''The Secret of the Unicorn'' (french: link=no, Le Secret de La Licorne) is the eleventh volume of ''
The Adventures of Tintin
''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...
'', the comics series by
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
cartoonist
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...
. The story was serialised daily in , Belgium's leading francophone newspaper, from June 1942 to January 1943 amidst the
Nazi German
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
occupation of Belgium during World War II. The story revolves around young reporter
Tintin
Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to:
''The Adventures of Tintin''
* ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé
** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series
** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...
, his dog
Snowy, and his friend
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock (french: Capitaine Archibald Haddock, link=no, ) is a fictional character in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. He is one of Tintin's best friends, a seafaring pipe-smoking ...
, who discover a riddle left by Haddock's ancestor, the 17th century
Sir Francis Haddock
This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...
, which could lead them to the hidden treasure of the pirate
Red Rackham
This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...
. To unravel the riddle, Tintin and Haddock must obtain three identical models of Sir Francis's ship, the ''
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
'', but they discover that criminals are also after these model ships and are willing to kill in order to obtain them.
''The Secret of the Unicorn'' was a commercial success and was published in book form by
Casterman
Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Brussels, Belgium.
History
The company was founded in 1780 by Donat-Joseph Casterman, an editor and bookseller or ...
shortly after its conclusion. Hergé concluded the arc begun in this story with ''
Red Rackham's Treasure
''Red Rackham's Treasure'' (french: link=no, Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge) is the twelfth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised daily in , Belgium's leading francophon ...
'', while the series itself became a defining part of the
Franco-Belgian comics tradition. ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' remained Hergé's favourite of his own works until creating ''
Tintin in Tibet
''Tintin in Tibet'' (french: Tintin au Tibet, link=no) is the twentieth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from September 1958 to November 1959 in ''Tintin (magazine ...
'' (1960). The story was adapted for the 1957
Belvision
Raymond Leblanc (born 22 May 1915 – 21 March 2008) was a Belgian comic book publisher, film director and film producer, best known for publishing works such as ''The Adventures of Tintin'' by Hergé and ''Blake and Mortimer'' by Edgar P. Jaco ...
animated series ''
Hergé's Adventures of Tintin
''Hergé's Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin, d'après Hergé) is the first animated television series based on Hergé's popular comic book series, ''The Adventures of Tintin''. The series was produced by Belvision Studi ...
'', the 1991
Ellipse
In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...
/
Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
animated series ''
The Adventures of Tintin
''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...
'', the 1992-3
BBC Radio 5 dramatisation of the ''Adventures'', the feature film ''
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn'' (2011) directed by
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
, and the film's
tie-in video game.
Synopsis
While browsing on the Brussels Voddenmarkt/''Marché aux puces'' at the Vossenplein in the
Marollen
The ( French, ) or (Dutch, ) is a popular historic neighbourhood of downtown Brussels, Belgium, situated between the Palace of Justice to its south-east, the Chapel Church to its north and the Halle Gate to its south. Its inhabitants are cal ...
,
Tintin
Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to:
''The Adventures of Tintin''
* ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé
** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series
** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...
purchases an antique
model ship
Ship models or model ships are scale models of ships. They can range in size from 1/6000 scale wargaming miniatures to large vessels capable of holding people.
Ship modeling is a craft as old as shipbuilding itself, stretching back to ancient ...
which he intends to give to his friend,
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock (french: Capitaine Archibald Haddock, link=no, ) is a fictional character in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. He is one of Tintin's best friends, a seafaring pipe-smoking ...
. Two strangers, model ship collector
Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine
This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...
and antique-scout
Barnaby
Barnaby is an Old English surname composed of the Saxon element ''beorn'' 'young warrior' and the Danish suffix ''by'' meaning 'settlement'. As a given name, it means "son of consolation" and is etymologically linked with the New Testament name Bar ...
, independently try and fail to persuade Tintin to sell the model to them. Tintin also meets detectives
Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson (french: Dupont et Dupond ) are fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. They are two incompetent detectives who provide much of the comic relief throughout the ...
on a secret mission looking out for a
pickpocket
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...
; however, both their wallets are repeatedly stolen throughout the story. At Tintin's flat,
Snowy accidentally knocks the model over and breaks its
mainmast
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation ligh ...
. Having shown the ship to Haddock, Tintin discovers that the ship is named the ''
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
'', after a ship commanded by Haddock's own ancestor.
While Tintin is out, the ship is stolen from his apartment; in the following investigation, he discovers that Sakharine owns an identical model, also named the ''Unicorn''. At home, Tintin discovers a miniature scroll, and realises that it must have been hidden inside the mast of the model. Written on the parchment is a riddle: "Three brothers joined. Three ''Unicorns'' in company sailing in the noonday sunne will speak. For 'tis from the light that light will dawn, and then shines forth the Eagle's cross". Captain Haddock vividly recounts the tale of the ''Unicorn'', a 17th-century warship captained by his ancestor,
Sir Francis Haddock
This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...
, but seized by a pirate band led by
Red Rackham
This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...
