Marianne and Mark
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| Marianne and Mark | |
| Author | Catherine Storr |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Unknown |
| Publication date | Unknown |
| Preceded by | Marianne Dreams |
Marianne and Mark is a novel for children by Catherine Storr. It is a sequel to the previous story Marianne Dreams and continues the story of the eponymous characters. The novel has far less basis in fantasy than the first book with Storr focusing on the trials of growing up rather than magical happenings, although there is arguably a fantastic subtext in Marianne and Mark.
[edit] Plot
Now aged fifteen Marianne returns to Brighton, the place she recouperated from her illness at the end of Marianne Dreams when she was ten. Much to her disappointment she finds Brighton a lonely and boring place, and she tags along with local girls Alice and Josie despite having little in common with them.
One evening Josie's friend Billie tells the girls of a visit to a local fortune teller who apparently gives remarkably accurate readings. Reluctantly, Mariane joins the girls on a trip to the fortune teller and there she is astonished at how much the woman guesses about her life, including details of her illness five years ago. The fortune teller assures Marianne that she will not be lonely for much longer and that soon she will experience romance.
Spurred on by this Marianne accepts a date with a boy called Alan, whom she doesn't realise is Billie's former boyfriend. This inadvertant betrayal alienates Marianne from the few frinds she had, and after Alan also deserts her she is left on her own. It is then that she meets Mark, a boy from London who, it transpires, is the same boy with whom she shared a governess but never met in Marianne Dreams. The two enjoy the last few days of the holiday together and promise to meet again in London.
[edit] Themes
Unlike Marianne Dreams with its magial plot, the sequel focuses on character and emotion. There are however, a number of occasions which could be interepreted as supernatural, especially the fortune teller's knowledge of Marianne and her dream. It is left ambiguous as to whether Mark experienced the events of Marianne Dreams or if they were all only a dream of Marianne's. There are hints that it was more than just a dream as the fortune teller notes that Marianne's previous actions helped Mark, and later Mark takes Marianne to a lighthouse which looks exactly the same as the one from the dream, and he asks her if she remembers it. This could mean that the dream dis happen to both of them or he could be simply commenting on the fact that both of them have in fact visited the spot before, in real life.
[edit] Setting/Location
Most of the settings in the novel are real places in Brighton and Eastbourne including: the West Pier and the Palace Pier, West Street, North Street and East Street (the stationers Marianne visits on East Street is most likely based on a shop called Beals which was only recently converted into a clothes shop), Brighton Station, Beachy Head and Bell Tout lighthouse.
