Rosemary Harris (1) (1923–2019)
Author of The Moon in the Cloud
For other authors named Rosemary Harris, see the disambiguation page.
Series
Works by Rosemary Harris
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Harris, Rosemary Jeanne
- Birthdate
- 1923-02-20
- Date of death
- 2019-10-14
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Chelsea School of Art
Courtauld Institute of Art - Occupations
- picture restorer
reader for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
children's book author
Red Cross Nursing Auxiliary, WWII
children's book reviewer - Awards and honors
- Carnegie Medal (1968)
- Short biography
- Rosemary Jeanne Harris was born in London, England, a daughter of Sir Arthur Travers Harris and his wife Barbara Daisy Kyrle Money. She attended school in Weymouth, and then studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, the Chelsea School of Art, and the Courtauld Institute. During World War II, she served in the British Red Cross Nursing Auxiliary. Later she worked as a picture restorer and as a reader for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. From 1970 to 1973, she reviewed children's books for The Times. She also wrote numerous works of children's fiction of her own, and won the 1968 Carnegie Medal for The Moon in the Cloud. The Moon in the Cloud was the first volume of a trilogy set in ancient Egypt, followed by The Shadow on the Sun (1970) and The Bright and Morning Star (1972). The book was also the basis for a 1978 episode of the BBC television series for children, Jackanory.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- London, England, UK
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Reviews
The classic French fairy-tale of Beauty and the Beast is here retold by British children's author Rosemary Harris - winner of the Carnegie Medal in 1968 for her biblical fantasy, The Moon in the Cloud - and Kate Greenaway Medal-winning illustrator Errol Le Cain. With such a line-up, you'd expect this retelling to be top-notch - I certainly did, after adoring Le Cain's artwork for Cupid and Psyche, and I invested in a copy for my collection accordingly. Unfortunately, although this title does show more have some modest charm, and will be of interest to those readers who enjoy (as I do) examining multiple retellings of their favorite fairy-tales, it doesn't even come close to being amongst the better Beauty and the Beast adaptations I have seen.
I found some of Harris' narrative decisions here rather odd, and wondered a bit at her sources - no author's note is included, and there is no attribution of any kind, although the colophon for this (American) edition at least includes a "Folklore-France" subject designation - as it seemed to me that much of the magic of the original has been subtly altered, to make the tale more religious. When the merchant finds himself in the Beast's palace, he wonders where the "master" can be, never concluding (as he does in the French original) that this must be the residence of a good fairy. Similarly, when Beauty first comes to the palace, rather than having a comforting dream in which a good fairy assures her of her eventual reward, she instead dreams that God is pleased with her. Other minor details have also been altered - the Beast suggests that the merchant pray to God, when he is threatening to kill him; the jealous sisters (who are named Pride and Vanity in this telling) are sternly judged by the Prince, in the end, rather than the by all-knowing fairy - all resulting in the same curious deletion: the fairy has disappeared from this fairy-tale!
It's odd... I don't know enough about Harris, as an author or woman, to venture even a guess as to why these change were made. It could be anything from the use of an alternate nineteenth-century source that had a healthy dose of Victorian religiosity (the Victorians were often very concerned about the possibly deleterious effects of fairy-tales), to a personal religious conviction of the part of the author, that somehow necessitated these changes. It's hard to judge - I think I'd have to track down more of Harris' work, in order to decide. But whatever the case may be, when it comes to motivation, I didn't care for the resultant narrative, in which the sole figure of female authority in the story is removed. Errol Le Cain's artwork had its moments of enchantment, although it certainly wasn't the equal of the work he has done in other titles, but it simply wasn't enough to lift this above the level of a flawed, but moderately enjoyable retelling. Recommended primarily to Beauty and the Beast fanatics, and to Errol Le Cain fans. show less
I found some of Harris' narrative decisions here rather odd, and wondered a bit at her sources - no author's note is included, and there is no attribution of any kind, although the colophon for this (American) edition at least includes a "Folklore-France" subject designation - as it seemed to me that much of the magic of the original has been subtly altered, to make the tale more religious. When the merchant finds himself in the Beast's palace, he wonders where the "master" can be, never concluding (as he does in the French original) that this must be the residence of a good fairy. Similarly, when Beauty first comes to the palace, rather than having a comforting dream in which a good fairy assures her of her eventual reward, she instead dreams that God is pleased with her. Other minor details have also been altered - the Beast suggests that the merchant pray to God, when he is threatening to kill him; the jealous sisters (who are named Pride and Vanity in this telling) are sternly judged by the Prince, in the end, rather than the by all-knowing fairy - all resulting in the same curious deletion: the fairy has disappeared from this fairy-tale!
It's odd... I don't know enough about Harris, as an author or woman, to venture even a guess as to why these change were made. It could be anything from the use of an alternate nineteenth-century source that had a healthy dose of Victorian religiosity (the Victorians were often very concerned about the possibly deleterious effects of fairy-tales), to a personal religious conviction of the part of the author, that somehow necessitated these changes. It's hard to judge - I think I'd have to track down more of Harris' work, in order to decide. But whatever the case may be, when it comes to motivation, I didn't care for the resultant narrative, in which the sole figure of female authority in the story is removed. Errol Le Cain's artwork had its moments of enchantment, although it certainly wasn't the equal of the work he has done in other titles, but it simply wasn't enough to lift this above the level of a flawed, but moderately enjoyable retelling. Recommended primarily to Beauty and the Beast fanatics, and to Errol Le Cain fans. show less
I enjoyed Errol Le Cain's illustrations, as always, and all eighteen of the tales were new to me, which was a pleasant surprise. But there were occasional moments in Harris' storytelling that were off-putting. For instance, the way the characters talk in "White Orchid, Red Mountain"---surely if they're speaking their native Chinese, they shouldn't sound as though they're speaking broken English. I'd certainly recommend the collection to someone who's eager for more folklore, but the read is show more a little rockier than I'd prefer. show less
Very creative midrash (rabbinic "backstory") for the story of Noah's Ark. The characters are engaging (the king of Kemi is particularly well-drawn), and there are lovely touches of humor, not even counting the sly reference to "Do-Re-Mi" from "The Sound of Music". If I'm lucky, the library will have the second and third installments so I can find out what happens to the main characters and not leave them stranded in the Ark.
Long, but funny, with extra details that made it worth the extra time it took to read. Until the end when it got, erm, 'poignant.' The art is supposedly true to the Japanese style, and the copyright page mentions the name of the original story. However, no note or reference is included. Just barely worth 4 stars.
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