Though I have never been a fan of Harry, I have always been an ardent devotee of pop culture, so Potter-mania interests me for that reason. I’m marinating in it here, but I’m tickled by what’s going on there, and by there, I mean India.
By 7 am, Strand Book Stall, Fort, Mumbai, who opened their doors at 6.30 am sharp on July 21, had sold 2,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Queues of excited Potterwallahs, who had been in line since 6 am or earlier, wound themselves around the block in this busy Mumbai business district, where Saturday is usually a very quiet day.
Mothers and daughters, teenagers, young working people, plenty of youngsters with their parents and lot of oldies. all stood in a queue calmly clutching receipts for copies booked up to three months earlier.
The paan wallahs and chai wallahs nearby had seen this phenomenon before. “Yes it is for that book,” they said sagely. “I don’t know what the book is about.” [Rediff]
That is almost exactly what I said to a stranger, earlier today! 😉
And you muggle-borns? Did you skip to the last page, like the rowdy teens in Mumbai did?
I was on the subway in Manhattan Friday night a bit after midnight–freaking full of kids of all races w/ the new Potter book. I’m with the “at least they’re reading” crowd!
I’m totally with you on this one. Take Captain Underpants for example; that stuff is not “literature” by any means, but it gets kids giggling and into reading. I think of all the things that make it harder for kids to read (learning disorders, TV, internet, lack of access to books, etc., etc.), and I honestly think that anything that gives young people a positive reading experience is worth it. It doesn’t have to be of Chronicles of Narnia proportions, but I think it makes other books more accessible. I was a voracious reader, and I didn’t start with the Earthsea series, I started with Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Maniac Magee. That said, HP is not terrible children’s lit (or lit for that matter); it is certainly more sophisticated in its writing and plot than 50% of what’s on the fiction bestsellers list these days. No need to trash it because it’s popular. It doesn’t mean the demise of literature or desi civilization/culture; it’s just another window into reading.
couple this with the item recently posted about the magician opening a school for magic in India…
(a) my former grad student says that the government will apply “reservations” for all students.
(b) my former grad student has a new nick-name… “muggle-ji.”
I am not ashamed to admit that I stood in line with my son till 12:30 am on Friday to get the book( I did the same last year : do I get parenting brownie points?).He read it through Saturday and I just finished it a few minutes ago.That was satisfying but much darker than I expected for what essentially is a children’s book series
Shaad: Thanks for mentioning Anthony Buckridge .Do you remember Jennings and Darbyshire- I spent many a happy hour with them.Also Richmal Crompton – the “William ” series were sheer genius but I am sure you cannot get those books today – too outdated
The only book I read in that speed was the Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Potterwallah? Yes,Love HP! – to me JKRowling is a great story teller. I am enraptured by every book. I saw the latest movie and this movie is the best yet. Some of the other movie versions of HP I didn’t like, but this one was one continuous thrill ride.
I’m going to hold-out on reading the latest HP but so looking forward to it. The character Harry and friends are so relateable and when I read the first HP, it just touched my heart. HP comes from an abusive and neglected background and he strives to overcome those things even as he’s battling for his life. Not only do you get the magical adventures but you also get a character who struggles through everyday, life situations just like the rest of us in muggle-world — I love that about his character; his struggle to find self-esteem coming from a broken home and I feel the books encourage human kindness; so glad so many children are delving into it.
I was and still am an bookworm. Childhood books like A little princess, Narnia chronicles, Anne Green Gables, they actually have a profound effect on my sense of morality – I often can’t remember the actual plots or characters names, but the internal struggles of the characters I remember and the lessons of human kindness. So glad Rowling created HP; I can’t help but hope that other children will be moved by the moral issues in the book.
By the way in the latest movie the character of Luna “looney” Lovegood really stole the show.
