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Tom's Midnight Garden

Tom's Midnight Garden

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Pearce followed the fantasy of Tom's Midnight Garden with a more realistic novel, A Dog So Small The central figure of this novel is a lonely boy, Ben, who is obsessed with the desire to have a puppy. His disappointment when he does not receive one on his birthday is enormous. When he eventually does get the much wanted pet, he finds that a real dog does not measure up to his imagined chihuahua. This book is essentially a character study, and Ben is a convincing protagonist, whose relationship with his grandfather further explores the theme of childhood and old age.

Tom's Midnight Garden is a children's fantasy novel and is often referred to as a time-slip novel. This means that the novel uses a plot device whereby characters seemingly time travel, and we see this through the protagonist Tom, who travels to various stages of Hatty's life through the midnight garden. The time-slip device was popular in children's novels at the time Phillipa Pearce was writing, which includes the novel Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer.

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Oh! How do I express my gladness to have experienced this book? I can’t believe it’s from 1958. It could be a 1970s child, who feels his summer was forfeited by spending it with his apartment-dwelling Aunt. He loves his family’s yard and his Aunt only has trashcans on cement. With his brother ill, away he goes. His Aunt is keen to take him out but his Uncle is my least favourite type; debating whatever you utter. I love that Tom issues metaphysical challenges to him! But, above all, it is a narrative of great elegance, simply told, and leaving you with insights into the nature of time, and memory." (Penelope Lively) Anyway the book is a great tale of loneliness and discovery put in a fashion only a rather frustrated and at times angry boy can put it. The tale is delightful and one of hope which I think sometimes is missing in the world. It has been several years since I last read this beautifully enchanting and somewhat haunting time-slip tale about childhood, friendship, adolescence and the ocean swept passages of time. Whilst one of the reasons I don’t watch this type of children’s drama is that I generally can’t stand child actors, finding their performances often very wooden or even worse, seriously over the top, Jeremy Rampling’s portrayal of the lonely and bored ‘Tom Long’ is commendable for a young actor. Although not perfect throughout, overall his performance is secure and believable. Similarly, his co-star Caroline Waldron as’ Hatty’ is slightly over the top at times. However, as the series goes on and the two spend more screen time together, both seem to develop a good relationship, convincing the audience of their growing friendship. Another noteworthy, although brief, performance is that of Renếe Asherson as ‘Mrs Bartholemhew. Asherson manages to give off a great mysterious, stern and scary feel as the little seen and unwelcoming landlady and yet her humanity and joy is overwhelming at the end.

Can you interview a gardener and find out about all of the tasks that they have to do in the garden? Researcher Ward Bradley, in his review of various modern stories and books depicting Victorian British society, criticized Midnight Garden for "romanticizing the world of the 19th-century aristocratic mansions, making it a glittering 'lost paradise' contrasted with the drab reality of contemporary lower middle class Britain.(...) A child deriving an image of Victorian England from this engaging and well-written fairy tale would get no idea of the crushing poverty in the factories and slums from where mansion owners often derived their wealth". [9]

After gaining her degree, Pearce moved to London, where she found work as a civil servant. Later she wrote and produced schools' radio programmes for the BBC, where she remained for 13 years. She was a children's editor at the Oxford University Press from 1958 to 1960 and at the André Deutsch publishing firm from 1960 to 1967. Do you think you would keep the secret of the Midnight Garden or would you share it with your friends? On the final night before Tom is due to go home, he goes downstairs to find the garden is not there. He frantically tries to find it, but crashes into a set of bins from the present–day courtyard, waking up several residents. He shouts Hatty's name in desperation, before his Uncle Alan finds him and puts the events down to Tom sleepwalking. The following morning, Mrs Bartholomew summons Tom to apologise, only to reveal herself as Hatty, having made the link when she heard him call her name. The events Tom experienced were real in Hatty's past; he has stepped into them by going into the garden at the times she dreamt of them. On the final night, she had instead been dreaming of her wedding with Barty. There isnt much to criticise about this book at all. Just know this is a gentle paced novel with a quintessentially English setting. The final scene is the most heartwarming and moving scene in a children's book that I've so far encountered. Prior to this, my most moving scene was in the book Charlotte's Web (1952) specifically when the many baby spiders appear in the barn one morning while Charlotte (the lady spider) is explaining to Wilbur (the pig) the passing of time. The difference between the two is that the characters in this book, Tom and the elderly Hatty, are real people so it is easy to identify with them. They don't talk about anything profound like Charlotte and Wilbur but the revelation is so gripping that would not think that this book was published during the time when your parents were probably not born yet (1958).

Tom is the protagonist of the story. He is a likable boy who is in quarantine in Cambridge because Peter, with whom he is close, has the measles. Although Tom has shown now symptoms he is quarantined just in case. Tom is a gregarious boy who is bored and extremely lonely at his aunt and uncle's apartment. He is also fidgety because he has literally nothing to do all day and is not burning up any energy at all. UK, Oxford University Press ( ISBN 0-19-271128-8), Publication date: 31 December 1958, hardcover (first edition) date: 25 November 2023 Tom’s Midnight Garden (1958) Source: The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature Author(s): Daniel Hahn Pearce left me with mixed feelings throughout my reading of her book. It is without a doubt that her rich language has created a magical, vivid world- one that all children would want to be a part of. It is this language that makes it all the more heartbreaking when Tom has to leave this world, live in the present and move on with his life. Overall, I can’t really say if I fully enjoyed this mini-series or not. It was a good adaption of the novel, the acting was largely good, and the special effects were not awful. It’s not really my usual cup of tea and I guess my desire to watch the adaption was probably more of a nostalgic look at my youth, or maybe I even felt a little remorse for being so adamantly against this type of children’s drama at the time and therefore felt I should give it a go. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed it enough to make it through to the end and I was indeed drawn into the lives of both Tom and Hatty, even shedding a tear at the end, which surprised me.One of the many reasons for its ultimate impact is that it has the most profoundly moving revelation last act that brings the whole journey to an emotional crescendo. Tom's Midnight Garden is a short but extremely satisfying novel. It is tightly plotted and populated with interesting and believable characters. When the book ended I was both happy to have enjoyed the book and sad to say goodbye to Tom and Hatty. Of course, I was partial to Hatty, having a Harriet of my own. But even without that personal connection, I would have loved the novel.

Ezard, John (21 June 2007). "Pullman children's book voted best in 70 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-18. Choose some key points in the story and describe how Tom is feeling at each point (e.g. at the start of the story, when he discovers the midnight garden…). At the start of Chapter Four, Tom talks to his uncle and aunt about lying. Is lying always wrong? Is it ever justifiable? How does lying affect the people involved? Also, this is no Time Traveler's Wife, (a personal favorite), even though that was the book that kept popping into my mind as I read this. Obviously, it's a children's book; as noted above, it's (extremely) dated; I must admit, I didn't love the prose - by modern standards, it's heavy and stilted and ... not just British, but formal/stuffy to the point of distraction....

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Tom's Midnight Garden is a children's fantasy novel by English author Philippa Pearce. It was first published in 1958 by Oxford University Press with illustrations by Susan Einzig. The story is about a twelve-year-old Tom who, while staying with his aunt and uncle, slips out at midnight and discovers a magical, mysterious Victorian garden where he befriends a young girl named Hatty. The novel has been reissued in print many times and also adapted for radio, television, cinema, and the stage.



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