Coco Hoek on Sans Famille
As last lecture in Mayflower Bookshop’s series on children’s classics, Coco Hoek, expert on French literature, will treat us to a talk on the 19th century French classic ‘Sans famille’, a book that enthralled generations of Dutch children under the title Alleen op de wereld (in English: Nobody’s boy). Sans Famille was published in 1878 and adapted into film numerous times both in France and other countries.
As children, we were thrilled by the adventures of the foundling Rémi, the many disasters that befell him, the colourful people he met. Not to mention that cleverest of monkeys, Monsieur Joli-Coeur! But Hector Malot always wanted to do more than just entertain children – or adult readers. He wanted his little readers to learn something as well, and he wanted his adult readers to think about the world they lived in.
In many ways he was a man of his time, living in a complicated and every-changing world. But in some ways, that world wasn’t so very different from our own. And some of the things he cared about still matter today.
We’ll look at Hector Malot in his world, and we’ll look at some themes that make him an interesting and thought-provoking writer even in our modern times. And of course, we’ll renew our acquaintance with Rémi, Mother Barberin, Vitalis, Mattia, and of course the unforgettable Joli-Coeur!