Weed

Weed is a pseudonym that comes from a child’s attempt to pronounce Louise. Maria Louise [de la] Ramé, an English writer, was born in Bury St Edmunds , England , where her birth was registered on January 7, 1839 . Almost nothing is known about Wida's early childhood, except that her father, Louis Ramet, was French , and her mother, Susan Sutton, was English . According to an article published on January 29, 1908 in The New York Times , it was found that Uida was also the sister of the American Civil War hero, Colonel George Roy Gliddoff, and is said to have left her native home in America at an early age and was taken under custody of a woman who accepted her as her daughter. Other articles about her alleged birthplace and relationship with Gliddoff were published at Publishers Weekly at about the same time. But not one of these sources has been refuted or documented. One way or another, Uida herself preferred not to speak on the topic of her personal life. Her opinion about the motherland is not constant; in one of her books she wrote

This clean, quiet, old-fashioned city seems to me like an old maid dressed as a party; sometimes it’s just a dull and boring town where there is so much grass on the streets that it seems like acres of pasture are under your feet. Residents are even forced to ring their doorbells themselves so that they do not rust from non-use.

During her career, she wrote more than forty adventurous and sentimental novels from high society in England and Italy , as well as many children's books, collections of short stories and essays . She was an animal rights activist and rescuer, and at times even the owner of at least 30 dogs. For many years she lived in London , but in 1874 she moved to Italy , where she remained until her death in 1908 .

Literary Recognition

At an early age, she and her family move to London , where years later she begins to contribute to New Monthly and Bentley's Magazine. In 1860, her first story was published , and then the novel Granville de Vigne was published, which was then reprinted in New Monthly under the title Held in Bondage (1863), and then there was quick success immediately several, one after the other, of the novels Strathmore (1865), Chandos (1866) and Two Flags (1867). The list of subsequent works by Widah is very long, but suffice it to say that along with the story “Moths” ( English Moths ) (1880), among the works mentioned earlier there are not only the most characteristic, but also the best. A large share of Wida's work was devoted to children's literature . Of the less dramatic genres, Bimbi: Stories for Children (1882) and Ruffino and Other Stories (1890) can also be distinguished. But her most striking creations were and remain “Under Two Flags” and “Moths,” which brought her real fame as novelist writers.

Stages and Directions

Wida's work has had several successive stages throughout her career. During her early period, her novels were a hybrid of the 1860s sensualism and proto- adventure novel , which were partially published as a romanticization of imperial expansion . Later works are typical love stories , although she never stopped commenting on modern society. In the intervals between writing short stories , she compiles collections of short stories for children, who will devote most of their time to the later stages of her work. One of her most famous novels, “Under Two Flags,” describes the most ridiculous British adventure in Algeria , but also expresses sympathy for the French , whom Uida identified to some extent with the Arabs . Several plays were staged from this book (and subsequently at least three films were shot). Jack London refers to the novel Signa, which he read at the age of eight, as one of the eight reasons for his literary success. This book describes the fate of an uneducated peasant child from Italy, who subsequently attains fame as an opera composer .

An article on Jack London, “Eight Factors of Literary Success” ( 1917 ), in labor, Earle (ed.) ( 1994 ) Viking Penguin. Portable Jack London, 512 pp. ↓

• The caricature of Widou, located in the Pancha Room ¹ dated August 20, 1881 . ↙

Transition to the image on the link: [1]

• ¹ Note: Punch is a weekly comedy magazine published in London.

Characteristics of Creativity

In itself, she was small in stature and, according to contemporaries, with a “voice like a knife for cutting meat” (apparently of high tonality). From an early age, she dressed in transparent dresses, often surrounded herself with flowers and was the owner of the salons of the Langham Hotel - one of the largest hotels in London, famous for its luxury and unique style (sometimes she even slept there). Among the visitors to those salons were military personnel, politicians, literary luminaries, and artists. Convinced of her ability to influence foreign policy and possessing a strategic brilliance combined with feminine cunning, she gave suggestions to some of her famous visitors who at least pretended to take what was said seriously. Later, while living in France and Italy, Ouida continues to host locals and refugees, as did her earlier events. Uida considered herself a true artist, believing, moreover, that any comparison with any of the popular contemporaries is simply trite. She was inspired by Byron , in particular, and was interested in other creators of all stripes. A sympathetic description of the tragic fate of artists and singers appears in her later novels. However, her work often combines romance with social criticism. In the novel Puck (1870), a talking dog talks about his views on society. "Views and Opinions" ( English Views and Opinions ) (1895) includes essays on various social topics, announcing her own opinion.

Purely literary criticism and for reasons of morality or taste, the novels of Weed may be condemned. They are usually flashy, and often unhealthy. However, it is impossible to reject works such as “Chandos” or “Under the Two Flags”, only based on this. The expressiveness inherent in Wida on the basis of sensual passion was combined in it with an original gift of fate and intrigue, as well as with genuine visual power, which, although disfigured by inaccurate statements, literary solecism , cheap chic and extravagance, nevertheless allowed her to build picturesque in the best traditions and powerful stories. The character of Cigarettes in the novel Under Two Flags is full of subtle meaning, and this is not an isolated case. The heroine of another well-known novel "Idalia" ( English. Idalia ) (which, she claimed to have written at age 16), was a rebel engineer who sympathized with Italian independence.

