autobiography of a Yogi is available at most bookstores, or may be ordered directly from Self-Realization Fellowship.
The following editions are available in English:
HARDCOVER
520 pages, 80 photos on glossy stock
Order No.1001 - $27.95 Order Now
QUALITY PAPERBACK
520 pages,80 photos on glossy stock
Order No.1050 - $12.50 Order Now
PAPERBACK
608 pages, 54 photos
Order No.1002 - $8.50 Order Now
AUDIOBOOK EDITION (unabridged)
Read by Sir Ben Kingsley
15 compact discs
Order No.2700 - $48.00 Order Now
Also available from iTunes and audible
As the life story of Paramahansa Yogananda — who is often referred to as the Father of Yoga in the West — the book has touched the hearts and minds of millions around the globe. Translated into many languages, it has served as an ambassador for India’s ancient science of Yoga, introducing countless readers to the methods for attaining God-realization that are India’s unique and lasting contribution to world civilization.
In 1999, a Harper Collins panel of distinguished authors and scholars selected Autobiography of a Yogi as one of the “100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century.”
Alive with all the love, warmth, joy, and wisdom that characterize Paramahansa Yogananda, this masterwork of religious literature includes chapters about:
the science of Kriya Yoga meditation;
the law of miracles;
the lives and missions of Mahavatar Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Swami Sri Yukteswar;
Yogananda’s meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Ramana Maharshi, Luther Burbank, Therese Neumann, and other spiritual luminaries of East and West.
Initially published in 1946 to widespread critical acclaim, Autobiography of a Yogi quickly gained recognition as a literary masterpiece as well as a seminal work in the field of Eastern philosophy.
Before his passing in 1952, Paramahansaji revised the book — adding extensive material, including the lengthy last chapter. Since then, Self-Realization Fellowship has kept the book in print continuously. A perennial bestseller, it is one of the most widely read and respected books ever published on the wisdom of the East, and is used as a text and reference work in colleges and universities throughout the world.
“There has been nothing before,
written in English or in any other European language,
like this presentation of Yoga.”
—Columbia University Press
Autobiography of a Yogi is available at most bookstores, or may be ordered directly from Self-Realization Fellowship.
The following editions are available in English:
HARDCOVER
520 pages, 80 photos on glossy stock
Order No.1001 - $27.95 Order Now
QUALITY PAPERBACK
520 pages,80 photos on glossy stock
Order No.1050 - $12.50 Order Now
PAPERBACK
608 pages, 54 photos
Order No.1002 - $8.50 Order Now
AUDIOBOOK EDITION (unabridged)
Read by Sir Ben Kingsley
15 compact discs
Order No.2700 - $48.00 Order Now
Also available from iTunes and audible
viernes, 15 de octubre de 2010
Mark Twain
ABOUT MARK TWAIN
Biography
On Nov. 30, 1835, the small town of Florida, Mo. witnessed the birth of its most famous son. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was welcomed into the world as the sixth child of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. Little did John and Jane know, their son Samuel would one day be known as Mark Twain -America's most famous literary icon.
Approximately four years after his birth, in 1839, the Clemens family moved 35 miles east to the town of Hannibal. A growing port city that lie along the banks of the Mississippi, Hannibal was a frequent stop for steam boats arriving by both day and night from St. Louis and New Orleans.
Writings
The Writings Section contains a comprehensive list of Mark Twain works among which are classics such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Life on the Mississippi.
Quotes
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
The Complete Literary Works of Mark Twain
-The Innocents Abroad 1869
-Curious Republic of Gondour 1870
-A Burlesque Autobiography 1871
-Roughing It 1872
-The Gilded Age 1873
-Sketches New and Old 1875
-The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 1876
-Carnival of Crime in CT 1877
-A Tramp Abroad 1880
-The Prince and the Pauper 1881
-The Stolen White Elephant 1882
-Life on the Mississippi 1883
-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1885
-A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court 1889
-The American Claimant 1892
-Tom Sawyer Abroad 1894
-The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson 1894
-Tom Sawyer, Detective 1896
-Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Vol 1 1896
-Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Vol 2 1896
-How to Tell a Story and Others 1897
-Following the Equator 1897
-The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg and other Stories 1900
-A Double Barrelled Detective 1902
-Extracts from Adam's Diary 1904
-A Dog's Tale 1904
-The $30,000 Bequest 1906
-What is Man? and Other Essays of Mark Twain 1906
-Mark Twain's Speeches 1906
-Christian Science 1907
-A Horse's Tale 1907
-Is Shakespeare Dead? 1909
-Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven l909
-The Mysterious Stranger 1916 uncompleted
-Alonzo Fitz and Other Stories
-Essays on Paul Bourget
-Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences
-Goldsmith's Friend Abroad Again
-In Defense of Harriet Shelley
-On the Decay of the Art of Lying
-Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion
-The Boys Life of Mark Twain
-Those Extraordinary Twins
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume I Part 1 1835-1866
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume I Part 2 1866-1875
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume II Part 1 1875-1886
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume II Part 2 1886-1900
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume III Part 1 1900-1907
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume III Part 2 1907-1910
-Mark Twain's Letters 1867-1875
-Mark Twain's Letters 1876-1885
-Mark Twain's Letters 1886-1900
-Mark Twain's Letters 1901-1906
-Mark Twain's Letters 1907-1910
-Mark Twain's Letters, Complete
Biography
On Nov. 30, 1835, the small town of Florida, Mo. witnessed the birth of its most famous son. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was welcomed into the world as the sixth child of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. Little did John and Jane know, their son Samuel would one day be known as Mark Twain -America's most famous literary icon.
Approximately four years after his birth, in 1839, the Clemens family moved 35 miles east to the town of Hannibal. A growing port city that lie along the banks of the Mississippi, Hannibal was a frequent stop for steam boats arriving by both day and night from St. Louis and New Orleans.
Writings
The Writings Section contains a comprehensive list of Mark Twain works among which are classics such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Life on the Mississippi.
Quotes
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
The Complete Literary Works of Mark Twain
-The Innocents Abroad 1869
-Curious Republic of Gondour 1870
-A Burlesque Autobiography 1871
-Roughing It 1872
-The Gilded Age 1873
-Sketches New and Old 1875
-The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 1876
-Carnival of Crime in CT 1877
-A Tramp Abroad 1880
-The Prince and the Pauper 1881
-The Stolen White Elephant 1882
-Life on the Mississippi 1883
-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1885
-A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court 1889
-The American Claimant 1892
-Tom Sawyer Abroad 1894
-The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson 1894
-Tom Sawyer, Detective 1896
-Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Vol 1 1896
-Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Vol 2 1896
-How to Tell a Story and Others 1897
-Following the Equator 1897
-The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg and other Stories 1900
-A Double Barrelled Detective 1902
-Extracts from Adam's Diary 1904
-A Dog's Tale 1904
-The $30,000 Bequest 1906
-What is Man? and Other Essays of Mark Twain 1906
-Mark Twain's Speeches 1906
-Christian Science 1907
-A Horse's Tale 1907
-Is Shakespeare Dead? 1909
-Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven l909
-The Mysterious Stranger 1916 uncompleted
-Alonzo Fitz and Other Stories
-Essays on Paul Bourget
-Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences
-Goldsmith's Friend Abroad Again
-In Defense of Harriet Shelley
-On the Decay of the Art of Lying
-Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion
-The Boys Life of Mark Twain
-Those Extraordinary Twins
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume I Part 1 1835-1866
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume I Part 2 1866-1875
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume II Part 1 1875-1886
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume II Part 2 1886-1900
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume III Part 1 1900-1907
-Mark Twain a Biography Volume III Part 2 1907-1910
-Mark Twain's Letters 1867-1875
-Mark Twain's Letters 1876-1885
-Mark Twain's Letters 1886-1900
-Mark Twain's Letters 1901-1906
-Mark Twain's Letters 1907-1910
-Mark Twain's Letters, Complete
viernes, 8 de octubre de 2010
The wonderful wizard of oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Original title page.
