This wonderful albeit tearjerker book was introduced to a much larger audience on account of, first, a remarkable play which made its initial appearance in 2007. Its most highly-acclaimed feature was its pioneering use of puppetry. The production subsequently won Best Play and five Tony awards after it transferred to Broadway in 2010. Then, in 2011, a big screen version was made by none other than Steven Spielberg. As a result, "War Horse" is now world-famous, deservedly so, as are the life-size puppets, which have been featured in many TV segments the world over as well. They still make the occasional public appearance (including with live horses, which is always an interesting sight!).
The young adult novel by Michael Morpurgo, first published in 1982, is essentially this generation's "Black Beauty," set during the first World War. Like "Black Beauty," it is also told from the first-person perspective of the horse. Teenage Albert's father brings home a gangly colt from the market one day - it seems that he purchased the horse out of spite to prevent another buyer from acquiring him. The half-thoroughbred young horse is quite a handful, but young Albert befriends the beautiful weanling and eventually trains him to become a plow horse.
War is looming on the horizon, however, and Albert's father eventually is forced to sell the horse to the army to pay the mortgage to keep from losing their farm. Albert begs the Colonel who purchases him to join up with the cavalry to stay with Joey, but he's too young, and will have to wait until he's older to enlist. Thus begins the adventures of Joey the War Horse, who travels from England to France, changing hands many times, along with his best friend, the noble and elegant steed Topthorn, both of whom endure many hardships through the years of devastating war.
After the death of the young soldier who initially purchased him, Joey and Topthorn are eventually captured by the Germans, but escape almost certain death when they are used to pull an ambulance cart. They are housed at a farm and cared for by Emilie and her grandfather whose entire family was killed. When the Germans move, the horses are allowed to remain with Emilie and her grandfather on their farm, but more Germans soon come and seize the horses who are needed to pull artillery.
The pair fortunately meet a kindly German soldier charged with caring for them, Crazy Friedrich, but their good fortune is short lived. Due to the immense stresses of the war and the poor conditions, Topthorn suddenly dies from heart failure, and Friedrich is killed immediately after by a shell: Joey loyally remains with both of them until he encounters a tank, and runs blindly in terror into "no-man's land," where his leg is badly injured by barbed wire.
After a British soldier wins him in a coin toss, Joey is taken to a veterinary hospital, where he meets none other than Albert, who has joined the veterinary corps specifically in the hopes that he may find his beloved friend. This is somewhat different than the movie version, where both Joey and Albert are wounded, with Albert temporarily blinded by gas, but they recognize each other against all odds and are reunited, recovering together.
In the book, which is more realistic, Albert cleans off the horse and recognizes the odd white cross on his forehead and the four white socks. Tragically, however, it seems that Joey has contracted tetanus from his injuries, but he is nursed back to health by Albert and the other dedicated men who serve at the veterinary hospital.
The book ends with the surviving veteran horses being sold at auction, many to a French butcher, despite their service and war wounds. Although Albert tries to buy his beloved friend, who has survived against all odds, with funds raised by his unit - everyone knows the story of the miraculous horse saved from no-man's land and nursed through a life-threatening bout of tetanus - it's not enough. The buyer, who essentially rescues Joey from sale to the butcher, the fate of many of Joey's compatriots, turns out to be none other than Emilie's grandfather, who has scoured the countryside in search of the two horses who were taken from them. He never found Topthorn, of course, but purchased Joey, as he had made a promise to Emilie that he would never stop searching for them.
It turns out that Emilie, too, has perished, at just fifteen years old, after the horses were taken from the farm. Albert explains who Joey is, and the old man gives him the horse, as they are both farmers, and Albert is younger and in a better position to care for Joey for the rest of his life. Albert buys him for a penny, and returns home to his farm in Devon, where marries, and presumably, lives out his days with Joey by his side.
