Wild Boy

by Jill Dawson

In post-Revolution France, a child is discovered in the forests near Aveyron, where he seems to have been living wild for seven years. Now 12 years old, the Wild Boy, as he becomes known, is captured, put on public display as a freak, and finally handed over to the ambitious, repressed Doctor Itard, who is charged with studying the Wild Boy, who he names Victor, and trying to discover the secrets of his strange, secret life. But Victor soon becomes a pawn in the raging debate about nature vs nurture, and Itard's attempts to educate and civilise him bear little fruit. Instead, Victor seems drawn to Mme Guerin, his maternal guardian - and to her vivacious daughter, Julie, who is herself falling for Itard as he struggles to understand both Victor and his own confused emotions. Giving a vivid sense of the Revolutionary period, the novel brings to life through the stories of three fascinating characters a mysterious case that still resonates today.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Female Authors

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jill Dawson was born in Durham and grew up in Staffordshire, Essex and Yorkshire. She read American Studies at the University of Nottingham, then took a series of short-term jobs in London before studying for an MA in Writing at Sheffield Hallam University. In 1997 she was the British Council Writing Fellow at Amherst College, Massachussets.

Her writing life began as a poet, her poems being published in a variety of small press magazines, and in one pamphlet collection, White Fish with Painted Nails (1990). She won an Eric Gregory Award for her poetry in 1992.

She edited several books for Virago, including The Virago Book of Wicked Verse (1992) and The Virago Book of Love Letters (1994). She has also edited a collection of short stories, School Tales: Stories by Young Women (1990), and with co-editor Margo Daly, Wild Ways: New Stories about Women on the Road (1998) and Gas and Air: Tales of Pregnancy and Birth (2002). She is the author of one book of non-fiction for teenagers, How Do I Look? (1991), which deals with the subject of self-esteem.

Jill Dawson is the author of five novels: Trick of the Light (1996); Magpie (1998), for which she won a London Arts Board New Writers Award; Fred and Edie (2000); Wild Boy (2003); and most recently, Watch Me Disappear (2006). Fred and Edie is based on the historic murder trial of Thompson and Bywaters, and was shortlisted for the 2000 Whitbread Novel Award and the 2001 Orange Prize for Fiction.

Her next novel, The Great Lover, is due for publication in early 2009.

Jill Dawson has taught Creative Writing for many years and was recently the Creative Writing Fellow at the University of East Anglia. She lives with her family in the Cambridgeshire Fens.

Reviews

[Bria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by the true case of Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron, and evoking the mood of post-Revolutionary France, this novel brings to life a tale which has parallels in fairy tales (the boy has been raised by wolves) and even modern stories about autistic children. The story is narrated by the Doctor, who tries to educate and integrate Victor into society, and Madame Guerin and her daughter, who try to “tame” Victor through love and care. The book explores what it means to be human and civilised by following Victor’s difficult therapy and by questioning what has actually caused his “savage” state. I would also recommend Truffaut’s incredible film "L’ Enfant Sauvage" (The Wild Child).

[Ronan O'Driscoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful and emotional story. I recommend this for anyone who is a parent to an autistic child. Victor is an unforgettable character. Much more accurately drawn and misunderstood than Rainman. It is to Dawson's credit that she makes us feel for Itard and M. Guerin, even though they do terrible things. Stylisticly, this novel has some very interesting ideas. The use of first and third person voice (the latter only for the autistic Victor) works very well. Finally, the historical question of the treatment of autistic people is one that is never given enough attention and this book is to be celebrated for it.

[Isla Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing read - I enjoyed it, possibly more than I'd initially thought I might. For comparisons sake, the closest equivalent I could think of in terms of the plot isn't another book but rather the film Nell, in which Jodie Foster plays a lady discovered in the forest who had seemingly lived in isolation.

While the main plot involving the titular 'wild boy' who is affectionately given the name Victor, is interesting enough, this novel contains sub plots as well. As the novel builds, we as a reader learn more about the family and background of the people trying to help Victor. Things aren't as simple as we may like them to be and the more I read, the more curious I became to try to come to my own conclusions about how Victor came to be found where and in the condition he was found in. Its definitely intriguing, even though it is fictional but I believe very roughly based on a true story, although I don't know enough about that to be able to say how much of it is partly true (or accurate) or not.

I was a bit frustrated by the layout of the novel, with no real traditional chapters - its separated into a number of parts instead and a lot of it appears to be written as if in a journal/diary type way. There is dialogue provided and yet there are no speech marks to distinguish the start and end of conversations, which was, in a sense, a bit frustrating.

I found myself attempting to picture various circumstances depicted in the novel - its an imaginative and also thought provoking read. I'm not sure I've read anything quite like it, in terms of novels, in the last while and so I'd recommend it on that basis. I also liked the element of hope that it seemed to provide, or allude to.

[John M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for two reasons: I was on holiday in a part of France bordering on where the main activity of the novel took place and I remembered the Francois Truffaut film about a similar child. This is a delicate novel, well drafted with a good sense of place and the people of the time. Victor the wild boy captures your heart through Dawson's careful use of language and imagery but it is the depiction of his "guardian" Itard which stays with you longer. The full stuffiness of life for the upper classes or the educated so-called elite makes the reader long for Victor's return to the simpler life of the forests and hills - even though you know it makes no real sense to wish that on a child. I honestly recommend this book and promise it will stay with you for a long time after.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this was an interesting fictionalization of Victor of Aveyron's story, but truly it was not great. The shifts of perspective were unwieldy and took some getting used to. Victor came across as an autistic child very clearly, which was a more modern take on this wild child myth. It was not a bad book, and if some minor changes were made to the structure and to clarify the P.O.V. it would be greatly improved.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found the language a bit hard going, good story though, enjoyed the boook.

[amandanothere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild Boy was more than I expected it to be. It focuses it's writing on 3 characters and the development of each of them, the "Savage of Aveyron", Doctor Itard, and Madame Guerin. The book was wonderfully written, so perfectly the story was described through each of their viewpoints. It's probably considered historical fiction, because the events were set in the late 1800s. Overall, a good read, but one must devote all attention when reading or they'll probably lose their way.

[Heleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't pinpoint exactly why, but I found this really enjoyable. I would've given it a mellower 3 stars ('liked') but I absolutely adored the dreamscapes. I wish Dawson would have extended their fragmented prose to the characters, whose psychology now sometimes remained somewhat one-dimensional.

[Jennww2ns · Rating 2 out of 5]

Difficult to read - the way Dawson writes is very tiring. Not as interesting as I hoped it would be. More about the Doctor than about the boy.

[Katie Roseveare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the story. Loved that it is true tale. It could be used as a discussion for what it is to be human; fair treatment; adjunct to slavery studies and humanity.

[Mallee Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this true story fascinating and recently read the children's version to my grandchildren who were equally as enchanted as I was by the adult version.