Author L. Frank Baum
Illustrator W. W. Denslow
Country United States
Language English
Series The Oz Books
Genre(s) Fantasy Children's novel
Publisher George M. Hill
Publication date 1900
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback), Audiobook
Pages 259 p., 21 leaves of plates (first edition hardcover)
ISBN N/A
OCLC Number 9506808
Followed by The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. It was originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900,and has since been reprinted countless times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of both the 1902 stage play and the extremely popular, highly acclaimed 1939 film version. The story chronicles the adventures of a girl named Dorothy in the Land of Oz. Thanks in part to the 1939 MGM movie, it is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success, and the success of the popular 1902 Broadway musical Baum adapted from his story, led to Baum writing thirteen more Oz books.
Baum dedicated the book "to my good friend & comrade, My Wife", Maud Gage Baum. In January 1901, the publisher, the George M. Hill Company, completed printing the first edition, which probably totaled around 35,000 copies. Records indicate that 21,000 copies were sold through 1900.
The original book has been in the public domain in the United States since 1956. Baum's thirteen sequels entered public domain in the United States from 1960 through 1986. The rights to these books were held by the Walt Disney Company, and their impending expiration was a prime motivator for the production of the 1985 film Return to Oz, based on Baum's second and third Oz books.[citation needed]
Historians, economists and literary scholars have examined and developed possible political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. However, the majority of the reading public simply takes the story at face value.
Contents
1 Plot summary
2 Illustration and design
3 Sources of images and ideas
3.1 The Gold Standard representation of the story
4 Cultural impact
5 Critical response
6 Adaptations
7 See also
8 Footnotes
9 References
10 External links
Plot summary
This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (September 2010)
Dorothy is a girl who lives in a farmhouse in Kansas with her Uncle Henry, Aunt Em, and little dog Toto. One day the farmhouse, with Dorothy and Toto inside, is caught up in a tornado and deposited in a field in the Land of the Munchkins in the Land of Oz. The falling house kills the ruler of the Munchkins, the Wicked Witch of the East.
The Good Witch of the North comes with the Munchkins to greet Dorothy and gives Dorothy the Silver Shoes that the Wicked Witch of the East had been wearing when she was killed. In order to return to Kansas, the Good Witch of the North tells Dorothy that she will have to go to the "Emerald City" or "City of Emeralds" and ask the Wizard of Oz to help her.
On her way down the road paved with yellow brick, Dorothy frees the Scarecrow from the pole he is hanging on, restores the movements of the rusted Tin Woodman with an oil can, and encourages them and the Cowardly Lion to journey with her and Toto to the Emerald City. The Scarecrow wants to get a brain, the Tin Woodman a heart, and the Cowardly Lion, courage. All are convinced by Dorothy that the Wizard can help them too. Together, they overcome obstacles on the way including narrow pieces of the yellow brick road, Kalidahs, a river, and the Deadly Poppies.
When the travelers arrive at the Emerald City, they are asked to use green spectacles by the Guardian of the Gates. When each traveler meets with the Wizard, he appears each time as someone or something different. To Dorothy, the Wizard is a giant head; the Scarecrow sees a beautiful woman; the Tin Woodman sees a ravenous beast; the Cowardly Lion sees a ball of fire. The Wizard agrees to help each of them, but one of them must kill the Wicked Witch of the West who rules over the Winkie Country.
As the friends travel across the Winkie Country, the Wicked Witch sends wolves, crows, bees, and then her Winkie soldiers to attack them, but they manage to get past them all. Then, using the power of the Golden Cap, the Witch summons the Winged Monkeys to capture all of the travelers.
The Wicked Witch melts, from the William Wallace Denslow illustration of the first edition (1900).When the Wicked Witch gains one of Dorothy's silver shoes by trickery, Dorothy in anger grabs a bucket of water and throws it on the Wicked Witch, who begins to melt. The Winkies rejoice at being freed of the witch's tyranny, and they help to reassemble the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. The Winkies love the Tin Woodman, and they ask him to become their ruler, which he agrees to do after helping Dorothy return to Kansas.
Dorothy uses the Golden Cap to summon the Winged Monkeys to carry her and her companions back to the Emerald City, and the King of the Winged Monkeys tells how he and the other monkeys were bound by an enchantment to the cap by Gayelette.
When Dorothy and her friends meet the Wizard of Oz again, he tries to put them off. Toto accidentally tips over a screen in a corner of the throne room, revealing the Wizard to be an old man who had journeyed to Oz from Omaha long ago in a hot air balloon.
The Wizard provides the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion with a head full of bran, pins, and needles ("a lot of bran-new brains"), a silk heart stuffed with sawdust, and a potion of "courage", respectively. Because of their faith in the Wizard's power, these otherwise useless items provide a focus for their desires. In order to help Dorothy and Toto get home, the Wizard realizes that he will have to take them home with him in a new balloon, which he and Dorothy fashion from green silk. Revealing himself to the people of the Emerald City one last time, the Wizard appoints the Scarecrow, by virtue of his brains, to rule in his stead. Dorothy chases Toto after he runs after a kitten in the crowd, and before she can make it back to the balloon, the ropes break, leaving the Wizard to rise and float away alone.
Dorothy turns to the Winged Monkeys to carry her and Toto home, but they cannot cross the desert surrounding Oz. The Soldier with the Green Whiskers advises that Glinda, the Good Witch of the South (changed to the "North" in the 1939 film), may be able to send Dorothy and Toto home. They, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion journey to Glinda's palace in the Quadling Country. Together they escape the Fighting Trees, dodge the Hammer-Heads, and tread carefully through the China Country. The Cowardly Lion kills a giant spider, who is terrorizing the animals in a forest, and he agrees to return there to rule them after Dorothy returns to Kansas—the biggest of the tigers ruling in his stead as before. Dorothy uses her third wish to fly over the Hammer-Heads' mountain, almost losing Toto in the process.
At Glinda's palace, the travelers are greeted warmly, and it is revealed by Glinda that Dorothy had the power to go home all along. The Silver Shoes she wears can take her anywhere she wishes to go. She tearfully embraces her friends, all of whom will be returned, through Glinda's use of the Golden Cap, to their respective sovereignties: the Scarecrow to the Emerald City, the Tin Woodman to the Winkie Country, and the Cowardly Lion to the forest. Then she will give the Cap to the king of the Winged Monkeys, so they will never be under its spell again. Dorothy and Toto return to Kansas and a joyful family reunion. The Silver Shoes are lost during Dorothy's flight and never seen again.
Illustration and design
The book was illustrated by Baum's friend and collaborator W.W. Denslow, who also co-held the copyright. The design was lavish for the time, with illustrations on every page, backgrounds in different colors, and several color plate illustrations. The distinctive look led to imitators at the time, most notably Zauberlinda, the Wise Witch. The typeface was the newly designed Monotype Old Style.[citation needed]
Sources of images and ideas
Dorothy meets the Cowardly Lion, from the first edition.Baum acknowledged the influence of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, which he was deliberately revising in his "American fairy tales" to include the wonder without the horrors.
