Discussion in a recent post by Ananda Girl reminded me of an old song by the Strawbs. It is "Lady Fuchsia", about one of the main characters in the Gormenghast books by Mervyn Peake. The Gormenghast books came out in the UK about the same time "The Lord of the Rings" did. It is a fantasy trilogy also, but it is nothing like "The Lord of the Rings".
It takes place at a huge castle that is like Hogwarts from "Harry Potter"...but more so. It seems obvious to many, myself included, that Hogwarts castle had its inspiration in Gormenghast.
One blogger compares the two places:
"I have complained that Rowling doesn't have the chops to provide the sense of awe and wonder that Hogwarts deserves; in fact she wastes very little ink on describing it at all. Peake succeeds in that, and the various rooms and hallways of Gormenghast provide some of the books' most captivating passages. Like Hogwarts, it is riddled with secret passageways and bizarre corners; one of my favorites is the tallest part of the castle, the Tower of Flints, where the Death Owls live who pick into oblivion anyone condemnded to death. Elsewhere it is a labyrinth of chambers, attics, roofs, and quadrangles.
"This illustration is as good as any I found on the Web to give an idea of what I think the place looks like.
Fuchsia herself is a goth-girl type, of the Gormenghast royal family (the castle is so big that it is plenty for the royal family to rule, without there being a kingdom to surround the castle). She is shown in one of the author's illustrations to the above right. Also seen in the illustration is the book series' anti-hero, Steerpike. Looking at the illustration, I think he should have been played by a young Sting. Lady Fuchsia Groan also appears to the left.
A Youtube video of the song appears below, followed by the lyrics:
A child denied all love can't weep
But bravely bears her life alone
So Fuschia as you try to sleep
You dream of friends you've never known.
In troubled years when no-one cared
You searched for comfort everywhere
For heavy burdens never shared
Become too much for one to bear.
So much to give
But those who live
Don't know of you
Your fantasy
Of love to be
Cannot come true
Oh Lady Fuschia
Oh Lady Fuschia.
Now poised above the castle walls
She looks your last on lonely skies
Night owls pray for her as they call
Returning ere the dawn shall rise.
Your loveless life
Has led you here
Not knowing why
Your troubled mind's
No longer clear
To live or die
Oh Lady Fuschia
Oh Lady Fuschia.
Oh Lady Fuschia
Oh Lady Fuschia.
9 comments:
Spot on: Sting wanted to make a film of Gormenghast but it never came off. Instead he played Steerpike in the BBC radio adaptation of it. He called his daughter Fuchsia (NB spelling) and his horse Steerpike.
Cool. I had no idea. I suppose I could have googled Sting + Steerpike. I had no idea about Sting's actually connection to Steerpike and Gormenghast.
Here is a web page about it.
I only made the connection because I think that the illustration of Steerpike looks like Sting. But the article mentions nothing about the physical resemblance, meaning it is probably coincidental to the singer's fascination with the character and books.
Now, what is NB spelling? I googled it, and found New Brunswick. It can't be that, can it?
Ah. "Nota Bene". Learn something every day.
And it turns out that "Fuschia" is more properly spelled as "Fuchsia".
However, the mispelling is common, and is actually more common in a Google search on the song name.
Seems like there was a film of this that everyone was looking forward to, but I didn't care for it that much.
Laughing: What you saw was the BBC miniseries from 2000, available in the US on DVD. I thought it was so-so, with a lot of disappointments.
The Dursley guy from Harry Potter played the chef. He was supposed to be fearsome in the books, but was pathetic in the show. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was Steerpike. The setting was nothing like I imagined it.
The doctor, Prunesquallor, was also miscast. I envisioned him as being exactly like Thomas Dolby in the She Blinded Me With Science video
I thought Christopher Lee was good as "Flay", a character that I think inspired Filch in "Harry Potter". This was right before Lee got really famous again for Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc.
There were a lot of good actors in it, but as a whole I didn't care for it.
Ask Michael Sheehan about the spelling of 'fuchsia.' The word was spelled wrong six times before being spelled correctly at the 2007 Senior Spelling Bee. Our team, in fact, lost on that word. We know how to spell it now.
That sounds really cool. I'll have to check it out.
Laughing: You might like the books better. The books are, in their way, a monumental masterpiece. The BBC series is not one.
PJ: And I mispelled it initially in this post. I have corrected it, except for in the song lyrics.
Churlita: Check out the books :)
Thanks for all the comments.
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