The Far-Distant Oxus

The Far-Distant Oxus

"The Far-Distant Oxus" is a children’s novel of 1937, written by Katharine Hull (1921-1977) [Carpenter and Prichard, 182.] and Pamela Whitlock (1920-1982) [Carpenter and Prichard, 569.] . The title is taken from Matthew Arnold’s poem "Sohrab and Rustum".

Hull and Whitlock met when they were schoolchildren (fourteen and fifteen respectively), whilst sheltering from a thunderstorm [Bearne and Watson, 56.] . They discovered shared interests and decided to write a story about ponies set on Exmoor [Bearne and Watson, 56.] . They planned out the entire book and wrote alternate chapters, exchanging them afterwards to edit [Bearne and Watson, 56.] . The story follows the model of the books of Arthur Ransome, describing the school holiday adventures of children of prosperous families, centred on outdoor activity and a vividly imagined landscape: Ransome had boats and Windermere, "The Far-Distant Oxus" had ponies and Exmoor. Whitlock sent the manuscript to Ransome in March 1937; he in turn brought it to his publisher Jonathan Cape, saying that he had "the best children's book of 1937" for him. [Brogan, 353.] Cape published the book in the same format as Swallows and Amazons, and persuaded Arthur Ransome write the introduction. The book, with illustrations by Whitlock, was indeed successful; contemporary reviewers were impressed and critics today are still positive. "The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books" comments that it is 'as absorbing as Ransome at his best' [Watson, 1121] . The two authors followed it with "Escape to Persia" (1938), "The Oxus in Summer" (1939) and "Crowns" (1947). [Carpenter and Prichard, 182.]

Fidra Books reissued the novel in August, 2008. [ [http://www.fidrabooks.com/publishing/hull-whitlock.shtml Fidra Books page on the book] ]

References

*"The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English", by Victor Watson, Cambridge University Press, 2001
*"The Life of Arthur Ransome", by Hugh Brogan, Jonathan Cape, 1984
*"The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature", by Humprey Carpenter and Mari Prichard, Oxford: OUP, 1984
*"Where Texts and Children Meet", by Eve Bearne and Victor Watson, Routledge, 1999

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alexander the Great — 356 323 B.C., king of Macedonia 336 323: conqueror of Greek city states and of the Persian empire from Asia Minor and Egypt to India. * * * or Alexander III born 356 BC, Pella, Macedonia died June 13, 323 BC, Babylon King of Macedonia (336–323)… …   Universalium

  • Silk in the Indian subcontinent — Silk in India as elsewhere, is an item of luxury.For more than four thousand years, this cloth produced from the cocoons of caterpillers, has been associated with crowned heads and riches throughout the different ages. As a designer once said… …   Wikipedia

  • Amu Darya — Coordinates: 44°06′30″N 59°40′52″E / 44.10833°N 59.68111°E / 44.10833; 59.68111 …   Wikipedia

  • Children's literature — For the academic journal, see Children s Literature (journal). Children s book redirects here. For the A. S. Byatt novel, see The Children s Book. Children s story redirects here. For the song, see Children s Story. Four children reading Dr.… …   Wikipedia

  • Arthur Ransome — author and journalist.He is best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children s books. These tell of school holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing;… …   Wikipedia

  • Kambojas — The Kambojas were a Kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in ( post Vedic ) Sanskrit and Pali literature, making their first appearance in the Mahabharata and contemporary Vedanga literature (roughly from the 7th century BCE).… …   Wikipedia

  • Silk Road — The Silk Road, or Silk Routes, are an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe. The so called Silk Routes… …   Wikipedia

  • History of Central Asia — The history of Central Asia has been determined primarily by the area s climate and geography. The aridity of the region makes agriculture difficult, and its distance from the sea cut it off from much trade. Thus, few major cities developed in… …   Wikipedia

  • Islāmic world — Introduction  prehistory and history of the Islamic community.       Adherence to Islām is a global phenomenon: Muslims predominate in some 30 to 40 countries, from the Atlantic to the Pacific and along a belt that stretches across northern… …   Universalium

  • India — /in dee euh/, n. 1. Hindi, Bharat. a republic in S Asia: a union comprising 25 states and 7 union territories; formerly a British colony; gained independence Aug. 15, 1947; became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations Jan. 26, 1950.… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”