Dandelion Wine

Dandelion Wine, first published in 1957, is a semi-autobiographical novel by Ray Bradbury, taking place in the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois — a pseudonym for Bradbury's childhood home of Waukegan, Illinois. Almost all of the chapters were first published as individual short stories, the earliest being The Night (1946), with the remainder appearing between 1950 and 1957.

Related Topics:
1957 - Semi-autobiographical - Novel - Ray Bradbury - Summer - 1928 - Pseudonym - Waukegan - Illinois

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The title refers to a fermented alcoholic beverage (wine) made with the petals of the Dandelion flower and other ingredients, commonly citrus fruit. In the story, Dandelion wine, as made by the protagonist's grandfather, serves as a metaphor for packing all of the joys of summer into a single bottle.

Related Topics:
Fermented - Alcoholic beverage - Wine - Dandelion - Citrus fruit - Protagonist's - Metaphor

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The main character of the story is Douglas Spaulding, a 12-year-old boy loosely patterned after Bradbury. As Bradbury writes in "Just This Side of Byzantium," a 1974 essay used as an introduction to the book, Dandelion Wine is a recreation of a boy's childhood, based upon an intertwining of Bradbury's actual experiences and his unique imagination.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most of the book is focused upon the routines of small-town America, and the simple joys of yesteryear. The story is not traditional science-fiction, but there is a sequence about an inventor that creates a device that allows the user to mentally travel to any place and time in the world.

Related Topics:
America - Science-fiction

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bradbury wrote a stage adaptation of the novel in 1988.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts named a moon crater "Dandelion Crater" for Bradbury's novel.

Related Topics:
1971 - Apollo 15 - Astronaut - Moon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~