Recent years

In 1874, Uida made Florence her home, and many of her later novels were created in an Italian setting. She collaborates with magazines from time to time, and actively writes under the pseudonyms antivivisection and Italian politics (“Italian politics”), but her views on these things were marked by characteristic cruelty and lack of common sense. She earned a lot of money from her early books, but also spent it without looking at the future, and although she was awarded the Civil Pension List in 1907 , Weeda died in poverty in Viareggio , Italy on January 25, 1908 . Buried in the English cemetery in Bagni di Lucca, Italy . Shortly after her death, a fountain for horses and dogs was purchased and built at Bury St Edmunds, with an inscription written by Lord Curzon, on a public donation:

(Translation: “Her friends built this fountain at her birthplace. The creatures of God whom she loved so much will soothe her tender soul by coming here to get drunk.” )

• Two Little Wooden Shoes (1874), also published under the name Bébée ; link to the original here (Project Gutenberg: English texts)
• Afternoon (1883)
• "Altruist" ( English An Altruist ) (1897)
• Ariadne (1877) pdf
• “ Beatrice Boville and Other Stories ” (1868)
• "Bimbi: Stories for Children" ( Eng. Bimbi: Stories for Children ) (1882) Eng. text
• Cecil Castlemaine's Gage (1867)
• “The Flanders Dog ” ( English A Dog of Flanders ) (1872), English-language adaptations of the novel 1935, 1959. The 1999 film “A Dog of Flanders” (starring John Voight ). “The Flanders Dog” a popular Japanese anime animated series, adaptation of the book, 1975. “The Flanders Dog: My Friend Patrash” TV, adaptation of the book, 1992. “The Flanders Dog” - Film (Russian “Dog Heart”) remake of the first TV series, 1997; English text
• Chandos (1866)
• Critical Studies (1900)
• Dogs (1897)
• Don Guesaldo (1886)
• Frescoes: Dramatic Sketches ( English Frescoes: Dramatic Sketches ) (1883)
• Friendship (1878)
• "Fol-Farin" ( English Folle-Farine ) (1871)
• Guilderoy (1889)
• Helianthus (1908)
• Held in Bondage (1863), a novel first published under the title Granville de Vigne
• "A House Party" (1887)
• “The Silver of Christ and the Lemon Tree” ( English The Silver Christ and A Lemon Tree ) (1894)
• "Idalia" ( English Idalia ) (1867)
• "In a Winter City" ( Eng. In a Winter City ) (1876)
• "In Maremma" (1882)
• La Strega and Other Stories (1899)
• Le Selve and Other Tales (1896)
• The Massarenes (1897)
• Moths (1880)
• "Muriella; or, Le Selve "(1897)
• “ The New Priesthood: A Protest Against Vivisection ” (1893)
• Othmar (1885)
• Pascarel (1874)
• Pipistrello and Other Stories (1880)
• Princess Napraxine (1884)
• The Puck (1870)
• “Rainy June” ( English A Rainy June ) (1885)
• Ruffino and Other Stories (1890)
• "Santa Barbara and Other Stories" ( English Santa Barbara and Other Stories ) (1891)
• Signa (1875)
• The Silver of Christ ( The Silver Christ ) (1894)
• Strathmore (1865)
• Street Dust and Other Stories (1901)
• Syrlin (1890)
• The Tower of Taddeo (1892)
• Toxin (1895)
• Tricotrin (1869)
• “Two Offenders and Other Tales” ( English Two Offenders and Other Tales ) (1894)
• Under Two Flags (1867), an adaptation of the novel 1912, 1916, 1922 (starring Rudolph Valentino ), and 1936 (starring Ronald Colman and Claudette Colbert ); English text
• Views and Opinions (1895)
• A Village Commune (1881)
• Wanda (1883)
• The Waters of Edera (1900) text

• “Snow Prince” ( dir. Joji Matsuoka), 2009, Japan
• The Dog of Flanders (directed by Yoshio Kuroda), 1997
• Flemish Boy (directed by A. Kirik) (1980, a cartoon based on the story "Nello and Patrash"
• The Flanders Dog (A dog of Flanders) (dir. James Clark), 1960
• The Flanders Dog (A dog of Flanders) (directed by Kevin Brody), 1999

• Wida's work in the Gutenberg project
• Widy's works, see the Internet Archive
• Works by Ouida at The Victorian Women Writers Project
• Description of the book In Maremma (1882) in Valancourt Books
• 1905 Magazine Article with Photos
• Encyclopedia Britannica. “Ouida.”
• The New York Times January 29, 1908
• The article "Ouida Memorial, Bury St Edmunds" on St. Edmundsbury, Borough Council.
• Biography, works (English)
• Interactive site dedicated to the Japanese series. Cartoons "Flanders Dog" (Russian)