The Adventures of Mabel
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| Author | Harry Thurston Peck (as Rafford Pyke) |
|---|---|
Publication date | January 1, 1896 |
The Adventures of Mabel is a children's fantasy novel by Harry Thurston Peck, first published in 1897 under the pseudonym Rafford Pyke.
Plot
[edit]The story is about Mabel, a five-year-old girl who helps the King of all the lizards and is rewarded with the ability to converse with animals. She also meets giants and brownies.
History
[edit]The first edition was published in 1897 by Dodd, Mead & Co. under the pseudonym "Rafford Pyke" with illustrations by Melanie Elisabeth Norton.[1][2] At the time, Peck was the editor of The Bookman, a literary journal which published an effusive review of The Adventures of Mabel in December 1897 under the byline Nicholas Brown,[3] and had previously published an article under Peck's name announcing the book's release by "Pyke".[4] The conflicts of interest were not disclosed.[5] When The Adventures of Mabel was mentioned in the episode "Mabel" of the television show Better Call Saul as a childhood book beloved by protagonist Jimmy McGill, commentators noted parallels between Peck's and McGill's uses of pseudonyms, and compared the development of McGill's plot arc to the real-life fate of Peck,[5][6] who committed suicide in 1914 after being cut off by literary colleagues in the fallout from an alleged love affair.[7]
Reception
[edit]Kirkus Reviews stated that the book may entertain young children.[8] This sentiment was echoed by The New York Times, which lauded the book for young readers.[9] The illustrations were praised by The Evangelist as "original and amusing".[1] Kirkus criticised the book's word choice and loosely connected structure.[8] The imagination of the book was described by The Critic as infantile,[10] and its story was criticised by The Nation.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b The Evangelist 1897-11-25: Vol 68 Iss 47. Open Court Publishing Co. 1897-11-25.
- ^ "Dodd, Mead & Co". The Critic. New York. 1897-09-11. p. 141.
- ^ Brown, Nicholas (December 1897). "An Ideal Child's Book". The Bookman. 6 (4): 365–366.
- ^ "The New Child and its Picture Books". The Bookman. 4 (1): 301–308. September 1896.
- ^ a b Fuster, Jeremy (2017-04-11). "'Better Call Saul': The Link Between 'The Adventures of Mabel' and Jimmy McGill". The Wrap. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Venable, Nick (2017-04-12). "Did Better Call Saul's Season 3 Premiere Hint At How Jimmy Dies?". Cinemablend. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
- ^ Gordon, Laura. "PECK, Harry Thurston". Database of Classical Scholars. Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
- ^ a b "Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Reed, Helen Leah (1900-12-08). "Books for Children.: TWENTY OF THE BEST AMONG RECENT ONES". The New York Times. ProQuest 95974430. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ The Critic 1897-12-11: Vol 28 Iss 825. Open Court Publishing Co. 1897-12-11.
- ^ The Nation 1897-11-18: Vol 65 Iss 1690. Nation Company L.P. 1897-11-18.
External links
[edit]- The Adventures of Mabel available at Internet Archive (scanned illustrated color books)
