Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake is a Doctor Dolittle book written by Hugh Lofting. The book was published posthumously in 1948, 15 years after its predecessor. Fittingly, it is the longest book in the series, and the tone is the darkest; World War II took place before the book was published, during which Lofting had published his 1942 anti-war poem Victory for the Slain. The book contains passages that almost border on being misanthropic with some very powerful passages concerning war and Man's inhumanity to man.
The book starts with the Doctor giving up his dream of lengthening human life with discoveries he made on the Moon, and showing signs of despair. The tone of the passages for the first time acknowledges 'nature red in tooth and claw': another of the Doctor's experiments, a house where scavengers and parasites can live without harming other creatures, is also doomed to failure.
The Doctor then receives an urgent call to rescue what is literally his oldest friend: Mudface the Giant Turtle, who was a passenger on Noah's Ark. Mudface's tale of the Great Flood is told, which was missing from Lofting's 1923 novel Doctor Dolittle's Post Office. Mudface's account of the Flood and its aftermath takes up most of the book, and it is by no means a jolly story. There are many references to genocide and slavery, including a passage where animals gather outside a hut to devour the humans inside (a young man and his beloved, who are the most sympathetic characters next to Mudface and his mate).
Comedy is reduced to a mere sprinkling, just enough to lighten some of the more dark passages. The book stands alone in style but with, arguably, some of Hugh Lofting's most powerful writing.
Also of note is that Lofting's depiction of African characters is far less caricatured than in previous novels.
doctor, dolittle, secret, lake, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2012, learn,. This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake is a Doctor Dolittle book written by Hugh Lofting The book was published posthumously in 1948 15 years after its predecessor Fittingly it is the longest book in the series and the tone is the darkest World War II took place before the book was published during which Lofting had published his 1942 anti war poem Victory for the Slain The book contains passages that almost border on being misanthropic with some very powerful passages concerning war and Man s inhumanity to man Doctor Dolittle and the Secret LakeFirst editionAuthorHugh LoftingIllustratorHugh LoftingCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishSeriesDoctor DolittleGenreFantasy children s novelPublisherJ B LippincottPublication date1948Media typePrint hardcover and paperback Preceded byDoctor Dolittle s Return Followed byDoctor Dolittle and the Green Canary Children s literature portalStyle editThe book starts with the Doctor giving up his dream of lengthening human life with discoveries he made on the Moon and showing signs of despair The tone of the passages for the first time acknowledges nature red in tooth and claw another of the Doctor s experiments a house where scavengers and parasites can live without harming other creatures is also doomed to failure The Doctor then receives an urgent call to rescue what is literally his oldest friend Mudface the Giant Turtle who was a passenger on Noah s Ark Mudface s tale of the Great Flood is told which was missing from Lofting s 1923 novel Doctor Dolittle s Post Office Mudface s account of the Flood and its aftermath takes up most of the book and it is by no means a jolly story There are many references to genocide and slavery including a passage where animals gather outside a hut to devour the humans inside a young man and his beloved who are the most sympathetic characters next to Mudface and his mate Comedy is reduced to a mere sprinkling just enough to lighten some of the more dark passages The book stands alone in style but with arguably some of Hugh Lofting s most powerful writing Also of note is that Lofting s depiction of African characters is far less caricatured than in previous novels External links editDoctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database nbsp This article about a children s fantasy novel of the 1940s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake amp oldid 1155249241, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