Local legend has it that Oz, also known as The Emerald City, was inspired by a prominent castle-like building in the community of Castle Park near Holland, Michigan where Baum summered. The yellow brick road was derived from a road at that time paved by yellow bricks. These bricks were found in Peekskill, New York where Baum attended the Peekskill Military Academy. Baum scholars often reference the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (the "White City") as an inspiration for the Emerald City. Other legends allude that the inspiration came from the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego, California. Baum was a frequent guest at the hotel, and had written several of the Oz books there.Baum said that the name "OZ" came from his file cabinet labeled "O-Z" Another influence lay in the Alice books of Lewis Carroll. Although he found their plots incoherent, Baum identified their source of popularity as Alice herself, a child with whom the child readers could identify; this influenced his choice of a protagonist.
The Gold Standard representation of the story
See also: Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
In 1964, Henry Littlefield claimed that the book contained an allegory of the late 19th-century debate regarding monetary policy.According to this view, the "Yellow Brick Road" represents the gold standard, the silver slippers (ruby in the film version) represent the sixteen to one silver ratio (dancing down the road). The thesis achieved some popular interest and elaboration but is not taken seriously by literary historians.
Cultural impact
The Wizard of Oz has been translated into well over forty different languages, at times being modified in local variations. For instance, in some abridged Indian editions, the Tin Woodman was replaced with a snake.
Russian author Alexander M. Volkov brought his own loose translation of the story to the Soviet Union in 1939 (the same year MGM released their film). The Soviet Union did not recognize foreign copyrights at the time, and neither Baum nor his family received any royalties for it. Volkov's version was published under the title The Wizard of Emerald City (Волшебник Изумрудного Города) and the country where the story takes place was changed from Oz, to "Magic Land". Volkov also took many liberties with the text itself, editing as he saw fit, and adding a chapter in which Dorothy, now renamed Ellie, is kidnapped by a man-eating Ogre and rescued by her friends. The Wizard is renamed "James Goodwin", the Scarecrow is called "Strasheela" (derived from a Russian word meaning "to scare"), and the Tin Woodman is called "the Iron Woodman". The four witches each have new names as well: Villina (The Good Witch of the North), Gingema (The Wicked Witch of the East), Bastinda (The Wicked Witch of the West), and Stella (The Good Witch of the South). Volkov subsequently wrote his own independent series of sequels to the book, even more tenuously based on Baum's books, including: Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers, Seven Underground Kings, The Firey God of the Marrans, The Yellow Fog, and The Secret of the Deserted Castle. Some characters in these sequels have clear origins in the original Oz books, such as Ellie's uncle Charlie Black, who is a combination of Baum's Cap'n Bill and Johnny Dooit, and Volkov's last book invokes the Forbidden Fountain. The latter three sequels feature, instead of Ellie and Toto, her younger sister Annie along with her own dog, Toto's grandson Arto, and her childhood friend Tim. Baum's original version and all of its sequels were later translated in a more faithful fashion, and Russians now see these two versions as wholly different series. In 1959, illustrations by Leonid Vladimirsky depicted Volkov's Scarecrow as short, round and tubby; his influence is evident in illustrations for translations across the Soviet bloc, where the Scarecrow is usually portrayed in this manner. Vladimirsky has written at least two additional sequels to Alexander Volkov's alternative Oz; two more Russian authors and one German have written additional sequels to the "Magic Land" stories. The books have been faithfully translated to English by Peter Blystone as Tales of Magic Land. These last two books were previously made available as Oz books through Buckethead Enterprises of Oz, but were translated loosely to make them Oz books.
References to The Wizard of Oz (and Magic Land) are thoroughly ingrained in British, American, Russian, and many other cultures. A mere sampling of the breadth in which it is referenced includes Futurama, Family Guy and Scrubs (the former parodied it in an episode, the latter based an episode on it), The Cinnamon Bear (a 1938 radio serial), RahXephon (a 2002 Japanese animated television show), Zardoz (a 1974 Sean Connery movie), Avatar (a 2009 fantasy film),The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (a 1997 Stephen King fantasy/Western novel), World of Warcraft(in the form of a boss fight), and the science fiction literature of Robert A. Heinlein, particularly The Number of the Beast. The Wizard of Oz Mystery, a murder mystery game based on the famous characters was released in 2007 from Shot In The Dark Mysteries. John Connor, a character in the Terminator series who sometimes uses the alias John Baum (presumably in honor of L. Frank Baum), stated that one of his favorite memories was of his mother reading him the story of the Wizard of Oz in Spanish as a child. The terminator series also references the Wicked Witch, Scarecrow and Tin Woodman in a few episodes. The character of Cypher in the 1999 movie The Matrix explicitly quotes a part of a line from the original book. In the film, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, reporter Polly Perkins meets with scientist Walter Jennings at Radio City Music Hall during a showing of the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film.
In 1967, The Seekers recorded "Emerald City", with lyrics about a visit there, set to the melody of Beethoven's "An die Freude".
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz. It was later made into a musical (also titled Wicked) that premiered on Broadway in 2003.
Many of these draw more directly on the 1939 MGM Technicolor film version of the novel, a now-classic of popular culture shown annually on American television from 1959 to 1991, and shown several times a year every year beginning in 1999.
Critical response
The novel received good critical notices upon release; The New York Times wrote in September 1900:
[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] is ingeniously woven out of commonplace material. It is of course an extravaganza, but will surely be found to appeal strongly to child readers as well as to the younger children … [the book] rises far above the average children's book of today, high as is the present standard.
In modern times, it is widely held as a classic of children's literature; however, it has repeatedly come under fire over the years. Some religious commentators, for example, have objected to Baum's portrayal of "good witches". On a more secular note, feminist author Margery Hourihan has described the book as a "banal and mechanistic story which is written in flat, impoverished prose" and dismissed the central character from the movie adaptation of the book as "the girl-woman of Hollywood".
Adaptations
Main article: Adaptations of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz has been adapted to other media numerous times, most famously in the 1939 film starring Judy Garland. There have been several preceding stage and screen adaptations, as well as subsequent stage and screen adaptations and sequels for theatrical release, television broadcast, and home video. The story has been translated into other languages (at least once without permission), and adapted into comics several times. Following the lapse of the original copyright, the characters have been adapted and reused in spin-offs, unofficial sequels, and reinterpretations, some of which have been controversial in their treatment of Baum's characters.
List of Oz books
Footnotes
1.^ On May 17, 1900 the first copy of the book came off the press; Baum assembled it by hand and presented it to his sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster. The public saw the book for the first time at a book fair at the Palmer House in Chicago, July 5–20. The book's copyright was registered on August 1; full distribution followed in September. Katharine M. Rogers, L. Frank Baum, pp. 73–94.
2.^ Oz Reference Home Page
3.^ a b Baum, L. Frank; Hearn, Michael Patrick (1973). The Annotated Wizard of Oz. New York: C.N. Potter. pp. 38. ISBN 0-517-500868. OCLC 800451.
4.^ The Writer's Muse: L. Frank Baum and the Hotel del Coronado
5.^ Schwartz, Evan I. (2009). Finding Oz: how L. Frank Baum discovered the great American story (illustrated ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 273. ISBN 0547055102.
6.^ Henry Littlefield, "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism," American Quarterly 16 (Spring, 1964), p. 50. The full text of this article is also online at www.amphigory.com/oz.htm.
