Moonfleet

Product Information

Each chapter starts by building up a suspense or some thrill, like a microcosm of the whole story. That either reaches its conclusion or becomes a cliffhanger, by the end of the chapter. I was actually *more* patient with convoluted, old-fashioned prose when I was a kid than I am now, but I would have not finished this book. The friend who gave it to me read it at eight and only remembers how dull it was. John gives the money to the village, and new almshouses are built, and the school and the church renovated. John marries Grace and becomes Lord of the Manor and Justice of the Peace. They have three children, including their first-born son, Elzevir. The children grow up, the sons going away to "serve King George on sea and land" while their daughter too, it seems, has married away. But John and Grace themselves do not leave their beloved Moonfleet ever again. Plus I’m working on a smuggling story, so when I heard about John Meade Falkner’s Moonfleet, I just had to read it! Set in the mid-eighteenth century (though written about 150 years later), it tells the story of John Trenchard, a teenage orphan growing up in an impoverished coastal village in southern England. He is being brought up by an aunt who is more strict than loving, but finds affection and some parenting among the older men of the village. He also has a crush on a girl, the daughter of the wealthiest man in town; she has been a childhood pal but now is more to him. The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air released a 300-minute production of the book in May 2009, starring Jerry Robbins, David Ault, and Rob Cattell. It was dramatised by Deniz Cordell, and produced by M. J. Cogburn.

John arrives where he originally started, in the Why Not?, and is reunited with Ratsey. He is also reunited with Grace. She is now a rich young lady, having inherited her father's money. However, she is still in love with John. John tells her about the diamond and his life in prison. He regrets having lost everything, but she says, rich or not, she loves him. A 90-minute BBC radio version was first broadcast in 1998 on BBC Radio Four, and starred Richard Pearce as John Trenchard, along with Robert Glenister and James Laurenson.

Read and discussed with Gundula--see comments below. You and I always have fun discussing books. Thank you for the shared experience. a b c d Handzo, Stephen. "JOHN HOUSEMAN THE PRODUCER'S SIGNATURE INTERVIEW". Film Comment. Vol.11, no.2 (Mar/Apr 1975). New York. pp.18–21.

Brimming with bravery, atmosphere and all-out action, this is a tale to be dazzled by, and lose yourself in. Smugglers, betrayal, murder, love, avarice, it would be difficult to say what Falkner’s late 18th Century tale of adventure doesn’t have. In my opinion Moonfleet equals Stevenson’s or Twain’s works although it’s never quite received the same recognition. This book surprised me. Adventure tales are usually not my cup of tea. This story grabbed me and did not let me go.

LoveReading4Kids Says

Moonfleet is considered to be a classic work of fiction, and continues to be published in series such as Dover Children's Evergreen Classics.

Granger later said: "I hated working with Fritz Lang – he was a Kraut and it was a bloody awful film. I wanted to produce and act it in Cornwall and made them buy the book. MGM turned it into a big colour film. Moonfleet was not Lang's type of film – it is a romantic child's film. It wasn't a bad part." [14] Houseman says one time during filming his associate producer, Jud Kinberg, "came down to the stage and heard this awful caterwauling. As he got near he heard: [German accent] "You are not a professional! We pay you a lot of money to be a professional actor, and it seems to me you are stupid, you are lazy, you are nothing at all...!" Jud came around the corner, and saw that the recipient of this was a little boy of eleven!" [8] The little boy being referred to was obviously Jon Whiteley, as he was the only boy actor in the film. But Jon was only nine years old during the filming and not eleven. The writing wobbles a few times, Falkner is a little too fond of the word ‘lief’ and describing a man as having ‘the finest forehead that I ever saw’ sounds very silly, what consists a ‘fine forehead’? However, when the tension needs to ramp up, it does and the book finds itself at a very moving sacrifice. With its enchanting prose and evocative storytelling, this timeless classic weaves a captivating tapestry of adventure, loyalty, and the pursuit of hidden truths.The events are related in the first person, a technique that reveals Meade’s skill in characterization for he is able to capture the maturation of John Trenchard and his development from naïve youth to a guilt-ridden and almost damaged adulthood. The psychological accuracy of this journey is one of the star elements of the book. As becomes rapidly clear, many of the townspeople are engaged in the free-trade—smuggling—and before long John is embroiled in their activities. The fact that his sweetheart’s father is actively engaged in defeating the smugglers ratchets up the conflict. Things very rapidly go bad for John, and he finds himself on the run. Director Fritz Lang said the story "calls for mood, for atmosphere. The smugglers work in the dark, on hazy days. I plan to light my principals just as you would in a play, dropping shadows on the sides of the stage to concentrate on the main action and the players involved in it." [12]