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| {{For|the 1989 television adaption|The Tailor of Gloucester (TV movie)}} | |||
| {{Infobox Book | <!-- See Misplaced Pages:WikiProject_Novels or Misplaced Pages:WikiProject_Books --> | {{Infobox Book | <!-- See Misplaced Pages:WikiProject_Novels or Misplaced Pages:WikiProject_Books --> | ||
| | name = The Tailor of Gloucester | | name = The Tailor of Gloucester | ||
| | image = ] | | image = ] | ||
| | image_caption = | | image_caption = Cover motif | ||
| | author = ] | | author = ] (28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943) | ||
| | illustrator = ] | | illustrator = ] | ||
| | country = ] | | country = ] | ||
| | language = ] | | language = ] | ||
| | genre = ] | | genre = ] | ||
| | publisher = ] | | publisher = ] | ||
| | release_date = 1903 | | release_date = October ] | ||
| | media_type = Print (]) | | media_type = Print (]) | ||
| | oclc = 884366 | | oclc = 884366 | ||
| | preceded_by = ] | | preceded_by = ] | ||
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| }} | }} | ||
| '''''The Tailor of Gloucester''''' is a children's |
'''''The Tailor of Gloucester''''' is a children's book written and illustrated by ], privately printed by the author in 1902, and published in a trade edition by ] in October ]. The story is about a tailor whose work on a waistcoat is finished by the grateful mice he rescues from a cat and was based on a real world incident involving a tailor and his assistants. ''The Tailor of Gloucester'' has been adapted to a live action television film and to an animated television program. It is traditionally read to children on Christmas Eve.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tailor-of-gloucester.org.uk/tailor_of_gloucester.html |title=The Tailor of Gloucester |accessdate=2007-08-21}}</ref> | ||
| == |
== Background == | ||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| This book tells the story of a poor ] in ], his cat, and the mice that live in his shop. The tailor has many scraps of cloth and ribbons left over that are too small for any practical use. The mice take these and make fine clothes for themselves. | |||
| ] was born into the privileged world of wealth on 28 July 1866 to London barrister Rupert Potter and his wife Helen (Leech) Potter. She led a solitary life as a child and sought solace in painting, drawing, reading, and tending small animals.<ref>Mackey 33-4</ref> Her interests in the natural world and rural life were nurtured on excursions to her paternal grandparents' country home in ], and to various estates in ] and the ].<ref>Mackey 34</ref> | |||
| The tailor sends his cat Simpkin to buy food and a twist of cherry-coloured silk for a ] the mayor has commissioned for his wedding, which will take place on Christmas morning. | |||
| In 1902, Potter sent a story and picture letter to a child friend, retrieved and revised it, and published it to critical and popular acclaim as '']''.<ref>Mackey 39</ref> Similar books followed featuring anthropomorphic characters, and, from their sales and a small legacy left her by an aunt, Potter purchased ] in 1905.<ref>Lear 205-6</ref><ref>Lane 86</ref> Hill Top was not only a working farm but Potter's artistic refuge. In the eight years following its purchase, she produced thirteen books for children.<ref name="La98>Lane 98</ref> | |||
| While Simpkin is gone, the tailor finds mice in teacups where Simpkin has imprisoned them. The mice take advantage to get away. When Simpkin returns and finds his mice gone, he hides the twist in anger. | |||
| Potter was largely self-taught as an artist, learning her craft by copying illustrations, visiting galleries, and discussing current art trends with family and friends.<ref>Taylor 7</ref> ] and his '']'' stories were a strong influence on her creation of a literary world in which humans and animals overlapped.<ref>Lear 131</ref> Her success was made possible in part by a publisher who was anxious to compete in the small format children's book market made suddenly popular by ]'s '']'' and by technological advances in printing that made colour illustrations in children's books affordable. | |||
| ⚫ | The tailor falls ill and is unable to complete the |
||
| == Composition and publication == | |||
| ==Background== | |||
| Potter had heard of this story while visiting a cousin, Caroline Hutton, though in fact the work had been secretly done by the tailor's very human assistants.<ref>''The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter'', published by F. Warne & Co., 1989</ref> | |||
| In the summer of 1901, Potter was working on '']'', but took time to develop a tale about a poor tailor she heard in the ] home of her cousin Caroline Hutton probably in 1897. The tale was finished by Christmas 1901, written out in an exercise book with a dozen watercolours, and presented as a holiday gift to ten-year-old Freda Moore, the daughter of her former governess, Annie Moore.<ref>Lear 156-7</ref><ref name="T109">Taylor 109</ref> | |||