7.^ Setting the Standards on the Road to Oz, Mitch Sanders, The Numismatist, July 1991, pp 1042-1050
8.^ David B. Parker, "The Rise and Fall of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a Parable on Populism," Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians, 15 (1994), pp. 49-63.
9.^ Responses to Littlefield - The Wizard of Oz - Turn Me On, Dead Man
10.^ a b Gjovaag, Eric (2006). "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Frequently Asked Questions: The Books". The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Website. http://thewizardofoz.info/faq02.html#20. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
11.^ Rutter, Richard. Speech Indiana Memorial Union, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (July 2000).
12.^ "Friends of the Emerald City (Volkov's)", EmeraldCity.ru
13.^ "James Cameron on 'Avatar': Like 'Matrix,' 'This movie is a doorway'". Los Angeles Times. August 10, 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/08/james-cameron-on-avatar-like-the-matrix-this-movie-is-a-doorway-.html. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
14.^ http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/oz/ozsect2.html To See The Wizard: Oz on Stage and Film]. Library of Congress, 2003.
15.^ "Books and Authors" (PDF). The New York Times: pp. BR12–13. 1900-09-08. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D00E2D9153FE433A2575BC0A96F9C946197D6CF. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
16.^ Houihan, Margaret. Deconstructing the Hero. pp. 209. ISBN 0-415-14186-9. OCLC 36582073.
[edit] References
Aycock, Colleen and Mark Scott (2008). Joe Gans: A Biography of the First African American World Boxing Champion. McFarland & Co, 133-139.
Baum, Frank Joslyn; MacFall, Russell P. (1961). To Please a Child. Chicago: Reilly & Lee Co.
Culver, Stuart. "Growing Up in Oz." American Literary History 4 (1992) 607–28.
Culver, Stuart. "What Manikins Want: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Art of Decorating Dry Goods Windows and Interiors", Representations, 21 (1988) 97–116.
Dighe, Ranjit S. (ed.) The Historian's Wizard of Oz: Reading L. Frank Baum's Classic as a Political and Monetary Allegory (2002)
Gardner, Martin; Nye, Russel B. (1994). The Wizard of Oz and Who He Was. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press
Gardner, Todd. "Responses to Littlefield" (2004), online
Greene, David L.; Martin, Dick (1977). The Oz Scrapbook. Random House.
Hanff, Peter E and Douglas G. Greene (1988). Bibliographia Oziana: A Concise Bibliographical Checklist. The International Wizard of Oz Club. ISBN 978-1-930764-03-3
Hearn, Michael Patrick (ed). (2000, 1973) The Annotated Wizard of Oz. W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-04992-2
Littlefield, Henry. "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism." American Quarterly. v. 16, 3, Spring 1964, 47–58.
Parker, David B. (1994) "The Rise and Fall of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a 'Parable on Populism'." Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians. 16 (1994): 49–63
Riley, Michael O. (1997) Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum. University of Kansas Press ISBN 0-7006-0832-X
Ritter, Gretchen. "Silver slippers and a golden cap: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and historical memory in American politics." Journal of American Studies (August 1997) vol. 31, no. 2, 171–203.
Rockoff, Hugh. "The 'Wizard of Oz' as a Monetary Allegory," Journal of Political Economy 98 (1990): 739–60 online at JSTOR
Rogers, Katharine M. L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz. New York, St. Martin's Press (2002).
Sherman, Fraser A. (2005). The Wizard of Oz catalog: L. Frank Baum's novel, its sequels and their adaptations for stage, television, movies, radio, music videos, comic books, commercials and more. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0786417927
Sunshine, Linda. All Things Oz (2003)
Swartz, Mark Evan. Oz Before the Rainbow: L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" on Stage and Screen to 1939 (2000).
Velde, Francois R. "Following the Yellow Brick Road: How the United States Adopted the Gold Standard" Economic Perspectives. Volume: 26. Issue: 2. 2002. also online here
Ziaukas, Tim. "100 Years of Oz: Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' as Gilded Age Public Relations" in Public Relations Quarterly, Fall 1998
External links
Wikisource has the complete text of:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
This audio file was created from a revision of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz dated 2006-01-08, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at Project Gutenberg
"Down the Yellow Brick Road of Overinterpretation," by John J. Miller in the Wall Street Journal
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Audio Book a Librivox project.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900 illustrated copy), Publisher's green and red illustrated cloth over boards; illustrated endpapers. Plate detached. Public Domain – Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, full text and audio.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, an unabridged dramatic audio performance at Wired for Books.
The Baum Bugle: A Journal of Oz published by The International Wizard of Oz Club, provides frequent critical and historical information about L. Frank Baum and the Oz Series.
The Oz books
Previous book:
N/A The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
1900 Next book:
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Characters Princess Ozma · Dorothy Gale · Scarecrow · Tin Woodman · Cowardly Lion · Hungry Tiger · The Sawhorse · The Wizard of Oz · Good Witch of the North · Glinda · Wicked Witch of the West · Nome King · Mombi · Ugu the shoemaker · Tik-Tok · Jack Pumpkinhead · Aunt Em · Uncle Henry · Cap'n Bill · Unc Nunkie · Jellia Jamb · Woggle-Bug · Shaggy Man · Polychrome · Frogman · Cayke · Ervic · Belfaygor of Bourne · Toto · Billina · Eureka · Glass Cat · Button-Bright · Betsy Bobbin · Trot · Peter Brown · Wicked Witch of the East · Bell-snickle · Jenny Jump · Soldier with the Green Whiskers · Guardian of the Gates · Dr. Pipt · Ojo the Lucky · Ku-Klip · Nimmie Amee · Patchwork Girl · Jinjur · Woozy · Kabumpo · Sir Hokus of Pokes · Jinnicky the Red Jinn · Pigasus · Pastoria · Gayelette · Queen Lurline · Princess Langwidere · Queen Coo-ee-oh · Herby · Mrs. Yoop · Johnny Dooit · The Gump · Boq · Munchkins · Winkies · Quadlings · Gillikins
Adaptations Official canon The Wizard of Oz (1902) · The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) · Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz · The Land of Oz · The Patchwork Girl of Oz · The Magic Cloak of Oz · His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz · Wizard of Oz (1925) · The Wizard of Oz (1933) · The Wizard of Oz (1939) · Tales of the Wizard of Oz · Return to Oz (1964) · The Wonderful Land of Oz · Journey Back to Oz (1974) · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1975) · The Marvelous Land of Oz · The Wizard of Oz (1982) · Return to Oz (1985) · The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True · Lost in Oz · Dorothy of Oz · Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz (1987) · The Muppets' Wizard of Oz · Emerald City Confidential · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (comics) · Dorothy of Oz (2011) · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2011)
TV series The Wizard of Oz (1990) · The Oz Kids (1996)
Translations The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986 TV series) · The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz · Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz · Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde
Parodies The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's
Reimagining The Wizard of Mars · Zardoz · Oz · Twister · Tin Man
The Wiz Broadway Musical (1975) · Film (1978)
The Wicked Years Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West · Son of a Witch · A Lion Among Men · Wicked
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz"
Categories: 1900 novels | Children's fantasy novels | Oz books | Series of children's books | Literature featuring anthropomorphic characters | Kansas in fiction | American children's novels
Original title page.
