E. Nesbit - The Railway Children, etc.

[Moonraker]

Some people dislike newer technology, as they feel they can't cope with it. I've known people who hated television, as they were afraid it would make the wireless obsolete. I remember colour television being disliked and as for the internet, there are still many people who would rather hate it than get to grips with it.

[Wolfgang]

I've known people who hated television, as they were afraid it would make the wireless obsolete.

The Buggles - Video killed the radio star ?

[Moonraker]

Nah, Tony Blackburn is still going strong!!!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Sadly, the 1976-77 TV series of E. Nesbit's The Phoenix and the Carpet has never been released on video or DVD, though the 1997 series has. I have happy memories of watching the 1970s series as a child, and it was after that that I started reading as many E. Nesbit books as I could. Cyril was played by Gary Russell, who went on to play Dick in the Famous Five series a year or two later.

There are a few brief clips on YouTube, and I was pleased to find a slightly longer one yesterday showing the disappearance of the Lamb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzBwAxGDAeg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The others, which I've seen before, are very short. One is a clip of the children flying on the magic carpet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCE-1RfoXWE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and the other shows the opening credits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8vX9KuVn1A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lots of children's dramas had deliciously eerie music in those days.

[Lawrie]

There was also what I remember as being a very good series of The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers which must have been made in the 70s/80s and which had a very catchy theme tune. I've never seen this on dvd or youtube, just the more recent film version which was too far removed from the book for my liking. I love the Bastables and the chapter in The New Treasure Seekers where Oswald and Alice dress up as "ladies" in an attempt to encourage sales of Albert-next-door's uncle's serial always makes me laugh out loud with Oswald failing to suck courage of any nationality from the sweets . Poor old Dora always gets a bad press though, doesn't she? I always thought Nesbit was a bit hard on her.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Yes, I remember the early 1980s TV series of The Story of the Treasure Seekers - and the slightly earlier The Enchanted Castle, which was excellent. I love it when Oswald and the other "treasure seekers" send off for bottles of wine to sell door to door, and decide to sample it first. It tastes too sour to them, so they "improve" it by adding sugar!

I suppose we're seeing Dora through Oswald's eyes, and to him she often seems too grown-up and proper and rather a killjoy. He obviously prefers the tomboyish Alice.

...my copy of The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit says it is unabridged and I discovered there is actually a passage missing...

I was interested to read your comment, Colette. I have quite a few E. Nesbit books, mainly paperbacks dating from between 1976 and 1982 (they were childhood favourites and I've read each one at least half a dozen times), and I was wondering whether they're likely to have been abridged. If you have time, would you mind saying more about which passage was removed? I'm curious to know what it was, and whether it's still there in my copy!

[Anita Bensoussane]

One thing I love about E. Nesbit is that she often has her characters refer to books or make comments about reading, e.g. near the beginning of The Story of the Treasure Seekers one of the children (who is the narrator of the story) says:

...I have read books myself, and I know how beastly it is when a story begins, "'Alas!" said Hildegarde with a deep sigh, "we must look our last on this ancestral home"'—and then some one else says something—and you don't know for pages and pages where the home is, or who Hildegarde is, or anything about it.

That makes me giggle because it is indeed exasperating when you have to wade through the first few pages of a book unable to picture anything properly in your mind because you don't yet know the ages of the characters, or what they look like, or where they are. E. Nesbit would certainly have approved of Enid Blyton's habit of introducing us to the characters and setting the scene at the beginning of a book.

[Katharine]

I'm about half way through The Treasure Seekers, and really love the way that the author starts out trying to write in a detached way, but ends up letting things slip so we can work out their identity. It's just how I would imagine a child to really write. Just like when they have a secret that they are desperate to keep, but end up blurting out in a moment of excitement.

[Colette]

...my copy of The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit says it is unabridged and I discovered there is actually a passage missing...

I'm sorry its somewhat vague... I say its a passage but I think its more of a sentence wherein Oswald says something about when he is a soldier and it gives a somewhat positive view / idea of war -- the kind of thing that could be written pre WW1 and WW2.. I'm pretty sure it was at the end of a chapter, possibly Chapter 13 The Dragon's Teeth..

Sorry again for the vague-ness!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks for the information, Colette. I'm glad to know it wasn't a large chunk of text.

[number 6]

I read the Railway Children book many years ago. I've seen the 1970 film with Jenny Agutter loads of times! A few years ago I took my Niece & her friend to Keighley for the day. We got a Steam train up to Haworth & commenced on a six mile circular walk, taking in the filming locations of the 1970 film. These included the Railway station (Oakworth), Brent House (the Three Chimneys..R/way Children's house) & Dr Foresters house (Bronte Parsonage). Great fun & really enjoyable.

[Fiona1986]

Sounds great! I love the 1970s film ("Daddy! My Daddy" still makes me cry!), I also like the 2000 film in which Jenny Agutter plays the mother, Jemima Rooper is Roberta and Richard Attenbourgh as the Old Gentleman.

[Katharine]

("Daddy! My Daddy" still makes me cry!),

Gets me every time. The kids can't understand why, and the more I try not to cry the worse I get. So I've come to the conclusion that it's best to only watch it by myself and then I can sob to my heart's content.

I don't think I've seen the newer version all the way through, just bits of it. Does that tug at the heart strings as much?

[Fiona1986]

Not great quality but the scene is on youtube

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HchuOhwLlGw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfMxfSbDZXI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Katharine]

Can't say it had quite the same feel to it, but maybe the picture quality didn't help. I think the music in the original version was also important in the build up. I didn't realise Michael Kitchen was Father, I really like him, he's got such a kind, restful face.