As in the story of "Black Beauty," which was essentially a protest novel, written to shed light on the misery of London's many working horses in the late nineteenth century, "War Horse" brings much-needed attention to the millions of horses who toiled during the war, nearly half a million of whom perished during the conflict. Like Anna Sewell before him, Morpurgo wanted to tell the story of the suffering of the horses during the war, who never really received an acknowledgement. And, like "Black Beauty," it has resonated with audiences the world over. The play was translated into multiple languages, as was the book, with dozens of requests alone being made for translation rights when the film was released in late 2011.
The history of the novel dates to a chance meeting the author had with a WWI veteran, Wilfred Ellis, who drank in the local pub at Iddesleigh, the village where the author lived. This man had served in the Devon Yeomanry and had worked with horses during his service in the Great War. Meeting another WWI veteran in the village, who had served in the cavalry, and another villager, perhaps not coincidentally named Albert, who recalled the army's arrival in the village to purchase horses, solidified the author's resolve to tell the story of the horses' contributions to the war effort.
Apparently, a painting also served as something of an inspiration, although it's not the one which the author describes in the book. The one mentioned in the author's note at the outset of the book is fictive. However, after the stage production became so immensely popular, many visitors came to the village to view it. Morpurgo then had a painting commissioned from one of the artists who had also worked on the Spielberg film, which was then hung in the village hall of Iddesleigh. The fictional painting describes Joey as portrayed by the officer who first purchased him - a blood bay with a white cross on his forehead.
The real story is somewhat more poignant. Apparently the author's wife inherited a painting dated 1917, by F.W. Reed, which depicted horses charging into barbed wire fences during a British cavalry charge on German lines during the war, an episode which the author later included in the book. He reportedly stated that the painting was not one someone would likely want to display, as it was so "haunting."
Due to the book's popularity even as a novel, the author wrote a sequel in 1997 entitled "Farm Boy," which tells the story of Albert's great-grandson, who lives in London, but visits the farm frequently, where he learns of the account of Joey and Albert from Albert's descendants.
It appears that the boy had lied about his age, as many young men did, to join up with the army; otherwise, he would not have found his beloved Joey when he appeared at the veterinary hospital. The story tells the account of a bet Albert made that his two horses, Joey and Zoey, could plow more than wealthy landowner Medicott's tractor, a bet he won. It seems that the story continues to inspire, so it will likely remain popular, as has "Black Beauty," for some time to come.
The young adult novel by Michael Morpurgo, first published in 1982, is essentially this generation's "Black Beauty," set during the first World War. Like "Black Beauty," it is also told from the first-person perspective of the horse. Teenage Albert's father brings home a gangly colt from the market one day - it seems that he purchased the horse out of spite to prevent another buyer from acquiring him. The half-thoroughbred young horse is quite a handful, but young Albert befriends the beautiful weanling and eventually trains him to become a plow horse.
War is looming on the horizon, however, and Albert's father eventually is forced to sell the horse to the army to pay the mortgage to keep from losing their farm. Albert begs the Colonel who purchases him to join up with the cavalry to stay with Joey, but he's too young, and will have to wait until he's older to enlist. Thus begins the adventures of Joey the War Horse, who travels from England to France, changing hands many times, along with his best friend, the noble and elegant steed Topthorn, both of whom endure many hardships through the years of devastating war.
After the death of the young soldier who initially purchased him, Joey and Topthorn are eventually captured by the Germans, but escape almost certain death when they are used to pull an ambulance cart. They are housed at a farm and cared for by Emilie and her grandfather whose entire family was killed. When the Germans move, the horses are allowed to remain with Emilie and her grandfather on their farm, but more Germans soon come and seize the horses who are needed to pull artillery.
The pair fortunately meet a kindly German soldier charged with caring for them, Crazy Friedrich, but their good fortune is short lived. Due to the immense stresses of the war and the poor conditions, Topthorn suddenly dies from heart failure, and Friedrich is killed immediately after by a shell: Joey loyally remains with both of them until he encounters a tank, and runs blindly in terror into "no-man's land," where his leg is badly injured by barbed wire.
