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Three Weeks (book)

Three Weeks is a 1907 erotic romance novel by Elinor Glyn.

Three Weeks
1907 cover
AuthorElinor Glyn
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreErotic romance
PublisherGerald Duckworth
Publication date
1907
Media typeHardcover

Plot edit

Paul Verdayne, wealthy English nobleman in his early twenties, is caught embracing the parson's daughter. His parents decide to send him away to France and then Switzerland. In Switzerland, he sees a woman referred to only as "the Lady". The Lady is older, in her thirties. After several days of exchanging lustful glances, they actually meet. She invites him to her apartment, where they share a sexual relationship for three weeks. Eventually, Paul learns the Lady is actually the queen of a Russian dependency and her husband, the king, is abusive towards her. She disappears after the titular three weeks; Paul is upset and returns to England. Paul later discovers that the Lady has given birth to their son. With his father's assistance, he finds out the Lady's identity; however, before they can meet again, she is murdered by her husband. Paul is upset and spends the next five years wandering around from country to country, until he decides to make preparations to meet his son.

Reception edit

Critical reception was negative in the United Kingdom and United States. The book was described as disjointed, "dull and stupid", "boring, vulgar and extremely silly". Critics also made personal attacks on Glyn, saying she was complacent, her writing immature, and she was "indifferent to her own reputation".[1][2][3][4][5][6]

When the novel was published in the United States by Duffield & Co., it was quite popular, selling 50,000 copies in the first three weeks. After that, it sold on average about 2,000 copies per day for the next three months.[7] The book's subject matter made it a specific target of the Boston-based Watch and Ward Society's anti-vice campaigns.

Adaptations edit

Three Weeks was first made into an American motion picture in 1914 [it], directed by Perry N. Vekroff and starring Madlaine Traverse and George C. Pearce.[8] In 1917 a Hungarian version titled Három hét was directed by Márton Garas.[9] It was adapted again in the 1924 version, made by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Alan Crosland under the supervision of Glyn,[9] and starring Conrad Nagel and Aileen Pringle.

In popular culture edit

  • A sexual scene in Three Weeks inspired the doggerel:
Would you like to sin
With Elinor Glyn
On a tiger skin?
Or would you prefer
To err with her
On some other fur?[10]
  • The 1915 film Pimple's Three Weeks (Without the Option), starring British comedian Fred Evans, is a burlesque of the novel.[11]
  • In S. J. Perelman's series of pieces Cloudland Revisited, he re-reads and describes the risqué novels that had thrilled him as a youth. Tuberoses and Tigers deals with Glyn's Three Weeks. Perelman described it as "servant-girl literature" and called Glyn's style "marshmallow". He also mentions the 1924 film version of the book in which he recalled Goldwyn's "seductive" image of Pringle "lolling on a tiger skin..."[12]
  • In the 1924 silent movie The Family Secret, the nurse maid for Baby Peggy's character reads the book to her as part of reading time, but Kerry sneaks away.
  • The 1925 silent movie Seven Chances shows a telephone operator reading the book on the job between calls.
  • In the 1930 Disney short The Shindig, Clarabelle Cow is shown reading the novel; as a result, The Shindig was banned in Ohio.[13]
  • In Evelyn Waugh's 1952 novel Men at Arms (the first of the Sword of Honour trilogy), an (RAF) Air Marshal recites the poem upon spotting a polar bear rug by the fire in a London club, of which he has just wangled membership (p. 125). To this, another member responds: "Who the hell is Elinor Glyn?" The Air Marshal replies: "Oh, just a name, you know, put in to make it rhyme." This was both a snub to the Air Marshal and a literary snubbing of Glyn by Waugh.
  • In the 1973 film Blood for Dracula directed by Paul Morrissey, the character Rubinia (a potential "bride" of the Count) mentions that she is reading Three Weeks. This is used as a subtle comedic touch, as the Count is searching for a virginal victim.
  • In the 1962 film adaptation of the musical The Music Man, the librarian asks Mrs. Shinn if she wouldn't want her daughter reading a classic rather than Elinor Glyn. Mrs. Shinn replies that "What Elinor Glyn reads is her mother's problem."

References edit

  1. ^ Academy, June 29, 1907.
  2. ^ Athenaeum, June 22, 1907.
  3. ^ Literary Digest, October 26, 1907.
  4. ^ Nation, October 10, 1907.
  5. ^ "Prurient and Worse Yet---Dull", New York Times, September 28, 1907. (PDF)
  6. ^ Saturday Review, June 15, 1907.
  7. ^ Dawn B. Sova. Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds, Facts on File Inc., 1998. 193
  8. ^ Three Weeks at the Internet Movie Database
  9. ^ a b Horak, Laura (2010). ""Would You Like to Sin With Elinor Glyn?" Film As a Vehicle of Sensual Education". Camera Obscura. 25 (2). Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press: 75–117. doi:10.1215/02705346-2010-003. ISSN 1529-1510. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  10. ^ Glyn, Anthony (1955). Elinor Glyn: a Biography. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. p. 26.
  11. ^ "Pimple's Three Weeks (Without the Option)". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  12. ^ Perelman, S. J. (1949), Listen to the Mocking Bird, pp. 70–78, London: Reinhardt and Evans Listen to the Mocking Bird in libraries (WorldCat catalog).
  13. ^ "Regulated Rodent". Time. 16 February 1931., quoted in Apgar, Garry, ed. (2014). A Mickey Mouse Reader. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1628461039.

