Tarka the Otter

This article is about Tarka the Otter. For Tarka, see Tarka (disambiguation).

Puffin Paperback (1971)

Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers is a novel by Henry Williamson. The book narrates the experience of an otter. It was first published in 1927 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, with an introduction by the Hon. Sir John Fortescue, K.C.V.O..

Plot summary

The plot begins with Tarka as a cub growing up in a den with his mother and siblings. As a cub, he learns how to clean himself, swim, and catch fish. When his home is attacked by hunters, he and his family must abandon it to flee from danger. Joining up with another group of otters, the family continue to travel. At some point he loses his family and his mother forgets she even had a cub named Tarka. From now on he must fend for himself. He continues to be persecuted and is constantly on the run from the hunters. In the end, as he is once again being chased by the pack of hounds, his life ends in a heroic death match with the fearsome dog Deadlock, who dies with him.

Awards and nominations

The book won the Hawthornden Prize. It features illustrations by Charles Tunnicliffe.

Audiobook

In 1978 Sir David Attenborough narrated an audiobook version of the story, released as a double audio cassette.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel has been adapted into a film: Tarka the Otter.

In 1974, Williamson began working on a script for a film treatment of the novel, but it was not regarded as suitable to film. Having previously rejected two separate offers from Walt Disney, Henry finally accepted an offer to make the film from noted English wildlife documentary film-maker David Cobham, whom he trusted. The movie, narrated by Peter Ustinov, was released in 1979, with a screenplay by Gerald Durrell.

I could always appreciate the joy and wonder in the countryside so richly expressed in ‘Tarka the Otter’, but I could also see a darkness that was a mystery to me. A brooding presence lies submerged that periodically surfaces in the unfeeling brutality that often occurs throughout the narrative. If Tarka and Deadlock have killed each other the story becomes a classic tragedy, which is highly ambivalent — the eternal struggle perhaps?

This is a tale of ruthless struggle for survival set against the boundless wonder of Creation — a tapestry of light, innocence and graphic purity that is at every juncture, menaced by hidden malice. It is a cathartic celebration of life and nature under, in Henry’s terminology, eternal and ancient sunlight — the very antithesis of the terrible war with which the author was struggling to come to terms. True to nature, it is brutally honest and yet brilliantly metaphorical — there can be little doubt it was fashioned by a master-craftsman.

—Pete Talbot

Williamson was very ill when filming started and died at the moment the final cathartic scene from the book was being shot at Instow beach in North Devon.^{[citation needed]} One of his sons, Richard, and his daughter-in-law are actually in the film.

It was voted the 98th greatest family film in a Channel 4 poll.

The soundtrack for the film was composed by David Fanshawe and performed by Tommy Reilly.

Musical score

In 1976 Anthony Phillips, formerly a guitarist with Genesis, and Harry Williamson recorded a soundtrack to the film of Tarka the Otter with the support of David Cobham, the producer. Harry had helped to persuade his father to sign the contract, reassuring him that with the music he had composed, which Henry loved dearly^{[citation needed]}, the film would be true to the book. When the film rushes were shown, however, it became apparent that there had never been any intention to use this orchestral work in the film. In 1987, Amy International paid for the completion of the work at Strawberry Studios and it was released by PRT records as simply Tarka. In 2001 the work was re-released with additional music by Voiceprint Records. The music has been commissioned for its first live performance with a symphony orchestra in Melbourne in February 2010.

About 'Tarka and me' by Pete Talbot

Pete Talbot, the film's principal animal handler, trained at the Otter Trust under Philip Wayre. In 1976 he was invited by film producers David Cobham and Bill Travers to hand rear a baby otter called Spade for the title role in Tarka the Otter. As his otter grew, Peter took him to live in a water mill in Hampshire - the home of wildlife film makers Ron and Rose Eastman. In time, they gathered a menagerie of five otters, including Spase, along with a tame barn owl, a goose and a German shepherd dog. With others, they became a family traversing Southern England, from Norfolk to The West Country, with their exotic pets. Over two years living and swimming side by side with his otter, Peter encountered a diverse mix of other animals and their keepers.

Notable editions

• 1927, UK, G. P. Putnams Sons, 1927, Hardback
• 1937, UK, Penguin Books, Paperback
• 1962, UK, Revised edition, Puffin Books, Paperback
• 1965, UK, Bodley Head, 1965, Hardback
• 1971, UK, Puffin Books ISBN 0-14-030060-0, January 1971, Paperback (C.F. Tunnicliffe, Illustrator)
• 1981, USA, Nelson Thornes ISBN 0-333-30602-3, March 1981, Hardcover (C.F. Tunnicliffe, Illustrator)
• 1982, USA, Salem House Publishers ISBN 0-370-30919-7, 1982, Paperback
• 1990, USA, Beacon Press ISBN 0-8070-8507-3, 1990, Paperback (Concord Library Series)
• 1995, UK, Puffin Books ISBN 0-14-036621-0, June 1995, Paperback (Annabel Large, Illustrator)

External links

• Tarka the Otter at the Internet Movie Database
• [1] - Peter Talbot's book, animal handler for the film
• Steve Downer - Website of stills photographer for the film