In post-Revolution France, a child is discovered in the forests near Aveyron, where he seems to have been living wild for seven years. Now 12 years old, the Wild Boy, as he becomes known, is captured, put on public display as a freak, and finally handed over to the ambitious, repressed Doctor Itard, who is charged with studying the Wild Boy, who he names Victor, and trying to discover the secrets of his strange, secret life. But Victor soon becomes a pawn in the raging debate about nature vs nurture, and Itard's attempts to educate and civilise him bear little fruit. Instead, Victor seems drawn to Mme Guerin, his maternal guardian - and to her vivacious daughter, Julie, who is herself falling for Itard as he struggles to understand both Victor and his own confused emotions. Giving a vivid sense of the Revolutionary period, the novel brings to life through the stories of three fascinating characters a mysterious case that still resonates today.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'The damaged child's frantic little body and fragile heart are an insistent, vivid presence on every page of [this] fine novel. Victor is the meeting place of theories, but he is also flesh ... Dawson's prose is graceful, her approach deeply intelligent and persuasive. She is as attentive to every period nuance as to the desolating silence at the heart of the Wild Boy's story.' -- Hilary Mantel, Waterstone's Books Quarterly 'An accomplished novel, rich with ideas and vivid characters, which is, above all, a lucid and moving exploration of the nature of autism.' -- Laura Baggaley, Observer 'persuasive and thought-provoking' -- Emma Hagestadt, The Independent 20040716
About the Author
Jill Dawson is an award-winning poet, novelist and editor of several anthologies including The Virago Book of Wicked Verse and, with Margo Daly, Wild Ways. Her first novel, Trick of the Light, has been optioned for a film and she is working on the screenplay of her second novel, Magpie (both published by Sceptre). She was the British Council Fellow at Amherst College, Massachusetts, in 1997 and is currently the Royal Literary Fund Fellow in Writing at the University of East Anglia. Born in the north of England, she has recently moved with her family from London to Cambridgeshire.
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More About the Author
Jill Dawson is one of Britain's most talented contemporary writers. She began publishing at the age of 22 by winning first prize in a national short story competition. She went on to win an Eric Gregory Award for poetry, and published her first novel, Trick of the Light, in 1996. She is the author of six novels, editor of six anthologies of poetry and short stories, and has published one poetry pamphlet. Fred & Edie, her third novel, was shortlisted for both the Whitbread and Orange Prize, and was voted one of 50 essential novels by a living author by Guardian readers in the UK.
She has held many fellowships, including the British Council Fellowship in Amherst, and the Creative Writing Fellowship at University of East Anglia, Norwich, where she taught on the Writing MA.
In 2006 she received an honorary doctorate in recognition of her writing and her work with new writers.
Her latest novel, The Great Lover, was selected as a Summer Read for 2009 by TV's Richard and Judy Book Club.
Jill Dawson is currently director of Gold Dust, a mentoring scheme which pairs new writers with big-name established writers. www.gold-dust.org.uk
Her own website is here: www.jilldawson.co.uk
She has held many fellowships, including the British Council Fellowship in Amherst, and the Creative Writing Fellowship at University of East Anglia, Norwich, where she taught on the Writing MA.
In 2006 she received an honorary doctorate in recognition of her writing and her work with new writers.
Her latest novel, The Great Lover, was selected as a Summer Read for 2009 by TV's Richard and Judy Book Club.
Jill Dawson is currently director of Gold Dust, a mentoring scheme which pairs new writers with big-name established writers. www.gold-dust.org.uk
Her own website is here: www.jilldawson.co.uk
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Intriguing,
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This review is from: Wild Boy (Paperback)
I picked this book up as an impulse purchase in Paris' airport. I needed something in English to read on the long journey home to Sacramento and, believe me, I wasn't disappointed! This book is a page turner and a wonderful insight into the minds of folks on a journey toward "civilizing" a child who spent most of his years in the wild. In real life, no one knows how and why Victor was sent to live in the wild; however, these were revolutionary times in France when people disappeared without a trace. Were his parents casualties of the "reign of terror" or was he abandoned to fend for himself in the wild before he was "rescued." This is a great book that I'd recommend to anyone interested in the human condition and/or history.
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