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Mistress Masham's Repose

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from her (Maria's) guardian, a vicar named Mr. Hater. Miss Brown and Mr. Hater conspire to keep Maria poor and isolated, hoping eventually to steal her inheritance. Maria does not go to school, and in church she has to walk all the way to her seat in oversized football boots which make a great deal of noise. Shy, lonely, and starved of affection, she meets a colony of Lilliputians living on an island in an ornamental lake. Her relations with them are initially quite strained: she tries to win them over with gifts while imposing her own ill-considered plans upon them, but eventually learns that she must respect them as her equals. Learning of the Lilliputians' existence, her guardians try to exploit them for gain, but working together Maria and her friends thwart their evil plans. The estate is restored to its former glory and becomes the Lilliputians' permanent home.
192: 27: 239:. The island provides the perfect setting for their timid and secretive civilisation, accessible only by boat and protected by a wall of brambles which is carefully cultivated by the island's occupants. Many of the monuments in the grounds of Malplaquet recall notable figures of the early 18th century; 124: 182:
Maria, a ten-year-old orphaned girl, is nominal owner of the grand but impoverished country estate on which she lives. Her only friends are a loving family cook and a retired professor, who try to protect Maria from her strict governess, Miss Brown. The governess makes her miserable, taking her cue
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was his fourth and last. The titular Repose is a tiny forgotten island in the middle of an ornamental lake in the vast grounds of Malplaquet. A structure on it is occupied by descendants of the Lilliputians, brought to England two centuries earlier by a sea-captain, following their discovery by
203:; someone wants to talk to Churchill, but it is revealed Clement Attlee is the prime minister, and in one chapter Maria plays at being General Eisenhower greeting grateful subject peoples. 259:, thus providing another link between the fictional Palace of Malplaquet and the real Blenheim Palace. Blenheim and Stowe are in turn linked to each other, in that 519: 263:, who developed the house and gardens at Stowe in the early eighteenth century, was a notable soldier who had served under the Duke of Marlborough. 301: 44: 91: 63: 70: 489: 256: 227: 514: 484: 469: 77: 260: 59: 504: 423: 162:, England, after the Second World War, but there is a strong flavour of the 18th century, both the fictional land of 110: 474: 448: 244: 479: 494: 48: 392: 499: 464: 252: 206:
As the end-paper illustrations in the book show, the ruinous estate of Malplaquet has similarities with
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said of the book: "It has always been a favourite of mine. This book is one for the hall of fame".
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In the United States, the book was out of print for many years until being re-issued by
279:, and the first British edition is dated 1947, reprinted in 1963, 1972, 1979, and 2000. 360: 223: 419: 316: 405: 324: 200: 159: 442: 287: 331: 236: 215: 174:. Imperialism, and the need for self-governance, is a major theme in the novel. 171: 149: 458: 356: 320: 294: 283: 276: 167: 352: 211: 145: 222:. The name is an allusion to Blenheim which depends upon knowing that the 207: 141: 123: 248: 255:. Although she has no other bearing on the story, she was a cousin of 409: 26: 351:(1985), began development on a film adaptation at Disney and had 144:
that describes the adventures of a girl who discovers a group of
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The book went out of print in 2009, but was republished by
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T. H. White and the Matter of Britain: A Literary Overview
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disliked it and halted any attempt for it to be greenlit.
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In 1989 a large de-luxe edition was published by the
