The railway children

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Railway Children is a book for children and young people by Edith Nesbit , originally published as a series in The London Magazine in 1905 under the English title The Railway Children and first published as a book in 1906. The first and so far (2010) only German-language edition comes from Irene Muehlon and was first published in 1959 by Steinberg-Verlag, Zurich . The book was made into a film several times; the best-known film adaptation is the 1970 movie Every morning the same train ( The Railway Children ) by Lionel Jeffries stops .

Summary

Mother and three children Roberta, Peter and Phyllis move to the country because father has to go to prison for alleged espionage for Russia and they can no longer afford the expensive town house. The three children no longer go to school and instead occupy themselves with roaming the area. They particularly like to be near the train station and the railroad tracks, where they watch trains and wave at travelers. They also make friends with the porter Perks and meet an old gentleman who regularly takes the 9:15 train into town. When a rock fall spills the rails, the children manage to warn the locomotive drivers in good time and prevent a major disaster. For this, they receive a reward from the old gentleman, who turns out to be the director of the railway company. Thanks to their friendliness and willingness to help, they have many good friends in their new home. They take in the Russian exile Szezcpansky as well as a boy who breaks his leg while playing in a train tunnel. It turns out that the old gentleman is his grandfather. Ultimately, thanks to his good contacts with other Russian exiles, the old gentleman can not only track down the von Szezcpansky family, but also prove their father's innocence. The book ends with the happy reunion of the family.

background

The subject of the man who is innocently jailed for espionage and ultimately acquitted may be traced back to the Dreyfus Affair , which had received a lot of attention a few years earlier. Also the Russian exile, persecuted by the tsar for writing a wonderful book about poor people and how to help them , and whom the children help, was probably inspired by the dissidents Sergius Stepniak and Peter Kropotkin , both with the Author were friends.

Film adaptations

The story has been filmed six times: four TV series, one movie, and one TV movie.

BBC television series

The story was filmed as a series four times by the BBC . The first series from 1951 consisted of four 30-minute episodes. A second series used parts of the first series, but also contained new material with slight cast changes. This series consisted of four episodes of 60 minutes each.

The BBC later produced series again in 1957 and 1968. The 1968 series reached 96th place in the BFI's 100 Greatest British Television Programs audience vote in 2000. In it, Jenny Agutter played as Roberta and Gillian Bailey as Phyllis. Of all the television series, only the series from 1968 still exists; it is available on DVD ; the rest are considered lost.

Motion picture

After the successful BBC series of the 1960s, actor Lionel Jeffries bought the film rights, wrote the screenplay and directed the 1970 film adaptation. Jenny Agutter and Dinah Sheridan played leading roles in the film. The music was composed, arranged and conducted by Johnny Douglas .

TV movie

In October 1999, ITV produced a new television film in history. This time Jenny Agutter played the mother. Other actors were Jemima Rooper and JJ Feild . Steam locomotives and rolling stock of the Bluebell Railway and the North British Railway C-Class 0-6-0 "Maude" of the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway were used .

Cast 1951 ( BBC ) 1957 (BBC) 1968 (BBC) 1970 (film) 2000 ( Carlton TV )
Mother Jean Anderson Jean Anderson Ann Castle Dinah Sheridan Jenny Agutter
Father John Stuart John Richmond Frederick Treves Iain Cuthbertson Michael Kitchen
Roberta Marion Chapman Anneke Wills Jenny Agutter Jenny Agutter Jemima Rooper
Phyllis Carole Lorimer Sandra Michaels Gillian Bailey Sally Thomsett Clare Thomas
Peter Michael Croudson Cavan Kendall Neil McDermott Gary Warren Jack Blumenau
Perks Michael Harding Richard Warner Gordon Gostelow Bernard Cribbins Gregor Fisher
Old gentleman DA Clarke-Smith Norman Shelley Joseph O'Conor William Mervyn Richard Attenborough
Dr Forrest John Le Mesurier John Stuart John Ringham Peter Bromilov David Bamber

theatre

In 2005 the musical was first presented at the Sevenoaks Playhouse in Kent, UK. The cast included stars like Nicholas Smith from Are You Being Served as the old gentleman, Paul Henry from Crossroads as Perks, and West End star Susannah Fellows as the mother. Richard John wrote the music, Julian Woolford wrote the script and lyrics. The music was recorded by TER / JAY and the musical was published by Samuel French Ltd.

A new stage adaptation by Mike Kenny was shown in 2008 and 2009, directed by Damian Cruden, at the National Railway Museum in York . The main roles were played by Sarah Quintrell , Colin Tarrant and Marshall Lancaster (2008 only), and a Stirling single steam locomotive (GNR 4-2-2 No. 1) built in 1870. It drove on the rails around the museum and was part of the set. Therefore, a raised stage was built for the performance. The York Theater Royal carried out the project with the participation of its young actors.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Guardian: How did E Nesbit come to write The Railway Children?
  2. ↑ York Theater Royal production
    British Theater Guide review

Web links