That was satisfying but much darker than I expected for what essentially is a children’s book series
I don’t think if I have children that I’ll worry about the darkness of the HP books (not that I’m saying you think that runa, but I think a lot of parents have concerns about this) — did you read Narnia chronicles, so many parts were bone-chilling and the grimms fairy tales and bible stories and the greeks mythologies and of course the amar chithra katha versions of the mahabharata (loved them; fell in love with Krishna as a little kid) – such good stuff, with dark characters.
I was never disturbed by them as a child, but b/c there’s such a didactic bent and evil v/s good, I was drawn to the idea of “being good”, of overcoming evil. Of course as you get older your mind can take in the nuances of life, the gradations, unless of course you are George Bush. But for me, it was important to have that foundation of a memorable stories that spoke of good/evil struggles. The HIndu stories….talk about having to learn to understand human nuances!
I hope that the Harry Potter series gets kids interested in reading in general. I guess whatever it takes to get young people into books is probably good!
Re: 54
Runa, I remember Jennings and Darbyshire rather fondly indeed. As for the “William” series, they are still in print in the UK (there’s a boxed paperback set of the entire series available from amazon.co.uk). And while the books are definitely dated, I think they would still be appealing to children — after all, the thrill of those books lay not so much in the historical period as in William’s sheer rebellious nature and audacity.
Sorry to strike a cynical note in this thread full of hopes for children and fond remembrances of readings past, but NYT has this to say about HP and reading habits …
NYT link
Any social scientists on this thread care to comment?
Sorry to strike a cynical note in this thread full of hopes for children and fond remembrances of readings past, but NYT has this to say about HP and reading habits …
Maybe that’s ’cause in between all the assigned readings in high school and college, there’s really no time for personal reading! I see it in my own students — they are way too burned out to pick up a book during the academic, unless it’s at the cost of getting HW done. Harry Potter won’t change that!
Are the kids getting time to watch TV?
I personally have never read any of the books or seen any of the movies, but I found the following tidbit (regarding translating Harry Potter into other languages) from Wikipedia to be interesting:
“For reasons of secrecy, translation can only start when the books are released in English; thus there is a lag of several months before the translations are available. This has led to more and more copies of the English editions being sold to impatient fans in non-English speaking countries. Such was the clamour to read the fifth book that its English language edition became the first English-language book ever to top the bestseller list in France.[49]”
Ah, Amitabh-ji, I love your love of languages. 🙂
Ooh, I love Harry Potter. I am guilty of being a part of the commercialization too. I ordered the book on amazon but couldn’t resist and bought another copy at the local Borders. (I did the sane for HBP.) I have allergies which make opening my eyes impossible and still I read the book in 10 hrs (way longer than what I would’ve taken if my eyes were alright). What better way to lose eye sight than while reading the Harry Potter finale? 😀
Are the kids getting time to watch TV?
DVR = marathon tv-watching parties every few weeks!
And really, I can empathize if they choose TV over books in their spare time — after having to read The Oresteia or The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (or The Odyssey or other classic HS assigned reading), I don’t think I couldn’t muster up the energy for literature. Mindless TV or Harry Potter, though? Definitely. I consider myself to be a voracious reader — I’ll read anything, even if just to determine for myself that something is crap, e.g. chick lit — but I really feel as though I essentially stopped reading for pleasure between the ages of 14-20. I went from maybe 10 books/month (or more) to a few a year. Which, actually, is where I remain, since I reread so many of my books. Well, anyway, happy HP endings to those of you reading!
Mindless TV or Harry Potter
What!!? how could you put HP in the same sentence with mindless tv? But then I am an HP freak 🙂
PS, don’t worry, I love me some HP, too — see my comments earlier!! I just think it requires the same level of brain activity as watching TV, esp. thanks to JK’s mediocre prose. Granted, HP is much more exciting, but I don’t have to have my thinking cap all the way on (I’m not really into finding all the small clues, mistakes, etc.)
“Quelle horreur. First le big mac and now le ‘arry potter.” Serves the French right, I say.
I kid, I kid … 🙂
huh? Without HP, the number would have probably fallen more rapidly
If David Cronenberg directs a Harry Potter film adaptation, I’ll consider seeing it.