Author L. Frank Baum
Illustrator W. W. Denslow
Country United States
Language English
Series The Oz Books
Genre(s) Fantasy Children's novel
Publisher George M. Hill
Publication date 1900
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback), Audiobook
Pages 259 p., 21 leaves of plates (first edition hardcover)
ISBN N/A
OCLC Number 9506808
Followed by The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. It was originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900,and has since been reprinted countless times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of both the 1902 stage play and the extremely popular, highly acclaimed 1939 film version. The story chronicles the adventures of a girl named Dorothy in the Land of Oz. Thanks in part to the 1939 MGM movie, it is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success, and the success of the popular 1902 Broadway musical Baum adapted from his story, led to Baum writing thirteen more Oz books.
Baum dedicated the book "to my good friend & comrade, My Wife", Maud Gage Baum. In January 1901, the publisher, the George M. Hill Company, completed printing the first edition, which probably totaled around 35,000 copies. Records indicate that 21,000 copies were sold through 1900.
The original book has been in the public domain in the United States since 1956. Baum's thirteen sequels entered public domain in the United States from 1960 through 1986. The rights to these books were held by the Walt Disney Company, and their impending expiration was a prime motivator for the production of the 1985 film Return to Oz, based on Baum's second and third Oz books.[citation needed]
Historians, economists and literary scholars have examined and developed possible political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. However, the majority of the reading public simply takes the story at face value.
Contents
1 Plot summary
2 Illustration and design
3 Sources of images and ideas
3.1 The Gold Standard representation of the story
4 Cultural impact
5 Critical response
6 Adaptations
7 See also
8 Footnotes
9 References
10 External links
Plot summary
This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (September 2010)
Dorothy is a girl who lives in a farmhouse in Kansas with her Uncle Henry, Aunt Em, and little dog Toto. One day the farmhouse, with Dorothy and Toto inside, is caught up in a tornado and deposited in a field in the Land of the Munchkins in the Land of Oz. The falling house kills the ruler of the Munchkins, the Wicked Witch of the East.
The Good Witch of the North comes with the Munchkins to greet Dorothy and gives Dorothy the Silver Shoes that the Wicked Witch of the East had been wearing when she was killed. In order to return to Kansas, the Good Witch of the North tells Dorothy that she will have to go to the "Emerald City" or "City of Emeralds" and ask the Wizard of Oz to help her.
On her way down the road paved with yellow brick, Dorothy frees the Scarecrow from the pole he is hanging on, restores the movements of the rusted Tin Woodman with an oil can, and encourages them and the Cowardly Lion to journey with her and Toto to the Emerald City. The Scarecrow wants to get a brain, the Tin Woodman a heart, and the Cowardly Lion, courage. All are convinced by Dorothy that the Wizard can help them too. Together, they overcome obstacles on the way including narrow pieces of the yellow brick road, Kalidahs, a river, and the Deadly Poppies.
When the travelers arrive at the Emerald City, they are asked to use green spectacles by the Guardian of the Gates. When each traveler meets with the Wizard, he appears each time as someone or something different. To Dorothy, the Wizard is a giant head; the Scarecrow sees a beautiful woman; the Tin Woodman sees a ravenous beast; the Cowardly Lion sees a ball of fire. The Wizard agrees to help each of them, but one of them must kill the Wicked Witch of the West who rules over the Winkie Country.
As the friends travel across the Winkie Country, the Wicked Witch sends wolves, crows, bees, and then her Winkie soldiers to attack them, but they manage to get past them all. Then, using the power of the Golden Cap, the Witch summons the Winged Monkeys to capture all of the travelers.
The Wicked Witch melts, from the William Wallace Denslow illustration of the first edition (1900).When the Wicked Witch gains one of Dorothy's silver shoes by trickery, Dorothy in anger grabs a bucket of water and throws it on the Wicked Witch, who begins to melt. The Winkies rejoice at being freed of the witch's tyranny, and they help to reassemble the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. The Winkies love the Tin Woodman, and they ask him to become their ruler, which he agrees to do after helping Dorothy return to Kansas.
Dorothy uses the Golden Cap to summon the Winged Monkeys to carry her and her companions back to the Emerald City, and the King of the Winged Monkeys tells how he and the other monkeys were bound by an enchantment to the cap by Gayelette.
When Dorothy and her friends meet the Wizard of Oz again, he tries to put them off. Toto accidentally tips over a screen in a corner of the throne room, revealing the Wizard to be an old man who had journeyed to Oz from Omaha long ago in a hot air balloon.
The Wizard provides the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion with a head full of bran, pins, and needles ("a lot of bran-new brains"), a silk heart stuffed with sawdust, and a potion of "courage", respectively. Because of their faith in the Wizard's power, these otherwise useless items provide a focus for their desires. In order to help Dorothy and Toto get home, the Wizard realizes that he will have to take them home with him in a new balloon, which he and Dorothy fashion from green silk. Revealing himself to the people of the Emerald City one last time, the Wizard appoints the Scarecrow, by virtue of his brains, to rule in his stead. Dorothy chases Toto after he runs after a kitten in the crowd, and before she can make it back to the balloon, the ropes break, leaving the Wizard to rise and float away alone.
Dorothy turns to the Winged Monkeys to carry her and Toto home, but they cannot cross the desert surrounding Oz. The Soldier with the Green Whiskers advises that Glinda, the Good Witch of the South (changed to the "North" in the 1939 film), may be able to send Dorothy and Toto home. They, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion journey to Glinda's palace in the Quadling Country. Together they escape the Fighting Trees, dodge the Hammer-Heads, and tread carefully through the China Country. The Cowardly Lion kills a giant spider, who is terrorizing the animals in a forest, and he agrees to return there to rule them after Dorothy returns to Kansas—the biggest of the tigers ruling in his stead as before. Dorothy uses her third wish to fly over the Hammer-Heads' mountain, almost losing Toto in the process.
At Glinda's palace, the travelers are greeted warmly, and it is revealed by Glinda that Dorothy had the power to go home all along. The Silver Shoes she wears can take her anywhere she wishes to go. She tearfully embraces her friends, all of whom will be returned, through Glinda's use of the Golden Cap, to their respective sovereignties: the Scarecrow to the Emerald City, the Tin Woodman to the Winkie Country, and the Cowardly Lion to the forest. Then she will give the Cap to the king of the Winged Monkeys, so they will never be under its spell again. Dorothy and Toto return to Kansas and a joyful family reunion. The Silver Shoes are lost during Dorothy's flight and never seen again.
Illustration and design
The book was illustrated by Baum's friend and collaborator W.W. Denslow, who also co-held the copyright. The design was lavish for the time, with illustrations on every page, backgrounds in different colors, and several color plate illustrations. The distinctive look led to imitators at the time, most notably Zauberlinda, the Wise Witch. The typeface was the newly designed Monotype Old Style.[citation needed]
Sources of images and ideas
Dorothy meets the Cowardly Lion, from the first edition.Baum acknowledged the influence of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, which he was deliberately revising in his "American fairy tales" to include the wonder without the horrors.
Local legend has it that Oz, also known as The Emerald City, was inspired by a prominent castle-like building in the community of Castle Park near Holland, Michigan where Baum summered. The yellow brick road was derived from a road at that time paved by yellow bricks. These bricks were found in Peekskill, New York where Baum attended the Peekskill Military Academy. Baum scholars often reference the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (the "White City") as an inspiration for the Emerald City. Other legends allude that the inspiration came from the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego, California. Baum was a frequent guest at the hotel, and had written several of the Oz books there.Baum said that the name "OZ" came from his file cabinet labeled "O-Z" Another influence lay in the Alice books of Lewis Carroll. Although he found their plots incoherent, Baum identified their source of popularity as Alice herself, a child with whom the child readers could identify; this influenced his choice of a protagonist.