| The picturesque building that was used as a model for the illustrations of the tailor's shop in the story is located near the wall of ]. It is, externally at least, virtually unchanged from Beatrix Potter's time. It currently houses the Beatrix Potter Museum and sells Beatrix Potter memorabilia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tailor-of-gloucester.org.uk/beatrix_potter_gloucester.html |title=Beatrix Potter's Gloucester |accessdate=2007-08-21 }}</ref> | |||
| The tale was based on a real world incident involving John Pritchard, a Gloucester tailor commissioned to make a suit for the new mayor. He returned to his shop on a Monday morning to find the suit completed except for one buttonhole. A note attached read, "No more twist". His assistants had finishd the coat in the night, but Pritchard encouraged a fiction that fairies had done the work and the incident became a local legend.<ref>Taylor 108</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==Adaptations== | ||
| ⚫ | In 1988, Rabbit Ears Productions |
||
| Potter sketched the Gloucester street where the tailor's shop stood as well as cottage interiors, crockery, furniture, and even inveigled the son of Hutton's coachman to pose cross-legged as the tailor. In Chelsea, she was allowed to sketch the interior of a tailor's shop.<ref>Lear 157-8</ref> She visited the costume department at the ] to refine her illustrations of eighteenth century dress.<ref>Lear 162-3</ref> The building used as a model for the exterior of the tailor's shop is located near the wall of ]. It is, externally at least, virtually unchanged from Potter's time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tailor-of-gloucester.org.uk/beatrix_potter_gloucester.html |title=Beatrix Potter's Gloucester |accessdate=2007-08-21 }}</ref> | |||
| The 1989 British '']'' TV movie was a ] adaption featuring ] and ]. | |||
| Potter borrowed Freda Moore's gift copy, revised the work, and privately printed the tale in December 1902.<ref>Taylor 108-9</ref><ref name="Lear158">Lear 158</ref> She marketed the book among family and friends and sent a copy to her publisher who made numerous cuts in both text and illustrations for the trade edition, chiefly among the tale's many nursery rhymes.<ref name="T109" /><ref name="Lear158" /> | |||
| An animated adaptation of the story was featured on '']'' in 1993, with Ian Holm providing the voice of The Tailor. | |||
| ''Nutkin'' was published in August 1903 and ''Tailor'' in October 1903.<ref>Lear 162-4</ref> Both were published in deluxe editions bound in a flowered chintz of scattered pansies the author selected. The familiar illustrated endpapers of Potter characters in a chain bordering the edges of the page were introduced in both books against Potter's better judgement. However, Warne was delighted with the commercial potential of the endpapers because new characters hinting at future titles could be worked into the design at any time. Potter declared for years her personal favourite of all her books was ''Tailor''.<ref>Lear 162-4</ref> | |||
| In 1994, West Yorkshire playwright David Foxton adapted the story into a two-act children's play - with music by David Fletcher. The first production of the play was held by the Dewsbury Arts Group. | |||
| == |
== Plot == | ||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| <references/> | |||
| A tailor in Gloucester sends his cat Simpkin to buy food and a twist of cherry-coloured silk to complete a ] the mayor has commissioned for his wedding on Christmas morning. While Simpkin is gone, the tailor finds mice the cat has imprisoned under teacups. The mice are released and scamper away. When Simpkin returns and finds his mice gone, he hides the twist in anger. | |||
| ⚫ | The tailor falls ill and is unable to complete the waistcoat, but, upon returning to his shop, he is surprised to find the waistcoat finished. The work has been done by the grateful mice. However, one buttonhole remains unfinished because there was "no more twist!" Simpkin gives the tailor the twist to complete the work and the success of the waistcoat makes the tailor's fortune. | ||
| == Critical reception == | |||
| Potter gave a copy of the book to her Chelsea tailor who, in turn, displayed it to a representative of the trade journal, ''The Tailor & Cutter''. The journal's review appeared on Christmas Eve 1903:<blockquote> we think it is by fat the prettiest story connected with tailoring we have ever read, and as it is full of that spirit of Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, we are not ashamed to confess that it brought the moisture to our eyes, as well as the smile to our face. It is got up in choicest style and illustrated by twenty-seven of the prettiest pictures it is possible to imagine.<ref>Quoted in Lear 165</ref></blockquote> | |||
| ⚫ | == Adaptations == | ||
| ⚫ | In 1988, Rabbit Ears Productions produced a storyteller version with narration by ], drawings by David Jorgensen and music by ]. | ||
