Author | Stephen Gately |
---|---|
Illustrator | Keith Wilson |
Country | Ireland |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's literature |
Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton [1] |
Publication date | May 2010 |
Pages | 306 [2] |
The Tree of Seasons is a children's book written by Boyzone member Stephen Gately and published posthumously by Hodder & Stoughton in 2010. It follows the adventures of three siblings - Josh, Michael and Beth Lotts - who are on their summer holidays, and is said to be similar in style to the works of Enid Blyton, C. S. Lewis and Walt Disney. [2]
The foreword was written by Elton John and David Furnish. [3] [4]
The book's introduction was controversial. Written by Gately's partner Andrew Cowles, Gately's family were upset at references to Sheriff Street as one of "the poorest parts of Dublin City" and "a place of civil unrest and terrorist activity". [3] The content of the introduction prompted the Gately family to release a statement to the Sunday Independent , published on 16 May 2010, saying they "wish to make it clear that these statements are not correct and do not reflect the views of the family" and that Gately completed his secondary education and even attended college. [3] However, in several early interviews Stephen himself confessed to leaving education to join Boyzone, and never completing his finishing exams.
Gately's friend, Keith Wilson, contributed black-and-white line drawings to the book. [2]
Following Gately's death in Spain in October 2009, the final drafts of The Tree of Seasons were completed in collaboration with June Considine and Jules Williams, with Andrew Cowles writing the acknowledgements. [5]
Andrew Cowles embarked on an "extensive publicity campaign" following the book's publication. [2] He appeared on The Late Late Show to discuss the book on 14 May 2010 and was nearly reduced to tears by the questions asked by presenter Ryan Tubridy. [6] [7] Tubridy responded to criticism by later remarking that Cowles had given "a very solid, brave interview and I know for a fact that he's happy with the way it went". [8]
Irish Independent reviewer Sarah Webb remarked: "For a young man with no previous writing experience, the Tree of Seasons is quite an achievement" and "would make, with the addition of some powerful songs, an excellent musical". [2]
Sunday Tribune reviewer Pat Nugent compared it to Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree series, remarked on "a host of kinks and clumsy moments that could have been fixed with relative ease", but said there was "a distinct possibility [Gately's] career as a children's author would have outpaced his status as a popstar". [9]
At least 10,000 copies of The Tree of Seasons were pre-ordered in Ireland and at least 5,000 copies were pre-ordered in Britain. [1]
At least 3,600 people called themselves fans on Facebook on the week of its release. [2]
The book spent 3 weeks on the UK Best Sellers list.
Enid Mary Blyton was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been translated into ninety languages. As of June 2019, Blyton held 4th place for the most translated author. She wrote on a wide range of topics, including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives. She is best remembered today for her Noddy, Famous Five, Secret Seven, the Five Find-Outers, and Malory Towers books, although she also wrote many others, including; St. Clare's, The Naughtiest Girl, and The Faraway Tree series.
The Late Late Show, with its title often shortened to The Late Late, is an Irish chat show. It is the world's second longest-running late-night talk show, after the American The Tonight Show, and is the longest-running live talk show. Perceived as the official flagship television programme of RTÉ, it is regarded as an Irish television institution, and is broadcast live across normally two hours in front of a studio audience on Friday nights at 9:30pm between September and May. Certain segments are sometimes pre-recorded and aired within the live parts of the show.
Gabriel Mary Byrne was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was as the first host of The Late Late Show over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999. The Late Late Show is the world's second longest-running chat show. He was affectionately known as "Uncle Gay", "Gaybo" or "Uncle Gaybo". His time working in Britain with Granada Television saw him become the first person to introduce The Beatles on-screen, and Byrne was later the first to introduce Boyzone on screen in 1993.
Ryan Tubridy is an Irish broadcaster. He currently presents the weekday mid-morning programme The Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin Radio UK, as well as a weekend programme on Sundays.
Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and television and radio presenter. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career started in 1999 and he has recorded eleven albums. He gained worldwide attention when his single "When You Say Nothing At All" was featured in the film Notting Hill and reached number one in several countries.
Boyzone is an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. Its most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch. As of 2018, Boyzone had released seven studio albums and nine compilation albums.
Keith Peter Thomas Francis Julian John Duffy is an Irish singer, actor, radio and television presenter and drummer who began his professional music career as part of Irish boy band Boyzone alongside Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately in 1993. The band decided to focus on solo projects in 2000 since which Duffy has taken acting roles in soap operas such as Coronation Street and Fair City. He has also presented The Box and You're a Star.
Stephen Patrick David Gately was an Irish singer, who, with Ronan Keating, was co-lead singer of the pop group Boyzone; all of Boyzone's studio albums during Gately's lifetime hit number one in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful internationally. With Boyzone, Gately had a record-breaking sixteen consecutive singles enter the top five of the UK Singles Chart. He performed for millions of fans globally. He released a solo album in 2000, after the group's initial break-up, which charted in the UK top ten and yielded three UK hit singles, including the top three hit "New Beginning". Gately went on to appear variously in stage productions and on television programmes as well as contributing songs to various projects. In 2008, he rejoined his colleagues as Boyzone reformed for a series of concerts and recordings.
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.
Ryan Confidential is an Irish home-produced television programme which was broadcast on RTÉ One until 2010. It was presented by Gerry Ryan, until his unexpected death at the age of 53 on 30 April 2010. The programme was created by the producer David Blake Knox.
John Connolly is an Irish writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker.
This is a list of 762 books by Enid Blyton (1897–1968), an English children's writer who also wrote under the pseudonym of Mary Pollock. She was one of the most successful children's storytellers of the 20th century.
Bernadette Strachan is an English author of popular women's fiction and among the more popular writers of "chick lit".
David Kenny is a journalist, broadcaster, best-selling author and songwriter living in Dublin, Ireland.
The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show was an Irish breakfast radio show, broadcast weekdays on RTÉ 2fm. The show, hosted by Colm Hayes and Jim-Jim Nugent, began broadcasting in March 2007 when the duo moved from rival station FM104.
The Tubridy Show was an Irish talk-based entertainment radio programme presented by Ryan Tubridy. It was broadcast on Mondays to Fridays at 09:00 on RTÉ Radio 1.
"Gave It All Away" is a song performed by Irish boyband Boyzone, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Brother, on 1 March 2010. It was their first single released following the death of member Stephen Gately, whose vocals appear in the song. It has sold 150,000 copies worldwide.
The 48th season of The Late Late Show, an Irish television chat show, began on 4 September 2009 and concluded on 28 May 2010. It aired on RTÉ One each Friday evening from 21:30. It was the first series to be hosted by Ryan Tubridy, the show's fourth permanent host following the resignation of Pat Kenny live on air the previous season.
Colm Caffrey, known professionally as Colm Hayes, is an Irish radio broadcaster and sometimes television presenter. He formerly presented weekend breakfasts on RTÉ 2fm.
JFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a President is the title of the first book written by Irish broadcaster Ryan Tubridy. Released in the UK in 2010, and by Lyons Press in the US in 2011, it is a profile of President of the United States John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit to Ireland.