This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2019) |
Author | Dinah Craik |
---|---|
Language | English |
Publisher | Hurst and Blackett |
Publication date | 1856 [1] |
Publication place | Great Britain |
Media type |
John Halifax, Gentleman is a novel by Dinah Craik, first published in 1856. Through hard work, the protagonist becomes a successful industrialist. The novel is set in the context of Britain's Industrial Revolution.
The book sold well in the 19th century. In the 20th century it was adapted for film and television.
Dinah Craik grew up in an industrial conurbation, the Potteries district of Staffordshire. [2] However, the plot of the novel revolves around Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, an town which she visited but never lived in. While Tewkesbury was not heavily industrialised, there are mills such as Abbey Mill, dated 1793, which supposedly features in the book along with other prominent buildings. [3]
A memorial to Dinah Craik was erected in Tewkesbury Abbey. [4]
A photographic postcard, probably from the early 20th century, depicts Dunkirk Mills, Inchbrook, near Nailsworth and Stroud, Gloucestershire, stating it was the "original Mills of 'John Halifax Gentleman'".
A discussion on a Stroud Fakebook [sic] page suggests that Enderley and the cottage were modelled on an area near Avening.[ citation needed ]
The story is narrated by Phineas, a friend of the central character. John Halifax is an orphan, determined to make his way in the world through honest hard work. He is taken in by a tanner, Abel Fletcher, who is a Quaker, and thus meets Phineas, who is Abel's son. John eventually achieves success in business and love, and becomes a wealthy man.
The novel has been published in dozens of editions and translated into various languages.
An illustrated edition was published by J. M. Dent & Co. in 1898, with twelve colour plates by three artists: W. C. (Cubitt) Cooke. L. M. (Laura) Fisher and F. C. (Frederick Colin) Tilney.
The novel has been adapted several times. A 1915 silent film John Halifax, Gentleman was directed by George Pearson. In 1938 a film version John Halifax was made.
The novel was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 1970. In 1974 a BBC series John Halifax, Gentleman was made starring Robert Coleby. [5]
The books appears to have been awarded frequently as a prize by Sunday Schools. [2]
The book is mentioned in Agatha Christie's 1935 novel Why Didn't They Ask Evans?. [6]
The book is mentioned in the first Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School series, “The School at the Chalet”, as being read three times consecutively by central character, Jo Bettany. [7]
Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town.
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury, commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey, is located in the town of Tewkesbury in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Britain, it has "probably the largest and finest Romanesque" crossing tower in England.
Cranford is an episodic novel by English author Elizabeth Gaskell. It first appeared in instalments in the magazine Household Words, then was published with minor revisions as a book with the title Cranford in 1853. The work slowly became popular and from the start of the 20th century it saw a number of dramatic treatments for the stage, the radio and TV.
Tewkesbury is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and thus became an important trading point, which continued as railways and, later, the M5 and M50 motorway connections were established. The town gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, a local government district of Gloucestershire. The town lies on the border with Worcestershire, marked largely by the Carrant Brook.
Dinah Maria Craik was an English novelist and poet. She is best remembered for her novel, John Halifax, Gentleman, which presents the mid-Victorian ideals of English middle-class life.
Phineas Fletcher was an English poet, elder son of Dr Giles Fletcher, and brother of Giles the Younger. He was born at Cranbrook, Kent, and was baptized on 8 April 1582.
The region now known as Gloucestershire was originally inhabited by Brythonic peoples in the Iron Age and Roman periods. After the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, the Brythons re-established control but the territorial divisions for the post-Roman period are uncertain. The city of Caerloyw was one centre and Cirencester may have continued as a tribal centre as well. The only reliably attested kingdom is the minor south-east Wales kingdom of Ergyng, which may have included a portion of the area. In the final quarter of the 6th century, the Saxons of Wessex began to establish control over the area.
Brimscombe and Thrupp is a civil parish made up of the villages of Thrupp and Brimscombe, in the narrow Frome Valley slightly south-east of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. The parish also includes the hamlets of Quarhouse and The Heavens. The population taken at the 2011 census was 1,830.
Tewkesbury is a constituency in Gloucestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Cameron Thomas, a Liberal Democrat.
The Palliser novels are six novels written in series by Anthony Trollope. They were more commonly known as the Parliamentary novels prior to their 1974 television dramatisation by the BBC broadcast as The Pallisers. Marketed as "polite literature" during their initial publication, the novels encompass several literary genres including: family saga, bildungsroman, picaresque, as well as satire and parody of Victorian life, and criticism of the British government's predilection for attracting corrupt and corruptible people to power.
"The Nut-Brown Maid" is a ballad that made its first printed appearance in The Customs of London, also known as Arnold's Chronicle, published in 1502 by the chronicler Richard Arnold. The editor of the 1811 edition of the chronicle suggested it might be based on a German ballad. An alternative explanation is that the poem may be based on the exploits of Henry Clifford (1454-1523), the tenth Baron Clifford, and his wife Anne St John. Like the knight in the ballad, Clifford was said to have spent part of his early life as an outlaw.
Warwick Goble was a British illustrator.
MurielMURE-ee-əl is a feminine given name in the English language.
John Halifax aka John Halifax, Gentleman is a 1938 British second feature ('B') historical drama film directed by George King and starring John Warwick, Nancy Burne and Roddy McDowall. It was written by A. R. Rawlinson based on the 1856 novel John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Craik.
John Halifax may refer to:
John Halifax, Gentleman is a British drama television series produced by John McRae that was originally broadcast by the BBC in five episodes in 1974. It was an adaptation of the novel John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Craik, who was credited as Mrs Craik.
Clarence Mason Dobell (1836–1917) was a British artist and illustrator.
John Halifax, Gentleman is a 1915 British silent drama film directed by George Pearson and starring Fred Paul, Peggy Hyland and Harry Paulo. It is an adaptation of the 1856 novel John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Craik.
John Halifax, Gentleman is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film is the first film adaptation of Dinah Maria Mulock Craik's popular novel John Halifax, Gentleman and stars Martin Faust as John Halifax. The film focuses on John Halifax, an orphan who is taken in by a rich Quaker, Abel Fletcher. After a period of five years, John has becomes a foreman and he and Fletcher's invalid son, Phineas, have become good friends. Despite Fletcher's objections, John takes Phineas to the theatre. The trip is too much for Phineas and John carries him home, Fletcher becomes irate and drives John out of the house. Fletcher is soon confronts a mob of workers after closing the mill and throws the bags of grain into the river. John saves the life of Fletcher and his son and marries Ursula, the daughter of the richest man in town. The production credits are unknown, but the film was not directed by Theodore Marston. The film was released on December 2, 1910 and was met with mixed reviews. The film is presumed lost.
James Bennett was a British printer and book seller who became a publisher. In 1830 he produced a history of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, England. Well regarded sources also describe him as a topographer, but without identifying his contribution to topography.