Dear Nobody
Encyclopedia
Dear Nobody is a young adult novel by Berlie Doherty
, published in 1991. Set in the northern English city of Sheffield
, Dear Nobody tells the story of an unplanned teenage pregnancy and the effect it has on the teenagers and their families.
The novel won the Carnegie Medal
for 1991. It was the second of Berlie Doherty's novels to win the award.
Dear Nobody has been translated into many languages, and the stage version is often performed.
presenting the events as Chris recalls them in retrospect, interspersed with a series of letters from Helen to their unborn child (Nobody), telling her side of the story as she experiences it. The framing sequence is set in autumn as Chris is on the verge of leaving for Newcastle University. A parcel of letters is delivered for him, and he recognizes Helen's handwriting. He begins to read the letters, all addressed to "Dear Nobody", and they remind him of the past nine months. The subsequent chapter headings are all the names of months, beginning with January.
Helen and Chris make love for the first, and only, time. Chris is prompted to ask his father about his marriage breakdown, and decides to get in touch with his mother. Shortly afterwards Helen begins to fear she is pregnant. Chris is disturbed by her distant behaviour. In late February she finally tells him her suspicions, and writes her first letter to "Dear Nobody": "You're only a shadow. You're only a whisper... Leave me alone. Go away. Go away. Please, please, go away."
Later when a pregnancy test proves positive, she tries to abort the pregnancy by going riding, risking her life in a wild gallop, to no avail. In April, Helen's mother finds out, and arranges for her to go to an abortion clinic
. However, Helen decides to keep the baby. Mrs Garton refuses to have Chris in the house, but he and Helen continue to see each other. They visit Chris's mother in Carlisle.
In June, Helen and Chris sit their A-levels. After they are over Helen tells Chris she has decided they should break up, believing it is best for both of them. Chris is bewildered, and feels bereft. To get away from all the memories in Sheffield, he goes to France with Tom. He meets a girl called Bryn, but cannot forget Helen.
In September, Helen learns her mother's greatest secret – that she is illegitimate, a great disgrace when she was growing up – and finally begins to understand her. When her contractions start, she has a sudden impulse to send her "Dear Nobody" letters to Chris. Chris finishes reading the letters, realizes the baby is coming and rushes to the hospital, where he meets his newborn daughter, Amy.
Chris's family
Helen's family
Friends
for 1991 and the Japanese Sankei Award in 1994. It was shortlisted for the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award, the Society of Authors Book of the Year, the Sheffield Award and the Federation of Children's Book Groups Award. The stage version won the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award in 1992.
As well as being published in English language editions around the world, Dear Nobody has been translated and published in Bulgaria, Catalonia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Wales.
The author describes the book as being essentially about love: "It is about two young people who love each other, but it's also about family love, the ways in which love can go wrong, how sometimes it makes us do things that aren't sensible or that hurt people, how sometimes it turns to hate and drives people and families apart".
The emotional intensity of the novel is well attested: "I have never read a book that evokes so vividly how it feels to be a teenager in love" Daily Telegraph; "The aunt, parents, grandparents and siblings bring in various strands of subplot that give the book a satisfying complexity while losing nothing of the intensity of Helen and Chris's developing predicament and the building pressures they're under."
John Murray's essay on the novel's narrative technique focuses on the novel as a literary artefact and discuses how its structure affects the reader.
play, a theatre play and a television film for BBC
produced by Andy Rowley
and starring Sean Maguire
and Katie Blake. The playscript has been published in Collins Plays Plus series and it has been performed in schools and theatres round the world.
The author has said: "I have seen so many interpretations of Chris and Helen and the other actors that I almost can't remember how I imagined my originals to be! I am just endlessly fascinated by the different ways of representing them, and always impressed by the actors' ability to bring the characters to life."
Berlie Doherty
Berlie Doherty is an English novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter. She is best known for her children's books, for which she has twice won the Carnegie Medal...
, published in 1991. Set in the northern English city of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Dear Nobody tells the story of an unplanned teenage pregnancy and the effect it has on the teenagers and their families.
The novel won the Carnegie Medal
Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
for 1991. It was the second of Berlie Doherty's novels to win the award.
Dear Nobody has been translated into many languages, and the stage version is often performed.
Plot summary
The novel is split between two points of view, a first-person narrativeFirst-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
presenting the events as Chris recalls them in retrospect, interspersed with a series of letters from Helen to their unborn child (Nobody), telling her side of the story as she experiences it. The framing sequence is set in autumn as Chris is on the verge of leaving for Newcastle University. A parcel of letters is delivered for him, and he recognizes Helen's handwriting. He begins to read the letters, all addressed to "Dear Nobody", and they remind him of the past nine months. The subsequent chapter headings are all the names of months, beginning with January.
