A Dog of Flanders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| A Dog of Flanders | |
| Author | Marie Louise de la Ramée (as Ouida) |
|---|---|
| Country |  UK |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Drama, Tragedy |
| Publisher | Chapman and Hall |
| Publication date | 1872 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 293 pp |
| ISBN | NA |
A Dog of Flanders is a novel about a boy Nello and his dog Patrasche, written by Marie Louise de la Ramée under the pseudonym Ouida in 1872. It is widely read in Japan, and has been adapted into several films and anime.
The story is little known in Belgium, and then primarily because of the tourists it attracts to Antwerp. There is a small statue of Nello and Patrache at the Kapelstraat (Chapel Street) in the Antwerp suburb of Hoboken, and a commemorative plaque in front of the Antwerp Cathedral donated by Toyota. This novel was very popular in the Philippines and it was dubbed and localized by ABS-CBN.
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[edit] Plot summary
In the 19th century, a boy named Nello becomes an orphan at the age of two when his mother dies in the Ardennes. His grandfather, Jehan Daas, who lives in a small village, Hoboken, near the city of Antwerp, takes him in.
One day, Nello finds a dog who was almost beaten to death and names him Patrasche. Due to the good care of Johan, the dog recovers, and from then on, Nello and Patrasche are inseparable. Since they are very poor, Nello has to help his grandfather by selling milk. Patrasche helps him pull the milk cart that Nello uses to sell milk in the town.
Nello has a friend, Aloise, the daughter of a well-off man in the village. The father doesn't want his daughter to have a poor sweetheart. Although Nello is illiterate, he is very talented in drawing. He enters a junior drawing contest in Antwerp, hoping to win the first prize, 200 francs per year. However, the jury selects somebody else.
Afterwards, his grandfather dies and he is accused of causing a fire. His life becomes even more desperate. Having no place to stay, Nello goes to the cathedral of Antwerp to see Rubens' The Elevation of the Cross, but he doesn't have enough money to enter. On the night of Christmas Eve, he and Patrasche go to Antwerp and, by chance, find the door to the church open. The next morning, the boy and his dog are found frozen to death in front of the triptych.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel has been adapted for cinema and television in live-action and animation:
- A Dog of Flanders (1914), directed by Howell Hansel.[1]
- A Boy of Flanders (1924), directed by Victor Schertzinger.[2]
- A Dog of Flanders (1935), directed by Edward Sloman.[3]
- A Dog of Flanders (1960), directed by James B. Clark.[4]
- Flanders no Inu (Japan, 1975), a Japanese animation TV series produced by Nippon Animation.
- Flanders no Inu, Boku no Patrasche (Japan, 1992), an animated TV series remake of Flanders no Inu produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha.
- Gekijôban Furandaasu no inu (Japan, 1997), directed by Yoshio Kuroda.[5]
- A Dog of Flanders (1999), directed by Kevin Brodie.[6]
For its authentic 19th century buildings, the Open Air Museum of Bokrijk, (Flanders) was used as scenery for the 1975 and 1992 anime and the 1999 film.
[edit] Documentary film
- Patrache, a Dog of Flanders - Made in Japan (Belgium, 2007), a documentary film directed by Didier Volckaert and An van Dienderen.
[edit] External links
- Project Gutenberg eBook
- Feature article: Do you know "A Dog of Flanders"?, in Crossroads
- Patrache, a Dog of Flanders, documentary website
