''Feather Boy'' is a novel by

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

-based author Nicky Singer; it was first published in 2002 by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, under the Collins

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

and reissued under the Essential Modern Classics imprint in 2010. A TV adaptation was created by the BBC in 2004.

Synopsis

Robert Nobel is a 12-year-old shy boy who despairs of his newly divorced parents. Living in the dog-leg, he has to face many difficulties. He is the victim of classroom jokes and a victim of Niker, the classroom

bully Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggressively dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perc ...

. He is hated and forced to do disgusting things. His life changes when a storyteller, Catherine, invites some of his class to Mayfield Rest Home. In there, he has to do a project with an elder called Edith Sorrel. Edith Sorrel asks him to go to Chance House, a lonely abandoned house standing out of nowhere at St Aubyns. He goes into finding the grave of David Sorrel: a 12 year old boy who took his life on the very top level of the abandoned house (Chance House). and tells this to the one he loves: Kate. However, Niker hears him and challenges him to spend a night together at the top. Having done this, Edith Sorrel gives him a new task: to create a coat of feathers just for her. He sews night and day to create it and finally, it is nearly ready. However, there is another problem: Niker. Niker destroys his coat of feathers and he has to sew it back! Finally, he gives it back to Edith and when she has it: she flies and then she dies. In the end, he meets his father once again and they happily go fishing together.

Adaptations

The book was adapted for television in 2004 and first shown as a series of six 30-minute episodes on the British TV channel, BBC One on 16 March. It was later repeated as a single feature-length programme on 30 May 2004. The series was written and produced by Peter Tabern and directed by

Dermot Boyd Dermot Boyd is a Northern Irish-born television director. Programmes he has directed include: ''The Return'', ''Four Fathers'', '' Feather Boy'', ''Johnny and the Bomb'', '' Drop Dead Gorgeous'', ''Rough Diamond'', ''Whistleblower'', ''Casualty'', ...

, starring

Thomas Brodie-Sangster Thomas Brodie-Sangster (born 16 May 1990) is an English actor. As a child actor, he gained recognition for his roles in the commercially successful films ''Love Actually'' (2003) and ''Nanny McPhee'' (2005). He voiced Ferb Fletcher, Ferb in the ...

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has performed on stage in both plays and musicals in London theatres, and is also known for her roles in films and on television. Her Broadway ...

and

Aaron Taylor-Johnson Aaron Perry Taylor-Johnson (né Johnson; born 13 June 1990) is an English actor. He is known for his portrayal of the title character in '' Kick-Ass'' (2010) and its sequel '' Kick-Ass 2'' (2013), as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe charact ...

. Tabern and Boyd shared the award for Best Drama at the

British Academy Children's Awards The British Academy Children's Awards were presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). They were awarded annually since 1996, before which time they were a part of the main British Academy ...

. In 2006 the National Theatre commissioned a musical version for young people to perform, for which Singer and Boyd wrote the script with lyrics by Don Black and music by

Debbie Wiseman Debbie Wiseman, OBE (born 10 May 1963) is a British composer for film, television and the concert hall, known also as a conductor and a radio and television presenter. Biography Wiseman was born in Belsize Park, north west London, and attend ...

References

External links

Blue Peter Book of the Year 2002 press release
* * (2001–present) {{Authority control 2002 British novels British children's novels HarperCollins books 2002 children's books