Has anybody here read "The Green Child" by Herbert Read?

[Abdul Alhazred]

I think it's a good book and would like to discuss it.

Last time I tried this there were no takers, but the JREF audience is constantly changing, so I'll try again.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Originally posted by Abdul Alhazred
I think it's a good book and would like to discuss it.

Last time I tried this there were no takers, but the JREF audience is constantly changing, so I'll try again.

Bump. Has anybody here read The Green Child by Herbert Read? Good book, read it!

[Agammamon]

Probably, years ago. Give me a quick synopsis and I'll be able to tell if I've read it or not.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Originally posted by Agammamon
Probably, years ago. Give me a quick synopsis and I'll be able to tell if I've read it or not.

Oliver the rural Englishman, Olivero the Latin American dictator, and then the ultimate utopia inside the hollow Earth.

If that doesn't ring any bells, you haven't read it.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Originally posted by Abdul Alhazred


Bump. Has anybody here read The Green Child by Herbert Read? Good book, read it!

No, but I saw Behind The Green Door. Does that count?

[Checkmite]

The title of the book, and the mention of an underground Utopia and hollow earth, remind me of an old and fascinating legend I heard which relates events that allegedly took place near Woolpit, England, in the mid-1100's. It involved the finding of a pair of children - a boy and a girl - in a cave or pit outside of town. The children's clothing seemed odd and unfamiliar to the townspeople, and their skin was of a distinctly green hue - hence the name given to them, the "Green Children".

The Green Children spoke a language the locals could not understand. They refused to eat anything until some beanstalks were brought to them, at which time they opened the pods and ate the beans raw, and then would eat no other kind of food. The boy died eventually; the girl survived and at length began to eat other foods, after which the green tint in her skin disappeared. She also picked up the local language eventually and was finally able to relate the tale of how they came to be found.

According to the girl (according to the legend), the children came from a land called "Martin's Land" or "St. Martin", where there was no sun, and perpetual twilight, and everybody was green. They were playing together in a field when they heard "a sound of bells", became entranced by it, and woke up to find themselves in the pit outside Woolpit. Other "accounts" state that in the land of perpetual twilight, there was a "luminous city" or realm which was distantly visible from the outskirts of Martin's Land, but seperated from it by a large body of water. Still more variations have the children chasing some small animal into a cave, which went on for a long, long way, and eventually opened up onto the surface near Woolpit. This last "account" is generally pressed by those who use the story as proof of some sort of underground civilization or "hollow earth" (others prefer to have the kids coming from a seperate dimension).

No, I haven't read the book...but tell me, does it have anything in common with the above legend?

[Abdul Alhazred]

Originally posted by Joshua Korosi

No, I haven't read the book...but tell me, does it have anything in common with the above legend?

Move the story to the 19th century and add Oliver, the English schoolmaster turned Latin American dictator.

I don't know if it's still in print, but I strongly recommend it.