I was supposed to go to the launch party for the book, which was being held at 4:00 a.m. in one of Karachi’s few shopping malls, Park Towers. Then the news-readers informed everyone, with much giggling hysteria mind you, that two bombs had been found in the parking lot of the mall, and so my mother refused to let me out of the house. Fortunately the one decent retailer here delivered my copy to me at home at 7:00 a.m., I discovered it at noon, then skipped lunch to finish it off by 3:30. It’s been rather mental here as well–a disturbing number of people were clutching the book as they walked around the office today, and at least four friends texted me with warnings of dire consequences if I let slip any plot lines.
Damn’ house-elves. You can never trust them worth a damn.
Regarding criticisms of the Harry Potter series: I don’t get the underlying “JKR isn’t that great of a writer, but if it gets kids excited and into reading, that’s great” attitude or that her work is sub-par. This isn’t directed at anyone in particular here, just an observation I’ve noted right now since we’re discussing popular culture.
Literature, language, flow, etc. all change over time. JKR has written an epic on par with Lord of the Rings (who I’m a big geek about, too). Sure, they’re different, but at the end of the day, the result among readers is quite similar. Many are great technical writers, especially critics, but do they have the talent to write a tale, a book, a work of fiction that has the ability to captivate so many? I think not.
People can use arguments of commercialization, marketing, selling out, etc. Why is an artist/writer/talent blamed for becoming popular or so widely accepted? The notion that the public should accpreciate certain works vs. others is utter crap. As with any work of art, the level of appreciation (how much you like it) really depends on how the art expressed speakes to your own experiences. Obviously, in the case of fantasy/fiction, we’re talking about the more human elements. The greatness of the Harry Potter series is in it’s ability to speak to different audiences (adult, adolecent, children) and probably convey nuanced messages.
It’s strength and popularity is in it’s simplicity, yet brilliant story telling.
Critics who’re nitpicking this series should listen what the food critic had to say in Pixar’s latest movie, Ratatouille. That last monologue by the food critic really hits the mark about critics and those who create. When the greatness of creation significantly outweighs the human imperfections, is it really worth being so narrow minded simply to argue that imperfetions exist?
The Deathly Hallows is a solid ending to one of the most well told tales, and yes, an instant classic. For those who don’t agree this isn’t an instant classic, as the bulk of the current generation get older, it’ll be accepted as such anyway.
Regular sepia lurker, first time poster, had to de-lurk when it is HP being discussed. First of, I am a bookworm of the highest order. I love, love, love the HP series, I think it is some of the best children’s literature out there. Yes, I have read and loved LOTR, Narnia etc. I have read and have ALL of EB’s books, I love re-reading (even in my early-30s) Peter Pan, the Little Prince, the Wind in the Willows – all acknowledged classics … actually I really dislike this book snobbery; classics here, non-classics there. I will assert that HP, while definitely having grown from being a teen-preteen series to an adult level, is truly one of the all time greats. It grips you (I am usually gripped by any good writing) and pulls you into the HP world (I feel like I am in a Pensieve the whole time!) and you can’t stop till the book ends.
About being them being western and popular due to marketing hype, hogwash! The themes are universal – fight of good versus evil, an underdog taking on the strongest and winning mainly due to purity of heart & goodness of soul rather than any other ‘talent’ – how are these ‘Western’ concepts???? Marketing hype? I have lived in the US since August 2000 (came here for my PhD) and hadn’t heard of them in India or in the US till my sis back home started reading them in 2001 because a friend recommended them … & we live in Bombay and are regular customers at Crosswords so there was NO hype …. people got into it. I sent my grandmom (70 yrs old) the fourth book, she lives in Australia with my uncle’s family and she loved it. My cousins who were 8 and 10 got into the books through her! My f-i-l, who is another avid reader got into the books through me and is currently finishing the 7th one. We both re-read the 6th book just before the 7th was released … no hype, just very good storytelling.
