Doctor Syn!

[adina]

My favourite maxim: 'when Spring is in full bloom, BBC must play some episodes of Syn'.


www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d7lzt

Let's enjoy the Doctor Syn series again! Read by Rufus Sewell!



Are you ready?


The story telling starts tomorrow. The second episode comes on Tuesday. And so on.





"Published in the Dymchurch Day of Syn programme from 1985 is an apocryphal biography of Thorndike that indicates it was during this period of touring, that Russell and his sister Sybil came up with the idea of Dr Syn. The story goes, both were with the company in Spartanburg when a man was murdered on the street outside their hotel. The article suggests the corpse laid there for some time while "... his glazed eyes seemed to stare right up into Sybil's bedroom". Sybil was unable to sleep, so she asked Russell to sit up with her. She made a pot of tea while they talked, and the character of Dr Syn was born. As the night went on, "They piled horror on horror's head and after each new horror was invented they took another squint at the corpse to encourage them."" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Thorndike



So for those who think that Russell Thorndike's tale is too dark, Will Ladislaw will read Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy tonight in Adina's garden.



In Italian, of course.

[kissmekate]

Oooh, what lovely pictures! Professor Rufus AND beautiful Will

You made my Monday, Adina!

[invictusyn51]

The Birth of Dr Syn

The character who dominates Thorndike’s seven best-known novels is the smuggler-parson, Dr Syn. He was conceived in very dramatic circumstances, as told in Russell’s biography of Sybil when they, before the war, found themselves on tour in Spartanburg, Carolina:

We arrived on the Sunday and had to rehearse ‘The Tempest’ that evening in the hotel. During the rehearsal, a revolver shot sounded outside the window. That shot turned out to be a momentous one in my life, as you shall hear. Following the shot came a great shouting and the noise of many feet. We heard the word ‘murder!’ called by the gathering multitude on the sidewalk. I dropped the prompt-book and dashed to the window followed by Sybil and the company…

Well, it was murder. A young man had shot his stepfather dead for being unkind to his mother. The murdered man was left lying on the sidewalk and when we went to bed, the corpse, with a bullet hole in its hard-boiled shirt, was still gazing with glazed eyes up at Sybil’s window. Sleep was impossible for Sybil, and she asked me to go and sit with her. We had pots of tea and talked, and that night the first idea of Dr Syn was born. That dreadful night we piled horror upon horror’s head, and after each new horror was invented, we took another squint at the corpse to encourage us.

Dr Syn may have been inspired by a frightening corpse on an American sidewalk but he was set firmly in Romney Marsh (where the Thorndike family had a holiday home) for his pirate and free booting activities. Dr Syn was a thorough gentleman and anti-hero, a caring and respectable man of the cloth by day and the infamous ‘scarecrow’ by night, the leader of the Marsh Men. The first book in the series, Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh was published in 1915, based on true smuggling tales in the area from the 18th century, where brandy and tobacco were brought in at night from French boats due to the very high excise duties being charged at that time. Minor battles were fought, sometimes at night, between gangs of smugglers, such as the Hawkhurst Gang and the Revenuers.

Russell had intended the book to be a one-off, and killed off his hero at the end. Such was its popularity, though, that the subsequent six novels had to be set backwards in time.

Once he started, Russell had such wonderful stories to tell of his own adventures: to him, happenings were never enough on their own and he turned every event in his and other people’s lives into a romantic adventure.

Dr Syn Comes To Life

The holiday home was kept on by the family until 1930 and Russell brought his own family to live in Sycamore Gardens, Dymchurch, ‘a big rented house on the corner of a field’, his son, Daniel, remembers. “He loved the place and we loved the house. We could look out to sea and my father could dream up pirates and all manner of smuggling adventures.”

Russell Thorndike also loved the pub where, when he was not working as an actor, he could be sure of an audience for his tales. “We had the greatest difficulty getting him out of the pub and back home for lunch. He wasn’t a great one for parties but he loved to rivet cronies in the pub with a story when he could,” said Daniel.

The Dr Syn stories were so popular that, in 1964, Russell Thorndike gave St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Dymchurch the rights to hold a Day of Syn and use his wonderful swashbuckling character to raise funds for the church roof. There is a plaque to record this on the right hand side of the church as you walk In and Russell is a patron of the church. The event has grown over the years and is now held every two years.

It is often difficult to convince people that Dr Syn is a fictional character – he fits the mythology of the Marsh and its heritage of smugglers and excise men perfectly. Like his creator, Dr Syn is the last of the great romantic barnstormers.

Doctor Syn Books

The original Doctor Syn book was first published in 1915. Written by Russell Thorndike, brother to the actress Dame Sybil Thorndike, it was clearly written as a one off novel with no consideration given at the time to any further tales of the Dymchurch Vicar or his associates.

However such was the popularity of the book that a further six novels were published some twenty years after the original release, these were written as prequels, Doctor Syn having been killed off toward the end of the first book.