| In 1989, the tale was adapted to a live-action television film, '']'', and, in 1993, to an animated version for the ] television ], '']''. | |||
| == References == | |||
| ;Footnotes | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| ;Works cited | |||
| {{refbegin}} | |||
| * {{cite book |author=Lane, Margaret |date=2001 |origyear=1946 |title=The Tale of Beatrix Potter |location=London |publisher=Frederick Warne |isbn=978-0-72324-676-3}} | |||
| * {{cite book |author=Lear, Linda |date=2007 |title=Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=978-0-312-27796-0}} | |||
| * {{cite book |editor=Mackey, Margaret |date=2002 |title=Beatrix Potter's 'Peter Rabbit': A Children's Classic at 100 |series=Children's Literature Association Centennial Studies |number=1 |location=Lanham, Maryland, and London |publisher=The Children's Literature Association and The Scarecrow Press, Inc. |isbn=0-8108-4197-5}} | |||
| * {{cite book |author=Taylor, Susan |author2=Whalley, Joyce Irene |author3=Hobbs, Anne Stevenson |author4=Battrick, Elizabeth M. |date=1987 |title=Beatrix Potter 1866–1943: The Artist and Her World |location=London |publisher=F. Warne & Co. and The National Trust |isbn=0-7232-3561-9}} | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| ;Bibliography | |||
| {{refbegin}} | |||
| * {{cite book |author=Kutzer, M. Daphne |date=2003 |title=Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-94352-3}} | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| {{Wikisource}} | |||
| *{{gutenberg|no=14868|name=The Tailor of Gloucester}} | *{{gutenberg|no=14868|name=The Tailor of Gloucester}} | ||
| * at ] |
* at ] | ||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Tailor of Gloucester, The}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Tailor of Gloucester, The}} | ||
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| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 08:00, 17 December 2009
 Cover motif | |
| Author | Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Beatrix Potter |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Frederick Warne & Co. |
| Publication date | October 1903 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| OCLC | 884366 |
| Preceded by | The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin |
| Followed by | The Tale of Benjamin Bunny |
The Tailor of Gloucester is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, privately printed by the author in 1902, and published in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1903. The story is about a tailor whose work on a waistcoat is finished by the grateful mice he rescues from a cat and was based on a real world incident involving a tailor and his assistants. The Tailor of Gloucester has been adapted to a live action television film and to an animated television program. It is traditionally read to children on Christmas Eve.
Background
Helen Beatrix Potter was born into the privileged world of wealth on 28 July 1866 to London barrister Rupert Potter and his wife Helen (Leech) Potter. She led a solitary life as a child and sought solace in painting, drawing, reading, and tending small animals. Her interests in the natural world and rural life were nurtured on excursions to her paternal grandparents' country home in Hertfordshire, and to various estates in Scotland and the Lake District.
In 1902, Potter sent a story and picture letter to a child friend, retrieved and revised it, and published it to critical and popular acclaim as The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Similar books followed featuring anthropomorphic characters, and, from their sales and a small legacy left her by an aunt, Potter purchased Hill Top Farm in 1905. Hill Top was not only a working farm but Potter's artistic refuge. In the eight years following its purchase, she produced thirteen books for children.
Potter was largely self-taught as an artist, learning her craft by copying illustrations, visiting galleries, and discussing current art trends with family and friends. Joel Chandler Harris and his Uncle Remus stories were a strong influence on her creation of a literary world in which humans and animals overlapped. Her success was made possible in part by a publisher who was anxious to compete in the small format children's book market made suddenly popular by Helen Bannerman's Little Black Sambo and by technological advances in printing that made colour illustrations in children's books affordable.
Composition and publication
In the summer of 1901, Potter was working on The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, but took time to develop a tale about a poor tailor she heard in the Gloucestershire home of her cousin Caroline Hutton probably in 1897. The tale was finished by Christmas 1901, written out in an exercise book with a dozen watercolours, and presented as a holiday gift to ten-year-old Freda Moore, the daughter of her former governess, Annie Moore.