External links edit

three, weeks, book, three, weeks, 1907, erotic, romance, novel, elinor, glyn, three, weeks1907, coverauthorelinor, glyncountryunited, kingdomlanguageenglishgenreerotic, romancepublishergerald, duckworthpublication, date1907media, typehardcover, contents, plot,. Three Weeks is a 1907 erotic romance novel by Elinor Glyn Three Weeks1907 coverAuthorElinor GlynCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishGenreErotic romancePublisherGerald DuckworthPublication date1907Media typeHardcover Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 3 Adaptations 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 External linksPlot editPaul Verdayne wealthy English nobleman in his early twenties is caught embracing the parson s daughter His parents decide to send him away to France and then Switzerland In Switzerland he sees a woman referred to only as the Lady The Lady is older in her thirties After several days of exchanging lustful glances they actually meet She invites him to her apartment where they share a sexual relationship for three weeks Eventually Paul learns the Lady is actually the queen of a Russian dependency and her husband the king is abusive towards her She disappears after the titular three weeks Paul is upset and returns to England Paul later discovers that the Lady has given birth to their son With his father s assistance he finds out the Lady s identity however before they can meet again she is murdered by her husband Paul is upset and spends the next five years wandering around from country to country until he decides to make preparations to meet his son Reception editCritical reception was negative in the United Kingdom and United States The book was described as disjointed dull and stupid boring vulgar and extremely silly Critics also made personal attacks on Glyn saying she was complacent her writing immature and she was indifferent to her own reputation 1 2 3 4 5 6 When the novel was published in the United States by Duffield amp Co it was quite popular selling 50 000 copies in the first three weeks After that it sold on average about 2 000 copies per day for the next three months 7 The book s subject matter made it a specific target of the Boston based Watch and Ward Society s anti vice campaigns Adaptations editThree Weeks was first made into an American motion picture in 1914 it directed by Perry N Vekroff and starring Madlaine Traverse and George C Pearce 8 In 1917 a Hungarian version titled Harom het was directed by Marton Garas 9 It was adapted again in the 1924 version made by Samuel Goldwyn directed by Alan Crosland under the supervision of Glyn 9 and starring Conrad Nagel and Aileen Pringle In popular culture editA sexual scene in Three Weeks inspired the doggerel Would you like to sin With Elinor Glyn On a tiger skin Or would you prefer To err with her On some other fur 10 dd The 1915 film Pimple s Three Weeks Without the Option starring British comedian Fred Evans is a burlesque of the novel 11 In S J Perelman s series of pieces Cloudland Revisited he re reads and describes the risque novels that had thrilled him as a youth Tuberoses and Tigers deals with Glyn s Three Weeks Perelman described it as servant girl literature and called Glyn s style marshmallow He also mentions the 1924 film version of the book in which he recalled Goldwyn s seductive image of Pringle lolling on a tiger skin 12 In the 1924 silent movie The Family Secret the nurse maid for Baby Peggy s character reads the book to her as part of reading time but Kerry sneaks away The 1925 silent movie Seven Chances shows a telephone operator reading the book on the job between calls In the 1930 Disney short The Shindig Clarabelle Cow is shown reading the novel as a result The Shindig was banned in Ohio 13 In Evelyn Waugh s 1952 novel Men at Arms the first of the Sword of Honour trilogy an RAF Air Marshal recites the poem upon spotting a polar bear rug by the fire in a London club of which he has just wangled membership p 125 To this another member responds Who the hell is Elinor Glyn The Air Marshal replies Oh just a name you know put in to make it rhyme This was both a snub to the Air Marshal and a literary snubbing of Glyn by Waugh In the 1973 film Blood for Dracula directed by Paul Morrissey the character Rubinia a potential bride of the Count mentions that she is reading Three Weeks This is used as a subtle comedic touch as the Count is searching for a virginal victim In the 1962 film adaptation of the musical The Music Man the librarian asks Mrs Shinn if she wouldn t want her daughter reading a classic rather than Elinor Glyn Mrs Shinn replies that What Elinor Glyn reads is her mother s problem References edit Academy June 29 1907 Athenaeum June 22 1907 Literary Digest October 26 1907 Nation October 10 1907 Prurient and Worse Yet Dull New York Times September 28 1907 PDF Saturday Review June 15 1907 Dawn B Sova Banned Books Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds Facts on File Inc 1998 193 Three Weeks at the Internet Movie Database a b Horak Laura 2010 Would You Like to Sin With Elinor Glyn Film As a Vehicle of Sensual Education Camera Obscura 25 2 Durham North Carolina Duke University Press 75 117 doi 10 1215 02705346 2010 003 ISSN 1529 1510 Retrieved 14 September 2020 Glyn Anthony 1955 Elinor Glyn a Biography Garden City New York Doubleday p 26 Pimple s Three Weeks Without the Option IMDb IMDb com Inc Retrieved 13 August 2022 Perelman S J 1949 Listen to the Mocking Bird pp 70 78 London Reinhardt and Evans Listen to the Mocking Bird in libraries WorldCat catalog Regulated Rodent Time 16 February 1931 quoted in Apgar Garry ed 2014 A Mickey Mouse Reader University Press of Mississippi ISBN 978 1628461039 External links editDigitized copies of Three Weeks at Internet Archive nbsp Three Weeks public domain audiobook at LibriVox Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Three Weeks book amp oldid 1172665916, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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