It is a source of irritation to me that Julian's parents never get called anything. We hear the three say 'Uncle Quentin' and 'Aunt Fanny' all the time when they are at George's parents' house, but George never calls Julian's parents by name at all. Most frustrating!MJE wrote: Most of the books don't identify any of their surnames other than George, who is consistently Kirrin.
Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
Well, we hardly see anything of Julian's parents at all, and I would be hard-pressed to think of any more than about two scenes, very brief, where George is with them at all. So maybe she doesn't really get any chance within those scenes to call them anything at all. But I suppose she does call them "Uncle so-and-so" and "Aunt(ie) so-and-so", even though we never see her doing this.Moonraker wrote:It is a source of irritation to me that Julian's parents never get called anything. We hear the three say 'Uncle Quentin' and 'Aunt Fanny' all the time when they are at George's parents' house, but George never calls Julian's parents by name at all. Most frustrating!
I can't say it's ever irritated me, or that I've even noticed it. It might be more obvious (to me) if the scenes where George is with them were longer or more frequent.
Regards, Michael.
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
I think it is in Five go off in a Caravan that it is most noticeable. The opening chapters take place at ? House in ?village with Uncle ? and Aunt ? .
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
Now it probably *is* going to niggle away at me next time I read that book.Moonraker wrote:I think it is in Five go off in a Caravan that it is most noticeable. The opening chapters take place at ? House in ?village with Uncle ? and Aunt ? .
Regards, Michael.
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
I think the gold supports them after this book. I know it bought Kirrin Island.unclealister wrote:
In the first Famous Five book we are told that Uncle Quentin doesn't earn much from his academic work. So we can only presume that he was being supported mainly by his wife.
Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
They already owned Kirrin Island, the money from the ingots meant they didn't have to sell it.
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
Miles Kington wrote a spoof FF short story which incuded a line about Anne struggling to remember what her father looked like. They didn't see them very often, so maybe they didn't know their parents' names eitherMoonraker wrote:It is a source of irritation to me that Julian's parents never get called anything. We hear the three say 'Uncle Quentin' and 'Aunt Fanny' all the time when they are at George's parents' house, but George never calls Julian's parents by name at all. Most frustrating!
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
True. They spent term times in boarding school and holidays away with George so they really couldn't have seen a lot of their own parents. I suppose that may have been what made them so independent.dsr wrote:Miles Kington wrote a spoof FF short story which incuded a line about Anne struggling to remember what her father looked like. They didn't see them very often, so maybe they didn't know their parents' names either
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
I recently read "Five Go Off in a Caravan," and Julian at one point refers to Aunt Fanny as Mother....
"Lucy, you want more backbone -– you've got your wishbone where your backbone ought to be!" -- "House-at-the-Corner"
Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
In fact in Five Have A Mystery To Solve, at one point Wilfrid refers to her Grandma as "Aunt," an observation that is well noted in my book, The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage!!!mynameisdumbnuts wrote:I recently read "Five Go Off in a Caravan," and Julian at one point refers to Aunt Fanny as Mother....
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
Still plugging the old book then. Is it a best seller yet? I must see if the Enchanted Wood library has it in stock.
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
Sorry, slightly off-topic, but I've just finished reading Five have plenty of fun and I absolutely love how Aunt Fanny just decides to disappear with Quentin for a couple of days, which later becomes a week, because she's a bit tired and could do with a break, despite the fact she's looking after a girl (Berta) who is being targeted by kidnappers. Also, neither of them bother to leave an address or telephone number should an emergency happen, which is obviously quite likely. It just seems rather out of character as Aunt Fanny is always portrayed as a very steady and dependable woman.
There is a nice tender moment between Fanny and Quentin though, when she says she'll accompany him on this trip he's having to go on to sort out a miscalculation with one of his equations, and the permanent frown momentarily disappears from his forehead.
There is a nice tender moment between Fanny and Quentin though, when she says she'll accompany him on this trip he's having to go on to sort out a miscalculation with one of his equations, and the permanent frown momentarily disappears from his forehead.
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
Ah - nothing like an equation to bring out a man's tender side.
Regards, Michael.
Regards, Michael.
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Re: Uncle Quentin & Aunt Fanny?
That's what you may call rubbing it in!Moonraker wrote:Is that short enough for you, Zaidi?! :wink:
Never mind - I wasn't annoyed at the comment. A question was asked, and I simply gave my answer to it. No problems at all.
Regards, Michael.
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