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Classic Literature. Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML: Peter England, Una Stubbs and Crawford Logan star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Philippa Pearce's enchanting time-slip tale. When his brother catches measles, Tom is sent away to stay with his Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan, and is thoroughly fed up about it. What a boring summer it's going to be! But tedium turns to adventure when, lying in bed one night, he hears the old grandfather clock in the hall strike thirteen. What can it mean? As Tom creeps downstairs and opens the door, he finds a beautiful garden, and glimpses a girl in old-fashioned clothing. As he revisits the garden over the next few nights, he watches the seasons change from spring to autumn, and children come and go. But no-one seems to see him � until he meets Hatty, and the two become firm friends. With his new playmate, Tom embarks on the adventure of a lifetime... This magical drama stars Peter England as Tom, with Una Stubbs as Aunt Gwen and Crawford Logan as Uncle Alan. The wonder and excitement of much-loved children's classics lives on in BBC Radio's acclaimed full-cast dramatisations, complete with evocative music and sound effects..… (more)
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A few years ago I saw advertised a 1999 film adaptation of “Tom's Midnight Garden”. Even though I was in my thirties by then, my fondness for that 1989 series meant I had to see this version, which I enjoyed too.
With all this in mind, I’ve often wondered if the book would be appealing or whether it’d be too childish for a “grown-up man” to get into. Having read a few reviews first, noting that many adults have read the book *as* adults, not as children, I felt I’d give it a go.
Verdict? Brilliant!
I realise now how faithful the film and especially the TV series are to the novel. Although it’s written for children it that doesn’t mean grown-ups can’t appreciate the charm, intelligence, and imagination that make this a wonderful piece of escapism.
The characters are all well-drawn, particularly the main two. Tom comes across as a little selfish at times, but bearing in mind he’s a young lad, this doesn’t make him unlikeable in any respect.
Hatty is my favourite. She’s endearing in every way and, had I been a young boy drawn back through time into a garden were only a couple of people could see me (if only!), I can’t think of a better playmate than Hatty. In fact, I don’t think the story would’ve been as strong as it is if Tom had instead befriended another boy, so it’s a good move by the author to choose the lonely orphan girl for Tom’s friend.
Something about this entire story – the concept, the time-travel, the two main characters – that makes it more than just a children’s story. Just as the 1989 TV series has stuck with me all these years, no doubt the book will do so too.
Some people talk about their “inner-child”/”child within” and I think “Tom's Midnight Garden” evokes just that. It’s a warm albeit slightly sad feeling. The last few paragraphs are beautifully touching.
This novel is both a classic and – no pun intended – timeless.
Yet this simple, elegant tale of first love, the dawning of adolescence and the
I've never understood why it is so little known, since it seems to cast its spell over everyone who has read it at my recommendation.
Had read it before as a child but could only vaguely remember what happened in it so it was almost like reading a new book except I sometimes knew what was coming.
Was interesting to study it and see how it
Really enjoyed reading it, think it would make a good story to read to a class or as a bedtime story because of the way the chapters are laid out and the length of them.
Must read more of Philippa Pearce's books.
I know I read this years/decades ago; all I could remember of it when I picked it up more recently was the story's premise. Having now reread the book, I can understand why: the tale's all right as tales go, but the setup's great.
It's the summer vacation. Because his brother and bosom buddy Peter
With each fresh nightly visit of Tom to the garden, Hatty ages by months or even years; it becomes apparent to us that Tom, although real to himself, is in effect Hatty's imaginary friend; and, sure enough, as Hatty progresses from child to young woman, she becomes less and less able to see him . . . But she never forgets him, as he and we find out in the final stages of the book, when it emerges that the crabby old woman who owns the house in which Tom's aunt and uncle live is none other than Hatty.
The two old friends have a grand reunion, during which the splendid other half of the time-traveling mechanism is spelt out. Complementing the Tom-is-Hatty's-imaginary-friend part of the setup is that each night, in her bedroom above Tom's, Hatty has been dreaming of her childhood; so Tom has been visiting not a garden that's out the house's back door but Hatty's dreams. Thus the reason Hatty had Tom as an imaginary friend in her childhood, and can recall him as such, is that she's meeting him in her current dreams, which is also why Tom knows all about Hatty's childhood. So, as far as the story's concerned, two types of vision -- two types of imagination, if you like -- combine to create real-life events.
It's a wonderful feat of fantasy conception, and Pearce pulls it off really well, with plenty of sense-of-wonder. As noted, the adventures Tom and Hatty have together in the world of the garden are, while entertaining and readable, far less memorable. But that doesn't matter in the context of this book's other strengths.
I’m not a fan of ghost stories and I like my magical stories to include super powers, but despite the ghosts in the book and the lack of special abilities in this story, I loved this book. I became a child when Tom entered the garden and I went with Tom as he wandered through time.
I enjoyed it now, but I am not sure I would have enjoyed it then. Not much happens in the story, but the bitter sweet sense of time slipping away each time Tom goes to the garden and Hatty
He will find Hatty again, of course, and their encounter is most touching. The plot is not very 'magical' in a sense, but their different timelines make the narrative very interesting, until its final conclusion. This book is a classic of children's fiction, and I'd say it is a good book - it is like a bit of C.S. Lewis, but without the wardrobe!
But although these things niggled me a bit, it's still a charming story with a poignant ending.
No wonder, it's a classic.
When he gets into the flat, the first thing he sees is Mrs Bartholomew's grandfather clock. It strikes at the wrong hour, perhaps donging three times when it is four, and seven times when it is nine; but its hands are always pointing at the correct time. Anyhow that it strikes, though, it has not yet struck thirteen.
Thirteen..thirteen. No clock, whether it is broken like Mrs Bartholomew's or not, has ever struck thirteen. To find out, Tom explores downstairs, and finds a large, beautiful garden. But in the day time, the garden is not there. So every night, on the thirteenth strike of the clock, Tom quietly goes downstairs, and finds the garden. And every time, peculiar things happen...