Great article, Patrick!

We have some idea of what Farewell Summer will be like. The first chapter, also titled Farewell Summer, was published in The Stories of Ray Bradbury (1980). And Jonathan Eller and William Touponce read the unpublished manuscript of the novel, and wrote about it for several pages in Ray Bradbury: The Life of Fiction (2004).

The story is set in autumn 1929, and involves a war between the young and the old in Green Town. Another theme is the sexual awakening of Doug Spaulding in adolescence.

Of course, both the first chapter and the rest of the novel may have undergone much rewriting since then.

Having “Dandelion Wine” has been like being able to enjoy a lovely garden all these years and now with the coming of “Farwell Summer” it will be like discovering a part of the garden we never knew of before.

Hey all,

Cupola things,

I just read the short story Farewell Summer which almost reduced me to tears. I forgot it was in that book collection Walloon mentioned. I think its his metaphor for childhoods end. No Tom in this one, but included Skip, his real brother. Also, maybe I'm the only one who notices this, once again we have the word "murmur". It crops up in countless Bradbury stories, spoken soft and low, like a carnival calliope heard in the wind. Its fast becoming a favorite of mine as well. Regarding the ship in the dream, there are several great pictures in that Waukegan book of the tourist ships or ferry's that would leave the harbor at Waukegan for trips. I immediately thought of them when I read it. One other point, he mentions the sound of a foghorn as well, don't know if it was before or after he wrote it. I have an instinctual feeling about this book, its going to be one of his best. I am very excited about it as I'm sure you all are as well. Take care.

p.s. surprisingly it also mentions Farewell Summer, the flower, as one growing by the side of the road. We now know it is Soapwort.

Tom Fury tells Jim Nightshade that his house has "murmuring timbers." Yep, "murmur" is a good word!

Patrick

Beleive me, I have been immersed in Bradbury lately and I can't tell you how many times that word materializes onto the page, second only to the word "billion" in the amount of repetition. One other thing I wanted to mention is that I visualize the Grandfather as the one from the Paul Newman movie Hud.

Will Geer "Grandpa Walton" will always be "Grandpa" to me, and Miss Mamie and Miss Emily will always be Miss Fern and Miss Roberta.

Wow, your right about the Baldwin sisters! They had a green machine alright, but I don't think they drove it. Grandma Walton works too, I can see her thwacking carpets. She is one of those character actresses that was playing an old lady when she was twenty. Wasn't she in that one movie Mama's House or something like that. I hate to bring this up again, and I swear I don't even have this movie(yet), but she was also the teacher in Ghost and Mr. Chicken. Loved it when she's on the witness stand. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if she is in Ghost and Mrs. Muir also. ok, sorry

Ellen Corby played Grandma Walton. She died in 1999. She was in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), but not in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, or Big Momma's House (2000).

Ellen Corby was one of the great character actresses of all time.
I loved her in "I Remember Mama" (Aunt Trina)and "It's A Wonderful Life"(Mrs. Davis-uncredited).
She nearly always played the sweet old lady, with few exceptions; the most notable being "Myrt 'Hubcaps' Lesh" in an Andy Griffith episode in which she swindles Barney by selling him a lemon!

I've been privileged to obtain every episode of "Laramie," an unjustly-neglected western from 1959-1963, and glad to see many of my favorite actors there, including Ellen Corby, who appeared in the Mark Twain episode.

Thats what I couldn't think of, I remember Mama. Love that movie, thanks Braling. Remember the ucle in that. Also, that episode of A.G. is priceless. Are you sure about that, Walloon, could have sworn she was in Big Momma. I do love The Ghost and Mrs. Muir as well even if she isn't in it. Any others that come to mind? I mean actors or actresses that would or could be in Dandelion Wine if it was a movie?

Actors who could be in a movie version of Dandelion Wine? I'll have to think about it. All my favourites have, alas! passed on...

I confess I'm a bit apprehensive of what Hollywood might do. Look at what's about to happen with Winnie The Pooh!

(No rhyme intended...)

No, we're talking alive or dead. Looking for your perfect choice for any of the characters. Like maybe John Carradine for the junkman(saw him on episode of Kung Fu, driving wagon as a gypsy) or Sam Shephard for the dad, maybe the kid from A Christmas Story for Doug, who knows. Everyone has a different vision of it, so thought it would be interesting to see results.

Hey, I first read the book in 1976 and my cast is very influenced by the time period! The parents and grandparents from "The Waltons" are a definite must, as well as the Baldwin sisters for Miss Fern and Miss Roberta.

Lee H. Montgomery will ALWAYS be my Doug Spaulding! Here are pictures of him from a movie released the same year I read the book: http://www.youngactors.net/01-dvd_a-e/bakers_hawk/bakers_hawk_02.html

Those are my definites and I could doubtless come up with a number of maybes.