View source for Appointment with Venus

{{short description|1951 novel by Jerrard Tickell}}
{{about|the novel|its film adaptation|Appointment with Venus (film)}}
{{infobox book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name          = Appointment with Venus
| title_orig    = 
| translator    = 
| image         = Appointment with Venus novel.jpg
| caption       = First edition
| author        = [[Jerrard Tickell]] 
| illustrator   = 
| cover_artist  = 
| country       = United Kingdom
| language      = English
| series        = 
| genre         = [[War novel]]
| publisher     = [[Hodder & Stoughton]] 
| release_date  = 1951
| english_release_date =
| media_type    = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] & [[Paperback]])
| pages         = 
| isbn          = <!--N/A-->
| preceded_by   = 
| followed_by   = 
}}

'''''Appointment with Venus''''' ({{LCCN|51039007}}) is a novel by [[Jerrard Tickell]] published by [[Hodder & Stoughton]] in 1951, leading to a British film adaptation the same year and [[Venus fra Vestø|a Danish film adaptation]] in 1962. The story is based on a real incident of the evacuation of [[Alderney cattle]] from the Channel Island during World War II.<ref>[http://www.alderneysociety.org/aldcow.html Alderneysociety.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929034043/http://www.alderneysociety.org/aldcow.html |date=September 29, 2007 }}</ref>

==Plot summary==
In 1940, after the fall of France, the fictitious [[Channel Islands|Channel Island]] of Armorel is occupied by a small garrison of German troops under the benign command of Hauptmann Weiss. He finds that the hereditary ruler, the Suzerain, is away in the army, leaving the Provost in charge.

Back in London, the [[Ministry of Agriculture]] realise that Venus, a valuable pedigree [[Guernsey cow]], remains on the island. They petition the War Office to mount a rescue operation, and Major Valentine Morland is assigned the mission, with the assistance of the Suzerain's sister Nicola Fallaize who joined the [[Auxiliary Territorial Service|A.T.S.]] at the outbreak of war.

They travel to Armorel by [[submarine]], contact the Provost and other friends on the island, and discover that Weiss, a cattle breeder in civilian life, is about to have the cow shipped to Germany. Nicola persuades her artist cousin, who has tried to ignore the war, to help by painting another cow with Venus' distinctive markings, and, with some narrow escapes, they succeed in taking Venus to a waiting ship for the journey back to England.

==Production==
*The island of Armorel appears to be a fictionalised version of [[Sark]]. Sark was used as a location when making the film adaptation.
*Before their mission, Morland takes Fallaise out to dinner, and after their main courses, he asks the waiter for "coffee and [[Kümmel (liqueur)|kimmel]]", the latter being a liqueur said to be especially popular at golf clubs.

==Other adaptations==
[[BBC World Service]] broadcast a 4-part dramatisation by Michael Bartlett featuring Karen Archer and [[Michael Cochrane]] in 1992.

A 1993 audio cassette version of the novel was produced by Soundings Ltd ({{ISBN|185496822X}}).

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
*''[[Appointment with Venus (film)|Appointment with Venus]]'' (1951 British film adaptation)
*''[[Venus fra Vestø]]'' (1962 Danish film adaptation)
*[[Laura Secord]] and her cow during the War of 1812

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appointment With Venus}}
[[Category:1951 British novels]]
[[Category:Novels set during World War II]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Channel Islands]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1940]]
[[Category:Hodder & Stoughton books]]


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