The Gold Standard representation of the story
See also: Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
In 1964, Henry Littlefield claimed that the book contained an allegory of the late 19th-century debate regarding monetary policy.According to this view, the "Yellow Brick Road" represents the gold standard, the silver slippers (ruby in the film version) represent the sixteen to one silver ratio (dancing down the road). The thesis achieved some popular interest and elaboration but is not taken seriously by literary historians.
Cultural impact
The Wizard of Oz has been translated into well over forty different languages, at times being modified in local variations. For instance, in some abridged Indian editions, the Tin Woodman was replaced with a snake.
Russian author Alexander M. Volkov brought his own loose translation of the story to the Soviet Union in 1939 (the same year MGM released their film). The Soviet Union did not recognize foreign copyrights at the time, and neither Baum nor his family received any royalties for it. Volkov's version was published under the title The Wizard of Emerald City (Волшебник Изумрудного Города) and the country where the story takes place was changed from Oz, to "Magic Land". Volkov also took many liberties with the text itself, editing as he saw fit, and adding a chapter in which Dorothy, now renamed Ellie, is kidnapped by a man-eating Ogre and rescued by her friends. The Wizard is renamed "James Goodwin", the Scarecrow is called "Strasheela" (derived from a Russian word meaning "to scare"), and the Tin Woodman is called "the Iron Woodman". The four witches each have new names as well: Villina (The Good Witch of the North), Gingema (The Wicked Witch of the East), Bastinda (The Wicked Witch of the West), and Stella (The Good Witch of the South). Volkov subsequently wrote his own independent series of sequels to the book, even more tenuously based on Baum's books, including: Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers, Seven Underground Kings, The Firey God of the Marrans, The Yellow Fog, and The Secret of the Deserted Castle. Some characters in these sequels have clear origins in the original Oz books, such as Ellie's uncle Charlie Black, who is a combination of Baum's Cap'n Bill and Johnny Dooit, and Volkov's last book invokes the Forbidden Fountain. The latter three sequels feature, instead of Ellie and Toto, her younger sister Annie along with her own dog, Toto's grandson Arto, and her childhood friend Tim. Baum's original version and all of its sequels were later translated in a more faithful fashion, and Russians now see these two versions as wholly different series. In 1959, illustrations by Leonid Vladimirsky depicted Volkov's Scarecrow as short, round and tubby; his influence is evident in illustrations for translations across the Soviet bloc, where the Scarecrow is usually portrayed in this manner. Vladimirsky has written at least two additional sequels to Alexander Volkov's alternative Oz; two more Russian authors and one German have written additional sequels to the "Magic Land" stories. The books have been faithfully translated to English by Peter Blystone as Tales of Magic Land. These last two books were previously made available as Oz books through Buckethead Enterprises of Oz, but were translated loosely to make them Oz books.
References to The Wizard of Oz (and Magic Land) are thoroughly ingrained in British, American, Russian, and many other cultures. A mere sampling of the breadth in which it is referenced includes Futurama, Family Guy and Scrubs (the former parodied it in an episode, the latter based an episode on it), The Cinnamon Bear (a 1938 radio serial), RahXephon (a 2002 Japanese animated television show), Zardoz (a 1974 Sean Connery movie), Avatar (a 2009 fantasy film),The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (a 1997 Stephen King fantasy/Western novel), World of Warcraft(in the form of a boss fight), and the science fiction literature of Robert A. Heinlein, particularly The Number of the Beast. The Wizard of Oz Mystery, a murder mystery game based on the famous characters was released in 2007 from Shot In The Dark Mysteries. John Connor, a character in the Terminator series who sometimes uses the alias John Baum (presumably in honor of L. Frank Baum), stated that one of his favorite memories was of his mother reading him the story of the Wizard of Oz in Spanish as a child. The terminator series also references the Wicked Witch, Scarecrow and Tin Woodman in a few episodes. The character of Cypher in the 1999 movie The Matrix explicitly quotes a part of a line from the original book. In the film, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, reporter Polly Perkins meets with scientist Walter Jennings at Radio City Music Hall during a showing of the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film.
In 1967, The Seekers recorded "Emerald City", with lyrics about a visit there, set to the melody of Beethoven's "An die Freude".
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz. It was later made into a musical (also titled Wicked) that premiered on Broadway in 2003.
Many of these draw more directly on the 1939 MGM Technicolor film version of the novel, a now-classic of popular culture shown annually on American television from 1959 to 1991, and shown several times a year every year beginning in 1999.
Critical response
The novel received good critical notices upon release; The New York Times wrote in September 1900:
[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] is ingeniously woven out of commonplace material. It is of course an extravaganza, but will surely be found to appeal strongly to child readers as well as to the younger children … [the book] rises far above the average children's book of today, high as is the present standard.
In modern times, it is widely held as a classic of children's literature; however, it has repeatedly come under fire over the years. Some religious commentators, for example, have objected to Baum's portrayal of "good witches". On a more secular note, feminist author Margery Hourihan has described the book as a "banal and mechanistic story which is written in flat, impoverished prose" and dismissed the central character from the movie adaptation of the book as "the girl-woman of Hollywood".
Adaptations
Main article: Adaptations of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz has been adapted to other media numerous times, most famously in the 1939 film starring Judy Garland. There have been several preceding stage and screen adaptations, as well as subsequent stage and screen adaptations and sequels for theatrical release, television broadcast, and home video. The story has been translated into other languages (at least once without permission), and adapted into comics several times. Following the lapse of the original copyright, the characters have been adapted and reused in spin-offs, unofficial sequels, and reinterpretations, some of which have been controversial in their treatment of Baum's characters.
List of Oz books
Footnotes
1.^ On May 17, 1900 the first copy of the book came off the press; Baum assembled it by hand and presented it to his sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster. The public saw the book for the first time at a book fair at the Palmer House in Chicago, July 5–20. The book's copyright was registered on August 1; full distribution followed in September. Katharine M. Rogers, L. Frank Baum, pp. 73–94.
2.^ Oz Reference Home Page
3.^ a b Baum, L. Frank; Hearn, Michael Patrick (1973). The Annotated Wizard of Oz. New York: C.N. Potter. pp. 38. ISBN 0-517-500868. OCLC 800451.
4.^ The Writer's Muse: L. Frank Baum and the Hotel del Coronado
5.^ Schwartz, Evan I. (2009). Finding Oz: how L. Frank Baum discovered the great American story (illustrated ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 273. ISBN 0547055102.
6.^ Henry Littlefield, "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism," American Quarterly 16 (Spring, 1964), p. 50. The full text of this article is also online at www.amphigory.com/oz.htm.
7.^ Setting the Standards on the Road to Oz, Mitch Sanders, The Numismatist, July 1991, pp 1042-1050
8.^ David B. Parker, "The Rise and Fall of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a Parable on Populism," Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians, 15 (1994), pp. 49-63.
9.^ Responses to Littlefield - The Wizard of Oz - Turn Me On, Dead Man
10.^ a b Gjovaag, Eric (2006). "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Frequently Asked Questions: The Books". The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Website. http://thewizardofoz.info/faq02.html#20. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
11.^ Rutter, Richard. Speech Indiana Memorial Union, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (July 2000).
12.^ "Friends of the Emerald City (Volkov's)", EmeraldCity.ru
13.^ "James Cameron on 'Avatar': Like 'Matrix,' 'This movie is a doorway'". Los Angeles Times. August 10, 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/08/james-cameron-on-avatar-like-the-matrix-this-movie-is-a-doorway-.html. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
14.^ http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/oz/ozsect2.html To See The Wizard: Oz on Stage and Film]. Library of Congress, 2003.