As for reading fast, the record is Anne somebody who speed-read the book in 2.6 hrs or so – 4000 words a minute. I read it much slower in about 5 hours from 3 am to 8 am on Sat morn and felt that it was totally worth my lost sleep! Of course there were some ‘rough’ patches in the book, I didn’t the wandering bits so much and what happens to Snape is pretty pointless but all in all, a great book.
Anna, if you like LOTR, read HP. Don’t watch the movies till you read the books, they are at best 1% as good as the books.
Urmila and Gujudude – couldn’t agree with you guys more! There is so much character development in her writing, and it is just as much character-driven as plot driven. So much intricate description of an amazing world.
First time I really took notice of Harry Potter books was when my South Korean roomate in gradschool, who didn’t speak a lick of English when he came (the dude had an electronic hand held dictonary/translator for Lord’s sake), got totally hyped up about the first movie coming out the November of 2001. He had read the books in Korean and was totally a fan.
The simplicity of the prose/structure enables more accurate translation into other languages without really losing out on the essense of it’s story.
Also a great book 🙂 Maybe it’s what hooks you that drives the reading speed? I know that’s how it is for me. If I’m not into the story, it takes me forever. If I like what I’m reading, or it’s very accessible, it goes really quickly.
Ok, so now that I’m finished I can talk to my sister again. I was amazed by how quickly the book went by relative to other similarly lengthy books in the series (this one only took 5.5 hours!).
PS, I, too, love children’s books. I think they’re a totally underrated genre. What I remember about reading was that 1) it provided an escape when things were not great at home, and 2) I learned so much about human frailty, compassion, etc. And I think both things exist in the HP series — you can “get away” (but within the context of your own world), but you also have great characters. Oh, speaking of good children’s series, has anyone read The High King series by Lloyd Alexander (I think the official title is the Chronicles of Prydain). By far one of my most favorite kids’ fantasy series.
Oh, and I don’t think JKR is “mediocre” in her prose; she just writes very accessibly. I also don’t think we can credit her with a rise or fall in reading among young people. You would have to have several JKR-style book options to keep reading popular, but as milli (I think milli?) also mentioned, you have to give kids time to detox from school. I used to HATE reading for school because it would ruin the book for me. E.g., I had to read To Kill a Mockingbird in 7th grade and couldn’t get into it, but when I reread it for fun the summer after 8th grade I loved it. The only difference was that it was on my schedule and when I was in my own world.
Oh, as for HP5, I also really liked the actress who played Tonks!
Guardian OBO: Much more than cricket.
“OBO-ers have one last chance for this hilarious-yet-potentially-violent jape. This evening, on the train platform home, have a conversation into your mobile phone along the lines of “Yes. I stayed up until midnight on Friday to get it. Yeah – it’s great. Have you got to the part yet where Ron dies?” Then just sit back, listen out for the groans, and revel in the fact that you’re not the one reading the children’s book.” Yes, I can exclusively reveal the last line if you like. It was the very first line of the series I ever read. Would that be popular?
“If Ron actually does die, you’ll have made about 17 work-shy office workers who are both reading Harry Potter and OBO incandescent with rage. Imagine the reaction” says Tom Rothery. Yes. He dies. The last line…? “His bloodied corpse slumped against the wall, guts spilling out onto the concrete floor. Harry lit his last Marlboro and with a contented sigh, uttered: “suck on that, you ginger fool”.”
Absolutely! The character development of central as well as secondary figures and how the tid bits are sprinkled through the story, with the picture becoming more deep and rich as the series evolves is amazing. There are so many characters and each plays a peculiar role in the plot. Wrapping all of this together into something cohesive is nothing short of brilliant.
Hmm. This statement seems eerily applicable for another cinematic contribution.
how come nobody’s mentioning the obvious here? The book is racist!
come on, harry -> hairy? potter -> pre-industrial developing society? a “hero” who’s bespectacled and does nothing, and is always in need of help from dashing young woman — who’s white! Hello, white (wo)man’s burden?
