Posted by Dave Thewlis on 1/05/100 from ppp194-pm5.humboldt1.com:
In Reply to: Re: Appealing to a new generation? Really? posted by Wayne Hammond on January 05, 19100 at 12:11:52:
I suspect the real underlying issue has as much or more to do with availability and awareness as it does to
"what the modern child finds attractive". The parallel to the survey mentioned earlier is perhaps the large
number of surveys on "best of everything" done in the months leading up to the century turnover. If there is
any general conclusion that can be drawn, I think it is that largely those who registered their opinions were
most aware of recent people and events, and far less aware of people, events or items which were older or with
which they didn't have an immediate connection.
If we want to decide whether the Ransome books will appeal to the new generations once they are exposed to them
and aware of them, then the answer is "sometimes" and I have no idea whether the percentage is lower or larger than
it would have been two generations ago, or even just what should be compared to come up with a meaningful measure.
It seems obvious that some children today given the exposure don't find them persuasive, and others find them
compelling, and there seem to be a constant stream of those who do like the books given the chance.
The important thing is that those children who never encounter the books will never have the opportunity to
try them and find out how they feel about them, which seems to be reason enough to continue to extoll them.
As I remarked in an earlier thread (much earlier) culture in the U.S. looks as though it has reached close to the end
of a pendulum swing in a variety of areas (casualness in manner and dress, musical taste, reading, to mention only
three things) and perhaps is swinging back; a growing interest in more traditional values (at least on the part of some)
is probably tied to this. I suspect Ransome has a chance to be far more popular in the next twenty years, at least here,
than he ever was before -- at least if the awareness of the books increases.
On a related theme I was interviewed recently by a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle who, upon reading the Harry Potter
books, felt impelled to produce a column pointing out that these were not a unique phenomenon, but rather the latest in a long
tradition of British "rip-roaring" children's tales, of which she felt the Ransome books were perhaps the epitome. I'm waiting
to see the column and will ask her permission to post either here or (if it's worthwhile) to the Literary Pages.