15.^ "Books and Authors" (PDF). The New York Times: pp. BR12–13. 1900-09-08. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D00E2D9153FE433A2575BC0A96F9C946197D6CF. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
16.^ Houihan, Margaret. Deconstructing the Hero. pp. 209. ISBN 0-415-14186-9. OCLC 36582073.
[edit] References
Aycock, Colleen and Mark Scott (2008). Joe Gans: A Biography of the First African American World Boxing Champion. McFarland & Co, 133-139.
Baum, Frank Joslyn; MacFall, Russell P. (1961). To Please a Child. Chicago: Reilly & Lee Co.
Culver, Stuart. "Growing Up in Oz." American Literary History 4 (1992) 607–28.
Culver, Stuart. "What Manikins Want: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Art of Decorating Dry Goods Windows and Interiors", Representations, 21 (1988) 97–116.
Dighe, Ranjit S. (ed.) The Historian's Wizard of Oz: Reading L. Frank Baum's Classic as a Political and Monetary Allegory (2002)
Gardner, Martin; Nye, Russel B. (1994). The Wizard of Oz and Who He Was. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press
Gardner, Todd. "Responses to Littlefield" (2004), online
Greene, David L.; Martin, Dick (1977). The Oz Scrapbook. Random House.
Hanff, Peter E and Douglas G. Greene (1988). Bibliographia Oziana: A Concise Bibliographical Checklist. The International Wizard of Oz Club. ISBN 978-1-930764-03-3
Hearn, Michael Patrick (ed). (2000, 1973) The Annotated Wizard of Oz. W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-04992-2
Littlefield, Henry. "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism." American Quarterly. v. 16, 3, Spring 1964, 47–58.
Parker, David B. (1994) "The Rise and Fall of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a 'Parable on Populism'." Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians. 16 (1994): 49–63
Riley, Michael O. (1997) Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum. University of Kansas Press ISBN 0-7006-0832-X
Ritter, Gretchen. "Silver slippers and a golden cap: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and historical memory in American politics." Journal of American Studies (August 1997) vol. 31, no. 2, 171–203.
Rockoff, Hugh. "The 'Wizard of Oz' as a Monetary Allegory," Journal of Political Economy 98 (1990): 739–60 online at JSTOR
Rogers, Katharine M. L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz. New York, St. Martin's Press (2002).
Sherman, Fraser A. (2005). The Wizard of Oz catalog: L. Frank Baum's novel, its sequels and their adaptations for stage, television, movies, radio, music videos, comic books, commercials and more. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0786417927
Sunshine, Linda. All Things Oz (2003)
Swartz, Mark Evan. Oz Before the Rainbow: L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" on Stage and Screen to 1939 (2000).
Velde, Francois R. "Following the Yellow Brick Road: How the United States Adopted the Gold Standard" Economic Perspectives. Volume: 26. Issue: 2. 2002. also online here
Ziaukas, Tim. "100 Years of Oz: Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' as Gilded Age Public Relations" in Public Relations Quarterly, Fall 1998
External links
Wikisource has the complete text of:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
This audio file was created from a revision of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz dated 2006-01-08, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at Project Gutenberg
"Down the Yellow Brick Road of Overinterpretation," by John J. Miller in the Wall Street Journal
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Audio Book a Librivox project.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900 illustrated copy), Publisher's green and red illustrated cloth over boards; illustrated endpapers. Plate detached. Public Domain – Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, full text and audio.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, an unabridged dramatic audio performance at Wired for Books.
The Baum Bugle: A Journal of Oz published by The International Wizard of Oz Club, provides frequent critical and historical information about L. Frank Baum and the Oz Series.
The Oz books
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The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Characters Princess Ozma · Dorothy Gale · Scarecrow · Tin Woodman · Cowardly Lion · Hungry Tiger · The Sawhorse · The Wizard of Oz · Good Witch of the North · Glinda · Wicked Witch of the West · Nome King · Mombi · Ugu the shoemaker · Tik-Tok · Jack Pumpkinhead · Aunt Em · Uncle Henry · Cap'n Bill · Unc Nunkie · Jellia Jamb · Woggle-Bug · Shaggy Man · Polychrome · Frogman · Cayke · Ervic · Belfaygor of Bourne · Toto · Billina · Eureka · Glass Cat · Button-Bright · Betsy Bobbin · Trot · Peter Brown · Wicked Witch of the East · Bell-snickle · Jenny Jump · Soldier with the Green Whiskers · Guardian of the Gates · Dr. Pipt · Ojo the Lucky · Ku-Klip · Nimmie Amee · Patchwork Girl · Jinjur · Woozy · Kabumpo · Sir Hokus of Pokes · Jinnicky the Red Jinn · Pigasus · Pastoria · Gayelette · Queen Lurline · Princess Langwidere · Queen Coo-ee-oh · Herby · Mrs. Yoop · Johnny Dooit · The Gump · Boq · Munchkins · Winkies · Quadlings · Gillikins
Adaptations Official canon The Wizard of Oz (1902) · The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) · Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz · The Land of Oz · The Patchwork Girl of Oz · The Magic Cloak of Oz · His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz · Wizard of Oz (1925) · The Wizard of Oz (1933) · The Wizard of Oz (1939) · Tales of the Wizard of Oz · Return to Oz (1964) · The Wonderful Land of Oz · Journey Back to Oz (1974) · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1975) · The Marvelous Land of Oz · The Wizard of Oz (1982) · Return to Oz (1985) · The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True · Lost in Oz · Dorothy of Oz · Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz (1987) · The Muppets' Wizard of Oz · Emerald City Confidential · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (comics) · Dorothy of Oz (2011) · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2011)
TV series The Wizard of Oz (1990) · The Oz Kids (1996)
Translations The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986 TV series) · The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz · Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz · Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde
Parodies The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's
Reimagining The Wizard of Mars · Zardoz · Oz · Twister · Tin Man
The Wiz Broadway Musical (1975) · Film (1978)
The Wicked Years Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West · Son of a Witch · A Lion Among Men · Wicked
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz"
Categories: 1900 novels | Children's fantasy novels | Oz books | Series of children's books | Literature featuring anthropomorphic characters | Kansas in fiction | American children's novels
jueves, 7 de octubre de 2010
Sue Townsend and Adrian Mole Series
Sue Townsend
Born Susan Lillian Townsend
2 April 1946 (1946-04-02) (age 64)
Leicester, United Kingdom
Occupation Novelist, playwright, screenwriter, columnist
Language English
Nationality British
Genres Drama, Fiction, Screenplay
Notable work(s) Adrian Mole books
Spouse(s) Colin Broadway
Children Sean, Daniel, Victoria, Elizabeth
Susan Lillian Townsend (born 2 April 1946) is an English novelist and playwright, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole books. Although her writing primarily combines comedy with social commentary, she has also written purely dramatic works.
Contents
1 Biography
2 Awards
3 Works
3.1 Adrian Mole series
3.2 Other novels
3.3 Plays
3.4 Non-fiction
4 Footnotes
5 External links
Biography
Townsend was born in Leicester and went to Glen Hills Primary school, where the school secretary was Mrs Claricotes, a name she used for the school secretary in the Adrian Mole books. Her father was a postman and she was the eldest of five sisters. After failing her 11-plus exam, Townsend then went to the secondary modern South Wigston High School.She left school at the age of 15 and worked in a variety of jobs including factory worker and shop assistant. She married a sheet-metal worker and had three children under five by the time she was 22. She joined a writers' group at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester in her thirties.
