The Shell Seekers
Encyclopedia
The Shell Seekers is a 1987 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher
. It became one of her most famous best-sellers. It was nominated by the British public in 2003 as one of the top 100 novels in the BBC's Big Read
. In Germany the novel is called 'Die Muschelsucher', and was also in the top 100 novels The novel sold more than five million copies worldwide, and was adapted for the stage and as a film for television twice.
Pilcher also wrote a spin off
novel to The Shell Seekers called September
which was published in 1990.
of the book in the Hallmark Hall of Fame
starred Angela Lansbury
as Penelope Keeling. Other actors include Anna Carteret
, Patricia Hodge
and Irene Worth
. It was filmed on location in Ibiza
, London
, Cornwall
and the Cotswolds
.
. The UK tour started in Spring 2006.
A mini-series made for television starring Vanessa Redgrave
as Penelope Keeling was aired in late 2006. It was filmed in Cornwall with scenes shot at St Michael’s Mount, Lamorna
, and Prideaux Place at Padstow
, directed by Piers Haggard
. Other cast members included Sebastian Koch
, Maximilian Schell
, Victoria Hamilton
, and Stephanie Stumph.
is also available.
Rosamunde Pilcher
Rosamunde Pilcher OBE is a British author of romance novels and mainstream women's fiction. Early in her career she was also published under the pen name Jane Fraser. Pilcher retired from writing in 2000.-Early years:...
. It became one of her most famous best-sellers. It was nominated by the British public in 2003 as one of the top 100 novels in the BBC's Big Read
Big Read
The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel of all time...
. In Germany the novel is called 'Die Muschelsucher', and was also in the top 100 novels The novel sold more than five million copies worldwide, and was adapted for the stage and as a film for television twice.
Plot summary
Shifting in time, the novel tells the story of Penelope Keeling, the daughter of unconventional parents (an artist father and his much-younger French wife), examining her past and her relationships with her adult children. When the novel opens, Penelope is in her 60s and has just been discharged from the hospital after what was seemingly a heart attack. Penelope's life from young womanhood to the present is revealed in pieces, from her own point-of-view and those of her children. Much of the forward impetus of the novel involves the work of her father, including a painting called "The Shell Seekers," given to Penelope as a wedding present.Pilcher also wrote a spin off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
novel to The Shell Seekers called September
September (novel)
September is a novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. September was published in 1990, three years after The Shell Seekers. Although one Shell Seekers character, Noel Keeling, makes a fairly minor appearance, a new cast of characters is introduced....
which was published in 1990.
Awards
- New York Times Best Seller listNew York Times Best Seller listThe New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
#1 for 30 consecutive weeks (1988) - BBC Big Read top 100 novels (#50) (2003)
- Winner of the UNDA Prize for Fiction - Monte Carlo Television Festival (1990)
1989
This Emmy-nominated television filmThe Shell Seekers (1989 film)
The Shell Seekers is a 1989 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie based on the 1987 novel The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher and starring Angela Lansbury. The movie aired on ABC on December 3, 1989; it was later reaired on CBS on January 31, 1993....
of the book in the Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
starred Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Penelope Keeling. Other actors include Anna Carteret
Anna Carteret
Anna Carteret is a British stage and screen actress, born in Bangalore, India the daughter of Peter John Wilkinson and his wife Patricia Carteret . She is married to the television and film director Christopher Morahan and has often worked with him...
, Patricia Hodge
Patricia Hodge
Patricia Ann Hodge is an English actor.-Early life:The daughter of the Royal Hotel owner/manager Eric and his wife Marion , Hodge attended Wintringham Girls' Grammar School on Weelsby Avenue in Grimsby and then St...
and Irene Worth
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
. It was filmed on location in Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
.
2005
The novel was adapted into a stage play by Terence Brady and Charlotte BinghamCharlotte Bingham
Charlotte Mary Thérèse Bingham is an English novelist who has written over 30 mainly historical novels and has also written for many television programmes including Upstairs, Downstairs, Play for Today and Robin's Nest...
. The UK tour started in Spring 2006.
2006
The Shell Seekers (mini-series)The Shell Seekers (mini-series)
The Shell Seekers is a 2006 mini-series starring Academy Award-winners, Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell. The British-German co-production was directed by Piers Haggard. It is an adaptation of Rosamunde Pilcher's 1987 novel-of-the-same-name and premiered on Germany's ZDF on December 25th,...
A mini-series made for television starring Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
as Penelope Keeling was aired in late 2006. It was filmed in Cornwall with scenes shot at St Michael’s Mount, Lamorna
Lamorna
Lamorna is a fishing village and cove in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penwith peninsula approximately four miles south of Penzance.-Newlyn School of Art and the Lamorna Colony:...
, and Prideaux Place at Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
, directed by Piers Haggard
Piers Haggard
Piers Inigo Haggard is a British film and television director, although he has worked mostly in the latter medium.He is the great grandnephew of H...
. Other cast members included Sebastian Koch
Sebastian Koch
-Life and career:Koch was born in Karlsruhe and grew up in Stuttgart. His mother raised him alone, and he spent some time in the children's home where she worked...
, Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
, Victoria Hamilton
Victoria Hamilton
Victoria Sharp is an English actress who performs under the stage name Victoria Hamilton.-Early life:Hamilton was born on 5 April 1971 in Wimbledon, London, England, and grew up in Godalming, Surrey. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.-Career:Hamilton is best known for her...
, and Stephanie Stumph.
Audio book
The Shell Seekers was also released as an abridged audio book read by Lyn Redgrave. An unabridged audio book, read by Hannah GordonHannah Gordon
Hannah Cambell Grant Gordon is a Scottish actress who is well known in the United Kingdom for her television work, including Upstairs, Downstairs, Telford's Change, My Wife Next Door, Joint Account and an appearance in the final episode of One Foot in the Grave.-Early life:Gordon was born in...
is also available.