I won’t hesitate to admit I don’t read H.P. — but it’s because it is imperialist and racist!
What I remember about reading was that 1) it provided an escape when things were not great at home, and 2) I learned so much about human frailty, compassion, etc.
Absolutely!
Oh, speaking of good children’s series, has anyone read The High King series by Lloyd Alexander (I think the official title is the Chronicles of Prydain).
No, I’m not familiar with them…Tuck Everlasting – that was a powerful children’s book. After I read it I was happy that one day I was going to die (I mean that I wasn’t afraid of dying)! Don’t mean to veer away from the Potterwalla topic though.
I swear, I had a feeling you/someone would come out with this. Frankly, it’s applicable to all art. There is a difference between fiction and non-fiction works though and how one judges each.
Non-fiction is stranger.
Hypertree I trust your comment was snark or some variation thereof … it made absolutely no sense….
Camille & PS, I haven’t read those books you guys mention, will try & pick them up … I think children’s lit is actually as interesting a genre as any other, I even read & like Judy Blume’s Fudge series! 🙂 In my opinion, books provide a way to escape your world, whether things are bad at home/school/work or whatever, they are a wonderful escape. Of course, I love to read when I am happy too – most books make me feel happier and content … some greats can make me cry like a baby too.
About reading speed, well, I am a bit of a speed reader, I even read the Fountainhead in about 7 hrs … my father refused to believe me and quizzed me for days on the material, the last laugh was mine because I answered all his questions correctly! For me the test is of a ‘good’ or gripping book is how many times I want to read it. My favourites have been read over and over again, even though I get into the book each time, I feel like I discover new layers when I reread. Especially the HP series that we are discussing, I really got all the myriad connections between the books only on second or even a third reading …. if I like reading a book more than once and still feel like reading it again … that’s a really good book for me.
I don’t get why reading for school should put anyone off a book, to be fair, I never had to read a specific book for school. In my school, we had to pick any book we liked from the school library (from our grade level) and then write a book report on it. I loved that and loved the books I picked … maybe it is the compulsory reading? To Kill a Mockingbird was lovely but I really appreciated it only when I got older and knew more about the world esp America. But I do think that TV puts people & esp kids off books. When you can get your entertainment with so little exertion of brainpower, it makes people reluctant to think. When I grew up, books and playing with friends were your primary source of fun. We had TV but very few channels and only about an hour a day was worth watching. There is no way JKR or any one author can change this, I believe parents must first introduce their children to the joys of reading before letting them see TV … my mom used to reward me with a Amar Chitra Katha for every nice drawing or nicely written A,B,C and I was hooked at 4! After that I was introduced to EB and since then all my disposable income (every naya paisa of my pocket money back then) has been reserved for books. Someone mentioned Richmal Crompton & Anthony Buckeridge, I loved and still love William and Jennings, wish there were more female madcap characters!
BTW all Washington DC/Baltimore sepia readers should check out The Book Thing whose mission is to give away free books! Of course you don’t get the latest books but I have picked up quite a few all time greats including PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Steinbeck and even hard to find (and therefore buy) books like one of the Billy Bunter series by Frank Richards – which is a laugh riot if you haven’t read them.
Urmila:
I had the misfortune to be “assigned” quite a few very good and great books by English teachers who were unimaginative and dictatorial in their educational skills. So “The Great Gatsby,” “One Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” “Lord of the Flies,” and even “Catch-22” were all turned into dull, rote, stupid assignments that sucked all the juice out of them. Powerful stories, but when you have 20 mandatory short-answer questions at the end of each chapter demanding your understanding of theme, narrative structure, character development, etc. you quickly lose sight of the actual work in question.
It took me 25 years to forget that kind of trauma and revisit them, and do you know? I still had literal flashbacks to the paperback versions I had to read when I was a kid.
Bleah.