She has four children: Sean, Daniel, Victoria and Elizabeth.
At the time of writing the first Adrian Mole book, Townsend was living on the Saffron Lane Estate, a stone's-throw away from the house in which playwright Joe Orton was brought up. The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole was reputedly based on her children's experiences at Mary Linwood Comprehensive School in Leicester. Several of the teachers who appear in the book (such as Ms Fossington-Gore and Mr Dock) are based on actual staff who worked at the school in the early 1980s. When the book was televised, it was mostly filmed at a different school nearby. Mary Linwood Comprehensive was closed in 1997.
The first two books in the series appealed to many readers as a realistic and humorous treatment of the inner life of an adolescent boy. They also captured something of the zeitgeist of Britain during the Thatcher period.
Townsend has suffered from diabetes for many years, as a result of which she was registered blind in 2001,and has woven this theme into her work.
On February 25, 2009, Leicester City Council announced that Townsend will be given the Honorary Freedom of Leicester (where she still lives) alongside singer Engelbert Humperdinck and former professional footballer Alan Birchenall.
In September 2009, she received a kidney from her son Sean after a 2 year wait for a donor. Surgery was carried out at Leicester General Hospital and Townsend spoke to reporters about the work of the UK National Kidney Federation. Her son who fears Adrian Mole is partly based on him is said to be "very proprietorial about what he still calls his kidney".
Awards
Year Award
1981 Thames Television Playwright Award for Womberang
2003 Frink award
2007 Two honorary doctorates, one from the University of Leicester and one from Loughborough University
2007 James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin
Works
Adrian Mole series
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1982), her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984)
The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole (1989)
Adrian Mole From Minor to Major (1991) is an omnibus of the first three, and includes as a bonus the specially written Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians.
Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (1993)
Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (1999)
Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004)
The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999–2001 (2008)
Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years (2009)
Other novels
Rebuilding Coventry (1988)
The Queen and I (1992), a story about the British royal family living a "normal" life on an urban housing estate following a republican revolution.
Ghost Children (1997), a non-comedic novel
Number Ten (2002)
Queen Camilla (2006)
Plays
Womberang (Soho Poly – 1979)
The Ghost of Daniel Lambert (Leicester Haymarket Theatre – 1981) Theatre closed in January 2007
Dayroom (Croydon Warehouse Theatre – 1981)
Captain Christmas and the Evil Adults (Phoenix Arts Theatre – 1982) now known as the Phoenix Arts Centre
Bazaar and Rummage (Royal Court Theatre – 1982)
Groping for Words (Croydon Warehouse – 1983)
The Great Celestial Cow (Royal Court Theatre and tour – 1984)
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4-The Play (Leicester Phoenix – 1984) now know as Phoenix Arts Centre
Disneyland it Ain't (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs – 1989)
Ten Tiny Fingers, Nine Tiny Toes (Library Theatre, Manchester – 1989)
The Queen and I (Vaudeville Theatre – 1994, toured Australia in the summer of 1996 and was entitled The Royals Down Under)
Non-fiction
Mr Bevan's Dream: Why Britain Needs Its Welfare State (1989)
The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (2001)
Born Susan Lillian Townsend
2 April 1946 (1946-04-02) (age 64)
Leicester, United Kingdom
Occupation Novelist, playwright, screenwriter, columnist
Language English
Nationality British
Genres Drama, Fiction, Screenplay
Notable work(s) Adrian Mole books
Spouse(s) Colin Broadway
Children Sean, Daniel, Victoria, Elizabeth
Susan Lillian Townsend (born 2 April 1946) is an English novelist and playwright, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole books. Although her writing primarily combines comedy with social commentary, she has also written purely dramatic works.
Contents
1 Biography
2 Awards
3 Works
3.1 Adrian Mole series
3.2 Other novels
3.3 Plays
3.4 Non-fiction
4 Footnotes
5 External links
Biography
Townsend was born in Leicester and went to Glen Hills Primary school, where the school secretary was Mrs Claricotes, a name she used for the school secretary in the Adrian Mole books. Her father was a postman and she was the eldest of five sisters. After failing her 11-plus exam, Townsend then went to the secondary modern South Wigston High School.She left school at the age of 15 and worked in a variety of jobs including factory worker and shop assistant. She married a sheet-metal worker and had three children under five by the time she was 22. She joined a writers' group at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester in her thirties.
She has four children: Sean, Daniel, Victoria and Elizabeth.
At the time of writing the first Adrian Mole book, Townsend was living on the Saffron Lane Estate, a stone's-throw away from the house in which playwright Joe Orton was brought up. The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole was reputedly based on her children's experiences at Mary Linwood Comprehensive School in Leicester. Several of the teachers who appear in the book (such as Ms Fossington-Gore and Mr Dock) are based on actual staff who worked at the school in the early 1980s. When the book was televised, it was mostly filmed at a different school nearby. Mary Linwood Comprehensive was closed in 1997.
The first two books in the series appealed to many readers as a realistic and humorous treatment of the inner life of an adolescent boy. They also captured something of the zeitgeist of Britain during the Thatcher period.
Townsend has suffered from diabetes for many years, as a result of which she was registered blind in 2001,and has woven this theme into her work.
On February 25, 2009, Leicester City Council announced that Townsend will be given the Honorary Freedom of Leicester (where she still lives) alongside singer Engelbert Humperdinck and former professional footballer Alan Birchenall.
In September 2009, she received a kidney from her son Sean after a 2 year wait for a donor. Surgery was carried out at Leicester General Hospital and Townsend spoke to reporters about the work of the UK National Kidney Federation. Her son who fears Adrian Mole is partly based on him is said to be "very proprietorial about what he still calls his kidney".
Awards
Year Award
1981 Thames Television Playwright Award for Womberang
2003 Frink award
2007 Two honorary doctorates, one from the University of Leicester and one from Loughborough University
2007 James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin
Works
Adrian Mole series
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1982), her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984)
The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole (1989)
Adrian Mole From Minor to Major (1991) is an omnibus of the first three, and includes as a bonus the specially written Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians.
Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (1993)
Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (1999)
Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004)
The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999–2001 (2008)
Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years (2009)
Other novels
Rebuilding Coventry (1988)
The Queen and I (1992), a story about the British royal family living a "normal" life on an urban housing estate following a republican revolution.
Ghost Children (1997), a non-comedic novel
Number Ten (2002)
Queen Camilla (2006)
Plays
Womberang (Soho Poly – 1979)
The Ghost of Daniel Lambert (Leicester Haymarket Theatre – 1981) Theatre closed in January 2007
Dayroom (Croydon Warehouse Theatre – 1981)
Captain Christmas and the Evil Adults (Phoenix Arts Theatre – 1982) now known as the Phoenix Arts Centre
Bazaar and Rummage (Royal Court Theatre – 1982)
Groping for Words (Croydon Warehouse – 1983)
The Great Celestial Cow (Royal Court Theatre and tour – 1984)
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4-The Play (Leicester Phoenix – 1984) now know as Phoenix Arts Centre
Disneyland it Ain't (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs – 1989)
Ten Tiny Fingers, Nine Tiny Toes (Library Theatre, Manchester – 1989)
The Queen and I (Vaudeville Theatre – 1994, toured Australia in the summer of 1996 and was entitled The Royals Down Under)
Non-fiction
Mr Bevan's Dream: Why Britain Needs Its Welfare State (1989)
The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (2001)
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