Helen and Chris make love for the first, and only, time. Chris is prompted to ask his father about his marriage breakdown, and decides to get in touch with his mother. Shortly afterwards Helen begins to fear she is pregnant. Chris is disturbed by her distant behaviour. In late February she finally tells him her suspicions, and writes her first letter to "Dear Nobody": "You're only a shadow. You're only a whisper... Leave me alone. Go away. Go away. Please, please, go away."
Later when a pregnancy test proves positive, she tries to abort the pregnancy by going riding, risking her life in a wild gallop, to no avail. In April, Helen's mother finds out, and arranges for her to go to an abortion clinic
Abortion clinic
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.-Canada:*There were 197 abortion providers in Canada in 2001....
. However, Helen decides to keep the baby. Mrs Garton refuses to have Chris in the house, but he and Helen continue to see each other. They visit Chris's mother in Carlisle.
In June, Helen and Chris sit their A-levels. After they are over Helen tells Chris she has decided they should break up, believing it is best for both of them. Chris is bewildered, and feels bereft. To get away from all the memories in Sheffield, he goes to France with Tom. He meets a girl called Bryn, but cannot forget Helen.
In September, Helen learns her mother's greatest secret – that she is illegitimate, a great disgrace when she was growing up – and finally begins to understand her. When her contractions start, she has a sudden impulse to send her "Dear Nobody" letters to Chris. Chris finishes reading the letters, realizes the baby is coming and rushes to the hospital, where he meets his newborn daughter, Amy.
Characters
- Christopher Marshall, usually called Chris, a student in his last year of school, planning to study English at Newcastle University
- Helen Garton, sometimes called Nell, Chris's girlfriend, also in her last year at school, and planning to go to music college in Manchester
- Nobody/Amy, their baby
Chris's family
- Alan Marshall, Chris's father, an amateur potter
- Guy Marshall, Chris's younger brother
- Joan, Chris's mother, a professional photographer, who left home when he was 10 to live with Don
- Don, Joan's partner, a keen climber
- Jill, Joan's sister, who runs a riding stable near Sheffield
Helen's family
- Ted Garton, Helen's father, who works in the university library and plays in a jazz band
- Alice Garton, Helen's mother, who works in a bank
- Robbie Garton, Helen's younger brother
- Grandad, Alice's stepfather, Helen's grandfather
- Nan, Alice's mother, Helen's grandmother
Friends
- Tom, Chris's best friend
- Ruthlyn, Helen's best friend
- Bryn, a Welsh girl who grows close to Chris but cannot take Helen's place
Literary significance and reception
Dear Nobody won the Carnegie MedalCarnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
for 1991 and the Japanese Sankei Award in 1994. It was shortlisted for the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award, the Society of Authors Book of the Year, the Sheffield Award and the Federation of Children's Book Groups Award. The stage version won the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award in 1992.
As well as being published in English language editions around the world, Dear Nobody has been translated and published in Bulgaria, Catalonia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Wales.
The author describes the book as being essentially about love: "It is about two young people who love each other, but it's also about family love, the ways in which love can go wrong, how sometimes it makes us do things that aren't sensible or that hurt people, how sometimes it turns to hate and drives people and families apart".
The emotional intensity of the novel is well attested: "I have never read a book that evokes so vividly how it feels to be a teenager in love" Daily Telegraph; "The aunt, parents, grandparents and siblings bring in various strands of subplot that give the book a satisfying complexity while losing nothing of the intensity of Helen and Chris's developing predicament and the building pressures they're under."
John Murray's essay on the novel's narrative technique focuses on the novel as a literary artefact and discuses how its structure affects the reader.
Adaptations
Dear Nobody has been adapted as a BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
play, a theatre play and a television film for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
produced by Andy Rowley
Andy Rowley
Andy Rowley is a British television producer known for his children's dramas, including Jeopardy, which won a BAFTA Award for best children's drama in 2002, and Microsoap, Prix Jeunesse winner and BAFTA best children's drama award winner in 1999....
and starring Sean Maguire
Sean Maguire
Sean Maguire is an English actor and singer, who rose to fame in 1988 when at the age of eleven he took on the role of "Tegs" Ratcliffe on the BBC children's drama Grange Hill, in which he remained until 1992...
and Katie Blake. The playscript has been published in Collins Plays Plus series and it has been performed in schools and theatres round the world.
The author has said: "I have seen so many interpretations of Chris and Helen and the other actors that I almost can't remember how I imagined my originals to be! I am just endlessly fascinated by the different ways of representing them, and always impressed by the actors' ability to bring the characters to life."