The British attitude towards children, is ambiguous. Their aloofness, maintaining that “children should be seen and not heard”, is in contrast to their involvement with children’s literature, giving the world, classics by a number of well known authors, and supplying Hollywood with inspiration for movies.
Yet, through the years, the general public has proved fickle towards some delightful children’s stories, for example, the “Uncle” series by J.P. Martin. Though out of print, second-hand copies of these are still pounced upon by devotees, while first
editions fetch several hundred pounds.
Current indifference to the Uncle stories, would have astonished early reviewers who forecast for them, a shining future in the best traditions of nonsensical British humour.
The unlikely
hero of the Uncle series, is a wealthy elephant. He rules benevolently, over a
castle so vast that even he is unfamiliar with all of it. The castle is named “Homeward” and is surrounded by a moat. Its different parts are linked together by myriad secret passages, lifts and railways, and inhabited by unbelievable creatures, both worldly and unworldly. Dealing, largely, with expeditions within the far flung limits of the castle, the hero struts about in a purple dressing gown, surrounded by his fawning followers.
Beyond the castle moat lies Badfort, the dispiriting counterpart of Homeward. Where Homeward is redolent of grace and charm, Badfort reeks of perverseness, grime and sleaze. Badfort’s inhabitants are Uncle’s enemies. Their leader, Beaver Hateman, and his cohorts, live a degraded life, eating, drinking and dressing in the most unappealing manner, and radiating calculated disagreeableness, towards Uncle and his group.
The author of the Uncle stories, J.P. Martin was, somewhat surprisingly, a Methodist minister, who enjoyed relating his
stories to children, and laughing heartily at his own jokes. Much of the subject matter came to him in dreams. After his daughter Stella, grew up, she persuaded him to write down his stories. She then spent twenty years finding a publisher.
Why Uncle
books should have vanished, is a mystery. They rate highly, with the best in bizarre English children’s literature. The illustrations, by Quentin Blake, are a treat in themselves and probably explain why first editions of Uncle, are so highly prized.
Unable to stomach public indifference to Uncle, his devotees resort to internet discussions among themselves, savouring juicy bits of stories and debating why publishers choose to ignore their hero.
One theory put down Uncle’s lack of mass appeal, to his being an unfashionable figure, unsuited to the times. Another, to a prominent publisher considering the books “fascistic”. While yet another, concluded strangely, that it was because the books denounced capitalism.
Less far fetched, and far more credible a reason for Uncle being cold- shouldered, by publishers, is that the books just don’t sell. This sad truth was uncovered when a trusting publisher, in reponse to numerous request letters from Uncle fans, produced reprints on two occasions, only to find the books were far from popular with children.
children need their fictional characters to be clear-cut, and the storyline, well defined. Both are lacking in the Uncle series. J.P. Martin’s brand of humour is far too eccentric and subtle, to be freely accepted by children’s minds. Which is also why it appeals to adults.
However, hope remains for Uncle to elbow his way back into print, albeit in a limited way. Thanks to developments in modern publishing technology, printing single editions is now a viable proposition --- at a not unreasonable cost either. This print-on-demand facility should prove a boon to the fanatical few Uncle fans still champing at the bit, for more of their hero.
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