''The Green Years'' is a 1944 novel by

A. J. Cronin Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981), known as A. J. Cronin, was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is ''The Citadel'' (1937), about a Scottish doctor who serves in a Welsh mining village before achievi ...

which traces the formative years of an Irish orphan, Robert Shannon, who is sent to live with his draconian maternal grandparents in Scotland. An introspective child, Robert forms an attachment to his roguish great-grandfather, who draws the youngster out of his shell with his raucous ways. ''The Green Years'' dominated

The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 1945 This is a list of books that topped ''The New York Times'' best-seller list in 1945. Fiction The following list ranks the number-one best-selling fiction books. Seven books topped the list that year, the longest on top being ''The Green Years'', ...

for 17 weeks.

Significance of title

The title, ''The Green Years'', has several connotations. On one hand, this is a story about a boy's coming of age. However, the central character, Robert Shannon, also has a fascination with the natural world. Additionally, he is a Catholic growing up with his Presbyterian relatives. In the novel, he is forced for a time to wear a ridiculous green suit made for him by his Grandma, and is mercilessly teased at school because of it..

Structure

The novel consists of three sections: Book One portrays the protagonist's arrival in Scotland as a child, following the death of his parents back in Ireland; Book Two focuses on the character's adolescence and ends on a pair of tragedies (the death of his best friend and his failure to win a scholarship to study medicine at the university, due to a sudden illness); Book Three begins with the protagonist as a somewhat embittered figure, entering the adult working world with little hope for the future, which is only compounded by his having fallen in love. He yearns for a career in the sciences, but is thwarted by a lack of financial resources. However, the death of his beloved great grandfather brings him an inheritance that will enable him to pursue his dreams after all.

Filmed

'' The Green Years'' was released in 1946 and it was a popular film."Charles Coburn Has Prize Role in 'The Green Years'" (''The Pittsburgh Press'', July 1, 1945, Page 25)
/ref> The film was directed by Victor Saville and the cast featured Charles Coburn,

Tom Drake Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, Beverly Tyler, Hume Cronyn,

Gladys Cooper Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television. Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian musi ...

, Dean Stockwell, Selena Royle, and Jessica Tandy.

References

British bildungsromans 1944 British novels Novels by A. J. Cronin British novels adapted into films Novels set in Scotland Novels about orphans Victor Gollancz Ltd books Little, Brown and Company books {{1940s-bildungsroman-stub