The tale was based on a real world incident involving John Pritchard, a Gloucester tailor commissioned to make a suit for the new mayor. He returned to his shop on a Monday morning to find the suit completed except for one buttonhole. A note attached read, "No more twist". His assistants had finishd the coat in the night, but Pritchard encouraged a fiction that fairies had done the work and the incident became a local legend.
Potter sketched the Gloucester street where the tailor's shop stood as well as cottage interiors, crockery, furniture, and even inveigled the son of Hutton's coachman to pose cross-legged as the tailor. In Chelsea, she was allowed to sketch the interior of a tailor's shop. She visited the costume department at the South Kensington Museum to refine her illustrations of eighteenth century dress. The building used as a model for the exterior of the tailor's shop is located near the wall of Gloucester Cathedral. It is, externally at least, virtually unchanged from Potter's time.
Potter borrowed Freda Moore's gift copy, revised the work, and privately printed the tale in December 1902. She marketed the book among family and friends and sent a copy to her publisher who made numerous cuts in both text and illustrations for the trade edition, chiefly among the tale's many nursery rhymes.
Nutkin was published in August 1903 and Tailor in October 1903. Both were published in deluxe editions bound in a flowered chintz of scattered pansies the author selected. The familiar illustrated endpapers of Potter characters in a chain bordering the edges of the page were introduced in both books against Potter's better judgement. However, Warne was delighted with the commercial potential of the endpapers because new characters hinting at future titles could be worked into the design at any time. Potter declared for years her personal favourite of all her books was Tailor.
Plot
A tailor in Gloucester sends his cat Simpkin to buy food and a twist of cherry-coloured silk to complete a waistcoat the mayor has commissioned for his wedding on Christmas morning. While Simpkin is gone, the tailor finds mice the cat has imprisoned under teacups. The mice are released and scamper away. When Simpkin returns and finds his mice gone, he hides the twist in anger.
The tailor falls ill and is unable to complete the waistcoat, but, upon returning to his shop, he is surprised to find the waistcoat finished. The work has been done by the grateful mice. However, one buttonhole remains unfinished because there was "no more twist!" Simpkin gives the tailor the twist to complete the work and the success of the waistcoat makes the tailor's fortune.
Critical reception
Potter gave a copy of the book to her Chelsea tailor who, in turn, displayed it to a representative of the trade journal, The Tailor & Cutter. The journal's review appeared on Christmas Eve 1903:
we think it is by fat the prettiest story connected with tailoring we have ever read, and as it is full of that spirit of Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, we are not ashamed to confess that it brought the moisture to our eyes, as well as the smile to our face. It is got up in choicest style and illustrated by twenty-seven of the prettiest pictures it is possible to imagine.
Adaptations
In 1988, Rabbit Ears Productions produced a storyteller version with narration by Meryl Streep, drawings by David Jorgensen and music by The Chieftains. In 1989, the tale was adapted to a live-action television film, The Tailor of Gloucester, and, in 1993, to an animated version for the BBC television anthology series, The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends.
References
- Footnotes
- "The Tailor of Gloucester". Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- Mackey 33-4
- Mackey 34
- Mackey 39
- Lear 205-6
- Lane 86
- Lane 98
- Taylor 7
- Lear 131
- Lear 156-7
- ^ Taylor 109
- Taylor 108
- Lear 157-8
- Lear 162-3
- "Beatrix Potter's Gloucester". Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- Taylor 108-9
- ^ Lear 158
- Lear 162-4
- Lear 162-4
- Quoted in Lear 165
- Works cited
- Lane, Margaret (2001) . The Tale of Beatrix Potter. London: Frederick Warne. ISBN 978-0-72324-676-3.
- Lear, Linda (2007). Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-27796-0.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: checksum (help) - Mackey, Margaret, ed. (2002). Beatrix Potter's 'Peter Rabbit': A Children's Classic at 100. Children's Literature Association Centennial Studies. Lanham, Maryland, and London: The Children's Literature Association and The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-4197-5.
- Taylor, Susan; Whalley, Joyce Irene; Hobbs, Anne Stevenson; Battrick, Elizabeth M. (1987). Beatrix Potter 1866–1943: The Artist and Her World. London: F. Warne & Co. and The National Trust. ISBN 0-7232-3561-9.
- Bibliography
- Kutzer, M. Daphne (2003). Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-94352-3.