This book began it's life as 'In the Beginning', a 'reader for adults' book. It was revised for children and re-titled Dom and Va.
London, Hamish Hamilton, 1973
New York, Macmillan, 1973
Originally London, Longman, 1972 as In The Beginning (reader for adults)
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Book Details:Hardback edition published by Hamish Hamilton, London, 1973. First edition. Sleeve notes:John Christopher turns from novels of the future to a novel of the past, a story of man's earliest days in the dawn of pre-history, a period he believes holds a particular fascination for writers of science fiction who can see parallels between life as it was and life as it will be. Dom, young warrior from a tribe of fierce killers, meets Va, gentle daughter of a peaceful tribe. Their meeting is idyllic, but the consequences are terrible as slaughter and devastation follow clashes between the two opposing tribes. Dom escapes, dragging Va with him, unaware of the girl's bitter hatred for him and all he stands for. Their subsequent life together is the basis of John Christopher's story, which, for all that its setting is so remote, has a theme which is timeless - the ultimate futility of violence. Book Source:Terry Jenkins |
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Book Details:Paperback edition published by Longman, London, 1977. Second impression. Sleeve notes:In the beginning, perhaps a million years ago, there were two tribes living in Africa. One tribe were hunters. The other tribe were farmers. Dom is a hunter, and Va is a girl from the farming people. The two tribes clash in a battle, after which Dom rescues Va from a fate worse than death. Book Source:Terry Jenkins |
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Book Details:Hardback edition published by Macmillan, New York, 1973. First US edition. Sleeve notes:John Christopher turns from novels of the future to a novel of the past, a story of man's earliest days in the dawn of pre-history, a period he believes holds a particular fascination for science fiction fans who can see parallels between life as it was and life as it will be. Injured and thirsty, Dom, a young warrior from a fierce tribe of hunters, struggles into the lush coolness of the forest. There he meets Va, gentle daughter of a peaceful, agrarian tribe. Their of their idyllic meeting is quickly and brutally destroyed by the slaughter and devastation that mark the opposing tribes' inevitable clash. In the havoc that follows, Dom escapes, dragging Va with him. Va is helpless to resist, and so - embittered, hating Dom and everything he stands for - she becomes his captive partner. Their journey and their strange life together form the framework of John Christopher's story. Woven into this story are a stark, far-away setting and a vivid evocation of life eons ago. But the book is also a timeless allegory of the two conflicting strands in human nature - one warm, creative, peaceful, the other harsh, aggressive, violent - and of their necessary and inevitable union. Book Source:Terry Jenkins |
