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| Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel http://www.vivaroxymusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2444 |
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| Author: | DyingClown [ Mon May 04, 2015 12:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel |
Hi everyone This is my first post here. When I was teenager in the 1970s, I was a huge Roxy fan. Now, years later, I am in my fifties, and I am about to have my first novel published - and there is a connection between this novel and the These Foolish Things album, and specifically Ferry's covers of A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, and The Tracks of My Tears, which I thought might interest people. The novel is based on the extraordinary events surrounding the creation of Charles Dickens's first novel, The Pickwick Papers, and its main character is Dickens's illustrator, Robert Seymour, who shot himself shortly after working on a picture of a dying clown for the Pickwick project. This week, on the novel's facebook page, I have been writing about events in my background which led me towards writing the novel - and the question arises as to when I first became interested in the motif of the "sad clown", which is so important in my novel. I suspect that I first became aware of the sad clown via the These Foolish Things album. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall has a line about a clown who cried in an alley, and the emotional power of the motif was truly brought home by The Tracks of My Tears, with its idea that a smile does not necessarily represent happiness. Anyway, if you would like to read the post, it appeared yesterday (May 3rd) at: http://www.facebook.com/deathandmrpickwick A follow-up post, on clown imagery in Steve Harley's song Ritz, is also relevant. if you are interested, the novel is called Death and Mr Pickwick, and further information can be found at: http://www.deathandmrpickwick.com It will be published on May 21st by Random House (in the UK) and on June 23rd by Farrar, Straus & Giroux (in the USA). And one final thing: in a modern-day section of my novel, I mention A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, and although I refer to it as Dylan's song, I had Ferry's cover on my mind as I wrote the section. I think it's a brilliant cover, and I much prefer it to Dylan's original. Best wishes Stephen Jarvis |
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| Author: | Oberon [ Mon May 04, 2015 2:58 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel |
DyingClown., good luck with your book. I am also a writer and I have mentioned BF and his songs many times. But is this a place to promote oneself? |
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| Author: | Windswept2 [ Mon May 04, 2015 4:50 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel |
Dear Stephen, The book sounds absolutely fascinating - I'll definitely give it a whirl. My fascination with Dickens is only surpassed by my fascination with Ian Fleming which is only surpassed by my fascination with Ted Lewis (the Dickens of noir) which in turn is only surpassed by my fascination with Roxy/BF. Good luck with the launch. Regards, Windswept |
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| Author: | DyingClown [ Tue May 05, 2015 7:10 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel |
Thanks Oberon and Windswept for those replies. Oberon, I would be interested in hearing more about your writing, and how you have mentioned Ferry in your work. On the question of promoting myself here...well, obviously, writers like to talk about their work when they have a book coming out, so there is a promotional aspect to my post, but nonetheless the connection between my novel and Ferry is real, and I have posted about it on my own facebook page. I thought that Ferry fans would be interested in hearing about it. Windswept, is there anything which your four fascinations have in common? Dickens was a snappy dresser...and obviously Ferry is. |
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| Author: | Windswept2 [ Sun May 17, 2015 5:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel |
Cher DyingClown, Congratulations on the review of 'Death And MR Pickwick' published in today's Times CULTURE. You must be over the moon and rightly so. I can't remember the last time I read a first novel review as positive as this. I'm going to buy it next week it sounds absolutely fascinating. I'll be buying it next week. Bravo - 'The Thrill Of It All' Windswept |
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| Author: | DyingClown [ Sun May 17, 2015 5:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel |
Thank you very much indeed Windswept! If it gets made into a movie, I definitely hope that Ferry gets into the soundtrack! |
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| Author: | Lonely Dreamer [ Sun May 17, 2015 7:14 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel |
Congratulations, Stephen, The Independent gives your book an enthusiastic review, too: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/death-and-mr-pickwick-by-stephen-jarvis-book-review-thrilling-search-for-mr-pickwick-and-those-who-made-him-10256163.html Quote: Do not be off-put by that fact that this book is 800 pages long. It offers a reading experience as immersive as Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, and as visionary in its capacity to connect us with past lives. As a former Man Booker judge, I will eat my hat if it doesn’t make this year’s list. Thank you for the background information on your inspiration. That surely puts your novel on my readlist. |
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| Author: | DyingClown [ Sun May 17, 2015 8:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ferry, These Foolish Things & the Origins of a New Novel |
Many thanks, Lonely Dreamer. Although it is not directly related to Ferry or Roxy, I also include a scene on the day of John Lennon's assassination, because The Beatles are the only cultural phenomenon that has come anywhere close to Pickwick's incredible popularity - and of course one thinks of Jealous Guy in this context. |
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