51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 286:, illustrated by Charles Stewart, with a red silk 456: 199:The story has a contemporary setting, after the 214:during the 1930s, while the house is more like 210:in Buckinghamshire, where White had taught at 337: 271:The book was first published in the U.S. by 307: 195:Stowe House, an inspiration for Malplaquet 302:The New York Review Children's Collection 111:Learn how and when to remove this message 520:Children's books set in Northamptonshire 414:. New York: Simon and Schuster. p.  355:to do preliminary artwork for it. While 190: 122: 404: 257:Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough 457: 319:, the first child of White's friends 49:adding citations to reliable sources 20: 261:Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham 13: 14: 531: 436: 166:and the British Empire of Swift, 25: 359:was supportive of the project, 36:needs additional citations for 490:Novels set in Northamptonshire 398: 386: 373: 1: 366: 148:, a race of tiny people from 7: 327:, and is dedicated to her. 266: 226:was the first of the great 10: 536: 230:'s major victories, while 186: 60:"Mistress Masham's Repose" 515:G. P. Putnam's Sons books 485:Children's fantasy novels 470:British children's novels 395:at fantasticfiction.co.uk 338:Cancelled film adaptation 444:Mistress Masham's Repose 393:Mistress Masham's Repose 313:Mistress Masham's Repose 308:Dedication and reception 241:Mistress Masham's Repose 137:Mistress Masham's Repose 218:, the residence of the 177: 475:British fantasy novels 196: 158:. The story is set in 132: 505:1946 children's books 495:Novels by T. H. White 194: 152:'s satirical classic 140:(1946) is a novel by 127:First edition (publ. 126: 243:itself commemorates 220:Dukes of Marlborough 45:improve this article 500:1946 fantasy novels 465:1946 British novels 330:The fantasy author 16:Book by T. H. White 480:Gulliver's Travels 361:Jeffrey Katzenberg 348:The Black Cauldron 345:, the producer of 224:Battle of Blenheim 197: 155:Gulliver's Travels 133: 510:Fictional islands 317:Amaryllis Garnett 121: 120: 113: 95: 527: 430: 429: 402: 396: 390: 384: 379:Martin Kellman, 377: 325:Angelica Garnett 315:was written for 201:Second World War 160:Northamptonshire 116: 109: 105: 102: 96: 94: 53: 29: 21: 535: 534: 530: 529: 528: 526: 525: 524: 455: 454: 439: 434: 433: 426: 403: 399: 391: 387: 378: 374: 369: 340: 332:Terry Pratchett 310: 269: 237:Lemuel Gulliver 216:Blenheim Palace 189: 180: 117: 106: 100: 97: 54: 52: 42: 30: 17: 12: 11: 5: 533: 523: 522: 517: 512: 507: 502: 497: 492: 487: 482: 477: 472: 467: 453: 452: 438: 437:External links 435: 432: 431: 424: 406:Stewart, James 397: 385: 383:(1989), p. 769 371: 370: 368: 365: 339: 336: 309: 306: 268: 265: 245:Abigail Masham 188: 185: 179: 176: 150:Jonathan Swift 119: 118: 33: 31: 24: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 532: 521: 518: 516: 513: 511: 508: 506: 503: 501: 498: 496: 493: 491: 488: 486: 483: 481: 478: 476: 473: 471: 468: 466: 463: 462: 460: 450: 446: 445: 441: 440: 427: 425:0-684-80993-1 421: 417: 413: 412: 407: 401: 394: 389: 382: 376: 372: 364: 362: 358: 357:Roy E. Disney 354: 350: 349: 344: 335: 333: 328: 326: 322: 318: 314: 305: 303: 298: 296: 295:Red Fox Books 291: 289: 285: 284:Folio Society 280: 278: 277:Jonathan Cape 274: 264: 262: 258: 254: 250: 246: 242: 238: 233: 229: 225: 221: 217: 213: 209: 204: 202: 193: 184: 175: 173: 169: 165: 161: 157: 156: 151: 147: 143: 139: 138: 130: 125: 115: 112: 104: 93: 90: 86: 83: 79: 76: 72: 69: 65: 62: –  61: 57: 56:Find sources: 50: 46: 40: 39: 34:This article 32: 28: 23: 22: 19: 443: 410: 400: 388: 380: 375: 353:Andreas Deja 346: 341: 329: 312: 311: 299: 292: 281: 270: 240: 212:Stowe School 205: 198: 181: 153: 146:Lilliputians 136: 135: 134: 107: 101:January 2013 98: 88: 81: 74: 67: 55: 43:Please help 38:verification 35: 18: 228:Marlborough 142:T. H. White 459:Categories 449:Faded Page 367:References 253:Queen Anne 249:confidante 247:, a close 232:Malplaquet 71:newspapers 411:DisneyWar 297:in 2011. 451:(Canada) 408:(2005). 343:Joe Hale 267:Editions 164:Lilliput 290:cover. 273:Putnams 187:Setting 129:Putnams 85:scholar 422:  170:, and 168:Gibbon 87:  80:  73:  66:  58:  321:David 288:moiré 208:Stowe 92:JSTOR 78:books 420:ISBN 323:and 178:Plot 172:Pope 64:news 447:at 251:of 47:by 461:: 418:. 416:69 304:. 428:. 131:) 114:) 108:( 103:) 99:( 89:· 82:· 75:· 68:· 41:.

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Putnams
T. H. White
Lilliputians
Jonathan Swift
Gulliver's Travels
Northamptonshire
Lilliput
Gibbon
Pope

Second World War
Stowe
Stowe School
Blenheim Palace
Dukes of Marlborough
Battle of Blenheim
Marlborough
Malplaquet

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