University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk University of Southampton FACULTY OF ENGLISH (Creative Writing) School of Humanities Day A Study of the Presentation of Bereavement in Novels for Secondary Level Children by Alistair Schofield Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2011 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF ENGLISH (CREATIVE WRITING) SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES Doctor of Philosophy DAY By Alistair Schofield This thesis comprises critical reflection and novel. Claims for originality in the novel lie in the combination of the specific geographical location of Leeds, the 1970s setting, the narrative time frame of twenty‐four hours, and the use of the mundane not as a setting from which to escape but as one in which epiphanous moments can be found. These key decisions were made early in the evolution of the novel and are discussed, along with other issues such teenage sexuality, in the first section of the critical reflection. The novel’s main character, fourteen‐year‐old Daniel, is grieving over the loss of his mother, and bereavement becomes the focus of the second section, which comprises the main thrust of the reflection. In response to similar research undertaken in 1985, I take forty‐nine novels for ten to fourteen‐year‐olds written between 1997 and 2010 and analyse the presentation of bereavement therein, providing original data and opening up the novels to a scrutiny to which many have never been subjected. The previous research concludes that children’s novels offered little of value for bereaved children. I question whether writers for children have a duty to do anything but entertain by engaging with critical opinion past and present, and argue that it is impossible for a writer to avoid awareness of the age of the reader, that novels can affect children, and that consequently the writer must show moral and artistic responsibility in the presentation of important themes. My research suggests that gender differences are still present but are less emphatic, and that some novels present bereavement in a sanitised, irresponsible way or fail to present it at all. I also find the resolution of grief through the use of ghosts or visions neither realistic nor helpful. In the final chapter I explore ways in which the reading impacted positively upon the writing of Day and conclude that not only do the best of the novels treat bereavement with wit, insight and sensitivity, but that the eclectic mix of theme, character, voice and style across the books will provide inspiration for future projects for years to come. List of Contents Author’s Declaration……………………………………………………………………………….1 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………2 Critical Reflection SECTION ONE: DAY’S BEGINNING………………………………………………….4 Introduction…………………………………………………………………..…….………..….6 Ordinary and Mundane: the origins of Day….............................…......................8 Plot Synopsis……………………………………………………………………..….………...12 Leeds, Tuesday, 7th November, 1978…………………………………….…….........14 Sexuality: does anything go?……………………………………………….…………....20 One Day in Everyday: the twenty‐four hour narrative……………………….24 SECTION TWO: THE INVISIBLE BLANKET..……………………….….………28 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….30 Loss and Healing……………………………………………………………………………...32 The Moore and Mae Data………………………………………………………………….36 Serious Brain Damage: didacticism in Children’s Literature….…………...38 The Fascination with Death: making the list……………………………………...50 The Study..………………………………………………………………………………..……..56 Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………..60 Honest and True: further discussion of the novels…..…..………………….....66 Day………………………………………………………………………………………………..……..……92 Appendix: Day­ A Radio Play……………………………………………………..………...238 Bibliography………………………………………………………………….……...…………..……312 Academic Thesis: Declaration Of Authorship I, Alistair Schofield, declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. DAY: A STUDY OF THE PRESENTATION OF BEREAVEMENT IN TEENAGE FICTION I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. Either none of this work has been published before submission, or parts of this work have been published as: [please list references below]: Signed: ............................................................................. Date: ................................................................................ Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, Rebecca Smith, for casting her expert eye repeatedly over my creative work. Her creative input has been invaluable, as has her remorseless enthusiasm and positivity. Mary Hammond and Shelley Cobb, my two academic supervisors, are also owed a huge debt of thanks for their honesty and zeal. They have continually challenged me to take my reflection further intellectually. Without Timothy Moore and Reet Mae’s original article on bereavement in children’s literature I would not have been inspired to tackle my own research and I am indebted to both. In particular, Professor Moore’s emails have been encouraging and useful. I would like to thank Chris Thomas, Senior Schools Librarian for Southampton City Council, for her advice in the formulation of the list of forty‐nine bereavement novels. I have been both grateful and surprised at the time that novelists have taken to respond to my questions and would like to thank Julia Green, Adrienne Vrettos, Anne Cassidy and Tara Altebrando for their generosity in this respect. The original idea for the novel came following a conversation with Andrew Motion, and I will never forget the kind and supportive email that he sent me. He took forty minutes to reply, which I still find astonishing given that I only met him once and that he was at that time the Poet Laureate. Lastly, I must thank my wife, Rebecca, for allowing me the space and time within our very busy life together to pursue this dream. 2 3 Section One Day’s Beginning 4 5 Introduction The two sections of this critical reflection reflect the two waves of research undertaken. In May 2010 Professor Peter Middleton read through a draft of my up‐ grade essay and suggested that I needed to concentrate upon one key aspect of the evolution of the novel. It was immediately clear to me that bereavement, being the energy behind the novel’s conception (if that does not sound too paradoxical), should become of the focus of my research, and this is discussed fully in Section Two. This first section, then, explains the origins of the novel, bringing together the other strands of research that had an impact upon the final version, and there are claims to originality here. Day’s frame narrative unfolds over twenty‐four hours and this is extremely rare in novels for children or adolescents. It is also unusual for modern novels to have a very specific geographic setting (possibly because it might be viewed as off‐putting to an international audience), but Day’s location of Leeds (itself a long unfashionable city that is beginning to become more fashionable) is integral to the narrative. A further point about the setting is that, whilst it is a common narrative device to present a mundane setting in order to provide a contrast to the exciting world to which the protagonist escapes, it is much rarer to stick with the mundane for the entire story. In the last chapter of this section I discuss the difficult issue of teenage sexuality: difficult because of the dichotomous relationship between the widespread accessibility to teenagers of graphic sexual images and texts from various mediums, and society’s deep (and understandable) suspicion of anything that involves a mixture of child, adult and sex. I consider the moral and cultural choice facing children’s writers and discuss the decisions taken in the writing of Day. 6 7 Ordinary and Mundane: the origins of Day The inspiration for Day came in June 2002, following a conversation with the poet Andrew Motion. He had just given a reading at Saint Dunstan’s College where