The Green Child is the only completed novel by the English anarchist poet and critic Herbert Read. Written in 1934 and first published by Heinemann in 1935, the story is based on the 12th-century legend of two green children who mysteriously appeared in the English village of Woolpit, speaking an apparently unknown language. Read described the story in his English Prose Style, published in 1931, as "the norm to which all types of fantasy should conform". Each of the novel's three parts ends with the apparent death of the story's protagonist, President Olivero, dictator of the fictional South American Republic of Roncador. In each case Olivero's death is an allegory for his translation to a "more profound level of existence", reflecting the book's overall theme of a search for the meaning of life. Read's interest in psychoanalytic theory is evident throughout the novel, which is constructed as a "philosophic myth ... in the tradition of Plato". The story contains many autobiographical elements, and the character of Olivero owes much to Read's experiences as an officer in the British Army during the First World War. The novel was positively received, although some commentators have considered it to be "inscrutable", and one has suggested that it has been so differently and vaguely interpreted by those who have given it serious study that it may lack the form and content to justify the praise it has received. (more...)
Recently featured: Elvis Presley – The Entombment – Sarah Trimmer Archive – By email – More featured articles... Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Child> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 475: Basiliscus became Byzantine Emperor after Zeno was forced to flee Constantinople. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basiliscus> 1839: The French Academy of Sciences announced the daguerreotype photographic process, named after its inventor, French artist and chemist Louis Daguerre . <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/daguerreotype> 1923: Lithuanian residents of the Memel Territory rebelled against the League of Nations decision to leave the area as a mandated region under French control. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Revolt> 1972: RMS Queen Elizabeth, an ocean liner which sailed the Atlantic Ocean for the Cunard White Star Line, was destroyed by fire in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Elizabeth> 1996: First Chechen War: Chechen separatists launched raids in the city of Kizlyar, Republic of Dagestan, which turned into a massive hostage crisis involving thousands of civilians. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye_hostage_crisis> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: from the word go (adv): >From the very beginning; from the outset; immediately upon starting <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/from_the_word_go> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: The individual is defined only by his relationship to the world and to other individuals; he exists only by transcending himself, and his freedom can be achieved only through the freedom of others. --Simone de Beauvoir <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_de_Beauvoir> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