After a British soldier wins him in a coin toss, Joey is taken to a veterinary hospital, where he meets none other than Albert, who has joined the veterinary corps specifically in the hopes that he may find his beloved friend. This is somewhat different than the movie version, where both Joey and Albert are wounded, with Albert temporarily blinded by gas, but they recognize each other against all odds and are reunited, recovering together.
In the book, which is more realistic, Albert cleans off the horse and recognizes the odd white cross on his forehead and the four white socks. Tragically, however, it seems that Joey has contracted tetanus from his injuries, but he is nursed back to health by Albert and the other dedicated men who serve at the veterinary hospital.
The book ends with the surviving veteran horses being sold at auction, many to a French butcher, despite their service and war wounds. Although Albert tries to buy his beloved friend, who has survived against all odds, with funds raised by his unit - everyone knows the story of the miraculous horse saved from no-man's land and nursed through a life-threatening bout of tetanus - it's not enough. The buyer, who essentially rescues Joey from sale to the butcher, the fate of many of Joey's compatriots, turns out to be none other than Emilie's grandfather, who has scoured the countryside in search of the two horses who were taken from them. He never found Topthorn, of course, but purchased Joey, as he had made a promise to Emilie that he would never stop searching for them.
It turns out that Emilie, too, has perished, at just fifteen years old, after the horses were taken from the farm. Albert explains who Joey is, and the old man gives him the horse, as they are both farmers, and Albert is younger and in a better position to care for Joey for the rest of his life. Albert buys him for a penny, and returns home to his farm in Devon, where marries, and presumably, lives out his days with Joey by his side.
As in the story of "Black Beauty," which was essentially a protest novel, written to shed light on the misery of London's many working horses in the late nineteenth century, "War Horse" brings much-needed attention to the millions of horses who toiled during the war, nearly half a million of whom perished during the conflict. Like Anna Sewell before him, Morpurgo wanted to tell the story of the suffering of the horses during the war, who never really received an acknowledgement. And, like "Black Beauty," it has resonated with audiences the world over. The play was translated into multiple languages, as was the book, with dozens of requests alone being made for translation rights when the film was released in late 2011.
The history of the novel dates to a chance meeting the author had with a WWI veteran, Wilfred Ellis, who drank in the local pub at Iddesleigh, the village where the author lived. This man had served in the Devon Yeomanry and had worked with horses during his service in the Great War. Meeting another WWI veteran in the village, who had served in the cavalry, and another villager, perhaps not coincidentally named Albert, who recalled the army's arrival in the village to purchase horses, solidified the author's resolve to tell the story of the horses' contributions to the war effort.
Apparently, a painting also served as something of an inspiration, although it's not the one which the author describes in the book. The one mentioned in the author's note at the outset of the book is fictive. However, after the stage production became so immensely popular, many visitors came to the village to view it. Morpurgo then had a painting commissioned from one of the artists who had also worked on the Spielberg film, which was then hung in the village hall of Iddesleigh. The fictional painting describes Joey as portrayed by the officer who first purchased him - a blood bay with a white cross on his forehead.
The real story is somewhat more poignant. Apparently the author's wife inherited a painting dated 1917, by F.W. Reed, which depicted horses charging into barbed wire fences during a British cavalry charge on German lines during the war, an episode which the author later included in the book. He reportedly stated that the painting was not one someone would likely want to display, as it was so "haunting."
Due to the book's popularity even as a novel, the author wrote a sequel in 1997 entitled "Farm Boy," which tells the story of Albert's great-grandson, who lives in London, but visits the farm frequently, where he learns of the account of Joey and Albert from Albert's descendants.
It appears that the boy had lied about his age, as many young men did, to join up with the army; otherwise, he would not have found his beloved Joey when he appeared at the veterinary hospital. The story tells the account of a bet Albert made that his two horses, Joey and Zoey, could plow more than wealthy landowner Medicott's tractor, a bet he won. It seems that the story continues to inspire, so it will likely remain popular, as has "Black Beauty," for some time to come.
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