- Daniel Martin (novel)
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Daniel Martin 
1977 Little, Brown hardcoverAuthor(s) John Fowles Language English Publisher Jonathan Cape Ltd. Publication date 1977 Media type Print Pages 704 (1st edition, hardcover) ISBN ISBN 0224014900
(1st edition, hardcover)OCLC Number 3427330 Dewey Decimal 823/.9/14 LC Classification PZ4.F788 Dan PR6056.O85 Daniel Martin is a novel by John Fowles. It was released in 1977 and can be taken as a Bildungsroman, following the life of the eponymous protagonist. The novel uses both first and third person voices, whilst employing a variety of literary techniques such as multiple narratives and flashback. The author suggests that the book is concerned with "Englishness - what it is like to be English in the late 20th century."[1]
Contents
Plot summary
Daniel Martin is the story of a Hollywood screenwriter who returns to his native England when a friend from university asks to see him before he dies. With flashbacks to his childhood in the 1940s and time at university in Oxford, a tale of frustrated love emerges. The dying man (Anthony) asks him to look after his wife Jane. Daniel had in fact married Jane's sister, despite loving Jane and having had a one night stand with her.
Whilst in England, Daniel improves relations with his daughter (Caro) and estranged wife (Nell). Then Daniel and Jane go on a cruise visiting Egypt, Syria and Lebanon and the two fall in love again. Daniel breaks up with his Scottish girlfriend and the two lovers are reunited at the end of the book.
Characters in Daniel Martin
Character Information Daniel Martin The protagonist Nell Daniel's ex-wife Jane Daniel's lifetime love, Nell's sister Anthony Jane's husband, Daniel's friend Caro Daniel's daughter by Nell Jenny Daniel's Scottish girlfriend Major themes
The novel can be seen as autobiographical. John Fowles states in an interview: "You are every character you write. In Daniel Martin, where I describe myself travelling all over America, I probably revealed more of myself than anywhere else."[2]
In exploring the relationships between the main characters, Fowles takes the chance to expand upon such topics as aesthetics, philosophy of cinema, archeology, imperialism and the differences between Britain and the United States.
John Gardner calls upon Daniel Martin many times in the first half of On Moral Fiction; it is to him a reflection of John Fowles's valid opinion regarding art—namely, that true art ought to instruct. The same notion was Gardner's central thesis in On Moral Fiction.
Literary significance and reception
Robert McCrum states "It was the American literary press that saluted Daniel Martin; the English critics who murdered it."[3] Writing in The New York Times William H. Pritchard opined "This new, long, ambitious novel must be judged [Fowles's] best piece of work to date and is a masterly fictional creation, dense with fact."[4]
References
- FowlesBooks.com -- The Official John Fowles web site
- ^ Mel Gussow Talk With John Fowles in The New York Times, November 13, 1977 retrieved January 1, 2008 (may require subscription)
- ^ Adam Lee-Potter Fair or Fowles? in The Observer October 12, 2003 retrieved January 1, 2008
- ^ Robert McCrum in The highs and lows of being John Fowles, The Observer, November 13, 2005. retrieved January 1, 2008
- ^ William H. Pritchard, September 25, 1977 Book Review in The New York Times
Further reading
- Park S. Time and Ruins in John Fowles's "Daniel Martin" in "John Fowles" Modern Fiction Studies 1985, vol. 31, no 1, pages 157-163 ISSN 0026-7724
- Post-Pastoral in John Fowles’s "Daniel Martin" Wilson Organization Environment. 2005; 18: 477-488
- Discussion threads on Daniel Martin: http://fowlesbooks.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=5
Works of John Fowles Novels The Collector (1963) • The Magus (1965, revised 1977) • The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969) • The Ebony Tower (1974) • Daniel Martin (1977) • Mantissa (1982) • A Maggot (1985)Non-fiction The Aristos (1964) • The Tree (1979) • Wormholes (1998)Film adaptations Categories:- 1977 novels
- Novels by John Fowles
- Bildungsromans
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