The book “Doctor Syn” tells the story of the vicar of Dymchurch at the turn of the 18th century. The vicar was once the infamous Capt Clegg, a pirate of much repute who was believed to have been hanged 10 years previously in Rye. “Syn” lives a secret life with his true identity known only to the likes of Mr Mipps the church Sexton. Seen as a respectable man of the church to most, he is in fact “The Scarecrow” feared leader of the “Marsh Men”, a gang of smugglers that travel the Romney Marsh on horseback at night. All is well in “Syn’s” world until the kings men pay an unexpected visit to Dymchurch looking for smugglers.

The Doctor Syn novels written by Russell Thorndike are:

The Dr. Syn books detail his adventures and attempts to help the people of Dymchurch and the surrounding area evade the Excise tax.

Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh (1915)

Doctor Syn on the High Seas (1935)

Doctor Syn Returns (1935)

Further Adventures of Doctor Syn (1936)

Courageous Exploits of Doctor Syn (1938)

Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn (1939)

Shadow of Doctor Syn (1944)

Doctor Syn character.

Dr Syn is now back in print.!!!!!!

Longreadbooks’ Rob Murray-Smith has spent a long time researching this and has now been granted official rights by the copyright owners for the worldwide reprint rights !!

So Dr Syn is finally back in print and legally.

They are planning to produce a softback version of the titles (not including the scarecrow rides) at £7.99 and a hardback version at £14.99 per title.

All 7 Dr Syn Books can be read on the following Web Site: ”http://bythefireplace.com/17-Fiction: Young-Adults/www.bythefireplace.com - The following Book are available on this site: Russell Thorndyke’s: "Should read Russell Thorndike"

Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh (1915). Set in either 1794 or 1802. The novel is chronologically the last in the series, and features the death of Syn. The finale supposedly features the start of The Napoleonic Wars, but based on the description given, the tale is more likely set at the point Great Britain joined the First Coalition, c. 1794.

Doctor Syn on the High Seas (1935). Documents the adventures of Syn as Captain Clegg, 1754 to 1775.

Doctor Syn Returns (1935). The first exploits of the Scarecrow.

Further Adventures of Doctor Syn (1936). Set in 1776 to 1777.

Courageous Exploits of Doctor Syn (1938). Set in 1781.

Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn (1939). Supposedly set in 1780, though internal details point to c. 1790 instead.

Shadow of Doctor Syn (1944). Set in 1793.

In addition, an expanded version of Doctor Syn Returns was published in the US market as The Scarecrow Rides. Also, in 1960, American author William Buchanan published Christopher Syn, which is essentially a reworking of Further Adventures of Doctor Syn with some changes. That in turn became the basis for the 1963 Disney movie (see below) and a novelization of the Disney theatrical version, titled Doctor Syn, Alias the Scarecrow was written by Vic Crume
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The popularity of the character not only encouraged the author to write the six prequels, it also captured the attention of the movie world with no less than three films being made based on the Dr Syn Books

Doctor Syn (1937)

This was produced by London Films and was based on the original 1915 novel. It starred George Arliss and Margaret Lockwood. The film ran pretty much as per the novel apart from the end which was changed.

Doctor Syn, Alias the Scarecrow (1962) also known as: “The scarecrow of Romney Marsh”

This was made by Walt Disney Productions and was originally intended to be shown on American TV as three 1 hour episodes. Starring Patrick McGoohan, of Dangerman & The Prisoner fame, a large proportion of it was actually filmed on Romney Marsh using Old Romney church as “Syn’s” parish. Some of the characters in the film were not as per the novel, these being taken from a later work about Doctor Syn titled “Christopher Syn” which was written by William Buchanan.

Captain Clegg (1962) also known as: “Night Creatures”

While Walt Disney were writing the script for Doctor Syn, they discovered that Hammer Films (famous for their horror movies) were embarking upon a rewrite of the original 1937 film. Hammer had purchased London Films and as a result now had the film rights to Doctor Syn. Peter Cushing starred as “Syn” but the character was later renamed “Blyss” due to legal intervention by Walt Disney who claimed the rights to the Doctor Syn name.

Dymchurch village celebrates it’s connection to the novel by staging a “Day of Syn” on a biennial basis. The year 2016 the Day of Syn is to be held on the 27th, 28th & 29th August 2016, usually held during the August Bank Holiday weekend. (Check this website for details as they become available) Re-enactments of various parts of the books can be seen at many locations throughout the village, with the “Kings Men”, “Mr Mipps” and of course “The Scarecrow” in attendance.

If you want to find images of Dr Syn alias the Scarecrow "Scarecrow of the Romney Marsh" Go onto Google and type in Dr Syn alias the Scarecrow. Then go onto the image tab on Google ~ There you will see various pictures of Dr Syn. Happy Hunting!

[nell]

Hi Invictusyn and welcome Thanks for all the information. Though for me the pleasure is in the dulcet tones and delivery of the reader

Please feel free to introduce yourself to the group in the members thread.