Salil, I cannot imagine Catch-22 ever being dull .Sorry that the assignment ruined what is my favorite book ever for you.Joseph Heller was a genius
Urmila, what’s not to make sense of, it pains me to see H.P. fans blind themselves so It reminds me of how desi Obama fans blinded themselves to “memo-gate”…
Oh yes, I loved the Magic Faraway Tree books.
Salil:
That really sucks! I hate questions like narrative structure, character development, plot points etc. That is why our free form critiques in the form of book reports, where we judged not only for our understanding of the stories, the layers within them and the nuances but also for the quality of our writing, were so much more fun. It’s especially sad that such great works of books were rendered dull & boring due the assignments.
sorry – bad editing in my previous comment
especially sad that such great books were rendered dull & boring due the assignments.
I think you’re right, the book I mentioned is a great story, and just like HP, there’s lots of characters that wear pointy hoods. No potions though.
Re: 73
I don’t see anything wrong with the second part of the statement. If it does indeed get kids excited and into reading, then that’s nothing to be sneered at. As for some of the posters considering Rowling not to be that great a writer, that’s a perfectly acceptable subjective opinion, isn’t it? I, for instance, find her to be a writer who is good and who has improved over the course of the series, but don’t consider the books to be on a par with those I view as “great” in children’s literature. Similarly, there are posters here like you who consider the series a classic. I believe we are both entitled to our opinions, aren’t we?
Probably not, but does that make their critiques invalid? Or do we all have to publish and sell more books than author X in order to critique X’s work?
I don’t believe most of the “critics” here are such elitist prigs that they would suggest that an artist/writer/talent is less talented simply because of the popularity of her work. However, you might want to be slightly cautious about the converse — equating great popularity with great art. Unless, of course, you want to suggest that Dallas or Baywatch are examples of great art in television.
A little too soap opera-esque for me, but enjoyable nevertheless.
Personally, and without providing spoilers, the ending smacked a little too much of deus ex machina to me. But as I’ve already mentioned, it was still thoroughly enjoyable. If it does end up being considered a classic by the current generation, that’s great. If it doesn’t, that’s fine too. What matters, to me at least, is that a series of rather enjoyable books were available for reading, by me and by many children who generally tend to prefer movies, television, and video games to books.
Re: 85
Urmila, I believe that was me. As for female madcap characters, the two school series by Blyton, Malory Towers and St. Clare’s, featured a decent number of arguably madcap protagonists in girls’ boarding schools.
To add to # 94 Enid Blyton also wrote the “naughtiest girl ” series with quite the madcap heroine.
Also I know EB is outdated and very un- PC by today’s standards but George( Georgina) of the Famous Five was the one character that I identified with so much when growing up ( maybe because I was a bit of a tom-boy myself!)
Nothing wrong with the statement in itself, however it’s used as a passive-aggressive way of saying her overall product is sub-par. In my post, I mention JKR isn’t the best technical writer out there, but using that as a knock against the complete finished product of fantasy fiction she’s presented tends come off as weak.
No, not at all, nor was that my point. Everyone has an opinion, I was just saying that many who say she isn’t the best techinical writer out there, don’t admit that her other abilities as a writer setting the plot, character development, the flow, etc (which counts) is good.
I did not specifically say most or all, or how many. My post was in response to certain observations I’ve noted through the Harry Potter series in the time (since 2001) that I’ve been following. There is a segment that are elitist pigs, who were far more vocal before, though you’ll see a glint of it here and there now. Like I said – this isn’t directed at anyone here particular, just something I’ve noted. And no, Baywatch isn’t great art. Unless you take the skill of plastic surgeons into account who should get royalties for that show. I’m definitely not arguing an absolute position here. More popular does not equal artistically better. Less popular does not equal artistically better, either.
I’ve heard this and it’s fine by me. I can see how it is soap opera-esque. It’s hard to avoid any ‘drama’ when you’re talking about middle school-highschool aged kids.
Agreed 110%. The books are entertaining, accessible, and something that can be discussed by children and their parents together in an enviroment that has far more options for their limited attention/time.
