Cobbler's Dream - Review

[sue]

I've just finished re-reading (or it that re-re-reading!) Cobbler's Dream.

I know it was part of the Group Read thread several months ago but that fizzled out, probably due to the fact that it was being read in Chapters, and it's stop and start way disrupted the continuity. May have been better to have reviewed the complete book, so everyone could have read it at their own pace.

Perhaps we could resume the discussion again. I'll leave it up to other members, and if there's an agreement, give my thoughts and opinions later.

Sue
 

[Jane]

Thanks Sue

I've just finished reading it myself so here's my two pennys worth.

It was quite confusing at first as there is an Uncle and also a Captain but no Colonel. The Uncle isn't the Colonel from the TV series but the Captain is 

No way is this a book for little children as there are graphic details of cruelty to horses all the way through the book.

I wonder why the actual story surrounding the pony Cobbler's Dream was never in the TV series?

Steve is referred to as Paul but I never had any difficulties relating to him as the TV character Steve, because apart from the description of his looks, his character is nearly the same.

I'd say Ron Stryker is exactly like his TV character and so is Slugger. Dora was described as looking like a boy so definately not like TV Dora 

I wonder what the TV series would have been like if they'd included Slugger's wrestling wife called Tiny and the Colonel had married Callie's mother? 

A fantastic book. It gets ten out of ten from me  8-)

[sharon]

Just - finally! - read Cobbler's Dream! I thought it was fabulous. I agree with Suzy's comments. There were many more characters at the farm then in the series and there were other differences. Dora was a much more practical and boyish figure then the tv character. Paul/Steve played more of a central role. Callie was more important in the book, Slugger less so. The Colonel was, confusingly, the Captain and seemed a very different character to the tv one. Ron was sacked and left the farm. The farm had no name at all!  :-? There was a lot of cruelty depicted in the book and I found it quite similar to the World's End books in many respects. I was a bit worried I wouldn't enjoy the book having loved the series so much, but thank goodness it more than lived up to that. All in all I was really impressed and would recommend it to anyone! 

[Sabrina]

It certainly wasn't written as a children's book - I read somewhere it was aimed at adults, but when YTV decided to make Follyfoot Monica Dickens started writing the Follyfoot series aimed at younger readers.

Again in the 'somewhere' I read about Monica writing this book it mentions that she wrote it to raise awareness of cruelty to animals. This article might even be on Louise's fansite. Just wish I could remember where I read it!

In Cobbler's Dream 'the farm' is run by trustees with the Captain as the manager - again different to Follyfoot which The Colonel owns.

With the later Follyfoot books it's interesting to note that while they were promoted as "a new story based on Yorkshire TV's Follyfoot" the characters are determinedly the characters from Cobbler's Dream. Dora never stops being tomboyish and plain, just a girl from the village who works at the farm. Methinks that Monica Dickens couldn't bring herself to write about a rich girl as a heroine - when you think of the World's End series (which I also loved) the family was always poor as can be.

If anyone has a later version of Cobbler's Dream can you tell me if one horse with a (now) very offensive name has had a name change? I have the 1972-ish paperback version and he's still called N*gger in that.

Cheers
Sabrina x

[Jane]

If anyone has a later version of Cobbler's Dream can you tell me if one horse with a (now) very offensive name has had a name change? I have the 1972-ish paperback version and he's still called N*gger in that.

Good point Sabrina, publishers usually change things like that these days. I've got the 1992 version so I'll have a look. 

I love the Worlds End series too 

[Jane]

Suprisingly N*gger hasn't had a name change!! 

[Sabrina]

Whoa! Really!!! That's astonishing, actually. I bet if it gets reprinted again he'll be called Digger or Trigger or something though.
Cheers
Sabrina x

[Jane]

Me thinks maybe the publisher/proofreader or whatever didn't read it too closely....or they didn't bother!