[invictusyn51]

In addition, a Doctor Syn stage play was produced in 2001, audio adaptations have been broadcast on BBC radio (read by Rufus Sewell), the Disney movie version was adapted in truncated form in Disney's comics, and elements of the Doctor Syn story show up in Led Zeppelin's concert film The Song Remains the Same. Syn is also referenced in 18th century "flashbacks" in Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Doctor Syn is a swashbuckling figure with a wide range of skills. Originally a distinguished theological scholar at Oxford University, the author of brilliant if obscure academic texts, he disappears in pursuit when his wife Imogene elopes with another man, chasing them to the Americas and harrying them from port to port. Through a series of incidents, he twice ends up in charge of pirate ships, adopting the "Captain Clegg" identity on the second occasion. He proves to be a peerless swordsman, horseman, and navigator, with the charisma and leadership ability to rule a pirate crew and later a smuggler gang. His sidekick, the loyal carpenter Mr Mipps, is even more ruthless, twice blowing up ships full of pirates to stop them from pursuing Syn and himself when they seek to quit piracy.

On the second such occasion, in 1775, after the life of piracy grows too risky even for "Clegg", Syn returns to England and visits an old friend, the squire of Dymchurch, where the local vicar has fortuitously just died. Taking over the job, Syn tries to settle down — but on discovering that his parishioners need rescuing from trouble with the law caused by their smuggling activities, he creates the "Scarecrow" identity and rides out to various nighttime adventures. This continues through several novels, until his past catches up with him once too often, and Syn is murdered by an old enemy at the end of his last adventure.

The stories have no connection to the Buster Keaton movie or any Marvel or DC villains called "The Scarecrow". It's just a cool image.
Definitely not to be confused with a character from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Audio Adaptations
Doctor Syn
Rufus Sewell read a 10-part audio adaptation combining and abridging Doctor Syn on the High Seas and Doctor Syn Returns for BBC Radio, broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in December 2006 and repeated in June 2007.

The Further Adventures of Doctor Syn
A 10-part audio adaptation of The Further Adventures of Doctor Syn (combining and abridging The Further Adventures of Doctor Syn and The Shadow of Doctor Syn) read by Rufus Sewell was performed on BBC Radio 7 in December 2007.

The Last of Doctor Syn
In April 2009, a third series was announced for broadcast later in 2009. BBC Radio 7 broadcast the six-part series, an abridged reading by Rufus Sewell of the original Doctor Syn novel, from January 4, 2010 to January 11.

No Quarter
John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin reinterpreted elements of the Doctor Syn story as his "No Quarter" fantasy sequence in Led Zeppelin's concert film The Song Rem
ains the Same.

Comic books Edit
A three-issue adaptation of the Disney production was published by Gold Key Comics under the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh title, spanning April 1964 through October 1965.

A much abridged revision of the adventures of Dr. Syn appeared as a short comic serialized in the monthly publication Disney Adventures. The new story features the heroic Doctor and his young sidekick protecting innocent villagers from corrupt government officials and soldiers.

Doctor Syn appears in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series as a member of the league gathered by Lemuel Gulliver. His alter ego, Captain Clegg, also makes appearances, where he is mentioned to have had a brief romantic liaison with future teammate Fanny Hill. In the 2003 film adaptation of League, Dr. Syn can be spotted in one of the portraits hanging on the wall in M's library.

[invictusyn51]

My name is Peter James Millard and I live in Doncaster, South Yorkshire "but I was born in Bromley, Kent in 1958" My parents owned a holiday home in St Marys Bay, Romney Marsh" 1 Mile from Dymchurch. Our family spent every weekend and 6 weeks Summer Holidays on the Romney Marsh with other members of our family Uncles, Auntie, Cousins.

From the first Day of Syn which was held in 1964 to 2016 "which will be the 51st Day of Syn" to be held. I try and spend my August Bank Holiday's on the Romney Marsh. My brother, sister & uncle all live in St Marys Bay!

So if any of you are in Dymchurch on August Bank Holiday 2016 to take in the Day of Syn Pagent ~ I hope to see you there!

Sorry if the post are a bit robotic, but my posts concerning Dr Syn alais the Scarecrow aka Scarecrow Of the Romney Marsh" was taken from a Web Page Design Course I took at Doncaster College "Where I had to design a Web Page of my choosing" I chose Dr Syn alias the Scarecrow.

If you are interested in Dr Syn take a look on ebay, uk ~ Type in "Dr Syn" Your search will show everything concerning Dr Syn that is for Sale e.g. Artwork "Terry Anthony Dr Syn Prints", Films "Disney's 1963 Dr Syn alias the Scarecrow / George Arliss 1937 Dr Syn with Margaret Lockwood".
, Audio CD'S "Rufus Sewell's Dr Syn 3 part series"

Take a look you will be surprised what you find! Enjoy!!

[judypatooty]

Hi Peter! Welcome to The Rooftop. The Dr. Syn series is an amazing feat of storytelling by an extraordinary narrator (Rufus!!) As a Yank, I'd never even heard of the story until I visited this lovely group of Rufus Sewell fans. I think it may be time for me to listen to all of the series again very soon.

[kygal]

Welcome Peter and thanks for the info.