Er, since obviously a number of you are 1.5-gen like me and are wallowing in the book-related nostalgia brought on by this thread, I have to ask: do any of you remember a series of English textbooks from our schooldays called “Fundamental English”? While teaching the basics of grammar and comprehension, it also featured short stories about a middle-class English family, the Bargerys, that gradually “grew up” with us in a manner reminiscent of Harry Potter and his readers.
Salil, amen brother! I don’t think anything quite sucks the life out of a book the way pedantic, unimaginative reading assignments do. Most of the time we weren’t even reading for themes or style, we were doing quote identification (one of my least favorite tasks of all time). The worst is, like you mentioned, that many of these books are amazing when read in their own stride and on your own terms.
Urmila, I totally agree. I was just talking to a friend about this, but I still have all my favorite children’s book series, and I used to reread all of them throughout college.
I also, for the record, really like the Dealing with Dragons series, which is really witty and has excellent female main characters. I don’t know if it’s lit in the same umbrella as Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, etc., but it is funny contemporary young adult lit.
HMF, is it any coincidence that both Malcolm X and Harry Potter feature “pure blood” adherents who push a policy of eugenics? Hmmm…
Shaad, I have to tell you, having called the HP ending two years ago when I finished Book 6, I felt entirely vindicated and self-satisfied/smarmy. Still do, actually 🙂 What was remarkable to me was that, having called it, I didn’t feel disheartened like I normally do. I felt pretty satisfied/content.
Shaad:
and Runa
Well, I meant more the William type character, who really doesn’t give a fig for authority and if he could get away with it, would never ever go to school! As for Jennings, while he has admirable motives, all his endeavors end badly (for him, for us it is lots of laughs). None of EB’s characters except maybe Mr. Muddle have any of that kind of zaniness. Most of EB’s females are really into school, want to do well and to have fun … pretty much in that order. Since that was a good description of me (when I didn’t have my nose buried in a book!) I really identified! But underneath all the fun – they were all girls who respected authority and had fun in pretty much the ‘approved’ manner (barring the occasional midnight school feasts) except for Elizabeth (the Naughtiest Girl) and even she held out only for 1 term.
Just want to say I am having so much fun discussing these books, they were my staple for so many years! 🙂
Shaad, I never read ‘Fundamental English’ but then I am not a 1.5 gen … is it something you studied in the US? In India, Bombay (SSC) we used Wren and Martin for Grammar and a state textbook for English (apart from the books for the book report of course).
Re: 98
Written by Patricia Wrede, weren’t they, Camille? Her books do tend to feature strong female protagonists. A slightly more adult series by her and Caroline Stevermer is the Cecelia and Kate series, which features the adventures of the protagonists with sorcery and polite society in a Regency-era world, and is written in the form of epistolary novels/letter games. I believe she also had another pair of pseudo-Regency romances featuring Mairleon the Magician.
Re: 99
Urmila, I think you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head. While there were books with female protagonists in our childhood, after all was said and done, there was still that unspoken double standard: only boys could be allowed to be total rebels, girls were still expected to be young ladies. Fortunately, that seems to have changed in the current crop of children’s literature: Cimorene in the Dealing with Dragons series, Lyra in the His Dark Materials trilogy, Hester Shaw in the Hungry City Chronicles, Sabriel in the Old Kingdom trilogy, etc.
By the way, I’m using the Sepoy Mutiny “definition” of 1.5 gen: went to high school in the homeland (Bangladesh) and college in the States. And yes, we had Wren and Martin too. What was interesting and appealing about the Fundamental English series though, was seeing the day-to-day life of the fictional Bargery family, their challenges, small victories, trials and tribulations: dealing with school, then careers and romance, deaths in the family, etc. With hindsight, I realize that there was even a cliched gay friend of the family, portrayed of course as a very proper bachelor “uncle”, but one who knew people in the art world and was able to enroll the youngest Bargery sibling in an Art academy, when he showed a talent for painting.