. The only one of his crew to survive the ship-to-ship battle, Sir Francis killed Red Rackham in single combat and
scuttled
Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
the ''Unicorn''; he later built three models, which he left to his sons.
Tintin deduces that the each of the models contains a scroll, which united lead to the location of Red Rackham's treasure. Tintin and Haddock try to get the three scrolls but they are out of luck: Tintin's wallet (with the first scroll) is stolen, while Sakharine is found drugged, and the scroll inside his own Unicorn missing. Meanwhile, Barnaby requests a meeting with Tintin, but is gunned down on Tintin's doorstep before he can speak, and points to
sparrow
Sparrow may refer to:
Birds
* Old World sparrows, family Passeridae
* New World sparrows, family Passerellidae
* two species in the Passerine family Estrildidae:
** Java sparrow
** Timor sparrow
* Hedge sparrow, also known as the dunnock or hedg ...
s as a cryptic clue to the identity of his assailant before falling unconscious. A few days later, Tintin is kidnapped by the perpetrators of the shooting: the
Bird brothers
This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...
, two unscrupulous antique dealers who own the third model of the ''Unicorn''. They are behind the theft of Tintin's model and have also stolen Sakharine's parchment, knowing that only by possessing all three parchments can the location of Red Rackham's treasure be found.
Tintin escapes from the cellars of the Bird brothers' country estate,
Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall (french: Le château de Moulinsart ) is Captain Haddock's country house and family estate in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé.
The original French name of the hall, ''Moulinsart'', i ...
, while the Captain arrives with Thomson and Thompson to arrest them. It is revealed that the Bird Brothers have only one of the parchments, as two were lost when their wallet was stolen. It is also revealed that Barnaby survived and has made a full recovery, much to Max Bird's enragement. The Bird brothers are arrested. Tintin and Thomson and Thompson track down the pickpocket,
Aristides Silk
This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...
, a
kleptomania
Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main cha ...
c who has a
penchant
In psychology, economics and philosophy, preference is a technical term usually used in relation to choosing between alternatives. For example, someone prefers A over B if they would rather choose A than B. Preferences are central to decision theo ...
for collecting wallets, and obtain the Bird Brothers' wallet, containing the missing two parchments. By combining the three parchments and holding them to light, Tintin and Haddock discover the coordinates (20°37'42.0" N 70°52'15.0" W, 82 km north of the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
) of the lost treasure and plan an expedition to find it.
History
Background
![Bruxelles Place du Jeu de Balle 901](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Bruxelles_Place_du_Jeu_de_Balle_901.jpg)
''The Secret of the Unicorn'' was serialized amidst the
German occupation of Belgium during World War II
The German occupation of Belgium (french: link=no, Occupation allemande, nl, Duitse bezetting) during World War II began on 28 May 1940, when the Belgian army surrendered to German forces, and lasted until Belgium's liberation by the Western ...
. Hergé had accepted a position working for , Belgium's largest Francophone daily newspaper. Confiscated from its original owners, the German authorities permitted to reopen under the directorship of Belgian editor
Raymond de Becker, although it remained firmly under Nazi control, supporting the German war effort and espousing
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
. After joining on 15 October 1940, Hergé became editor of its new children's supplement , with assistance by old friend Paul Jamin and cartoonist
Jacques Van Melkebeke
Jacques Van Melkebeke (12 December 1904 – 8 June 1983) was a Belgian painter, journalist, writer, and comic strip writer. He was the first chief editor of Tintin magazine and wrote scripts and articles anonymously for many of their publicati ...
, before paper shortages forced ''Tintin'' to be serialised daily in the main pages of . Some Belgians were upset that Hergé was willing to work for a newspaper controlled by the occupying Nazi administration, although he was heavily enticed by the size of ''s readership, which reached 600,000. Faced with the reality of Nazi oversight, Hergé abandoned the overt political themes that had pervaded much of his earlier work, instead adopting a policy of neutrality. Without the need to satirise political types, entertainment producer and author
Harry Thompson
Harry William Thompson (6 February 1960 – 7 November 2005) was an English radio and television producer, comedy writer, novelist and biographer. He was the creator of the dark humour television series ''Monkey Dust'', screened between 2003 a ...
observed that "Hergé was now concentrating more on plot and on developing a new style of character comedy. The public reacted positively".
''The Secret of the Unicorn'' was the first of ''The Adventures of Tintin'' which Hergé had collaborated on with Van Melkebeke to a significant degree; biographer
Benoît Peeters
Benoît Peeters (; born 1956) is a French comics writer, novelist, and comics studies scholar.
Biography
After a degree in Philosophy at Université de Paris I, Peeters prepared his Master's at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociale ...
suggested that Van Melkebeke should rightly be considered the story's "co-scriptwriter". It was Hergé's discussions with Van Melkebeke that led him to craft a more complex story than he had in prior ''Adventures''. Van Melkebeke had been strongly influenced by the adventure novels of writers like
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
and
Paul d'Ivoi, and this influence is apparent throughout the story. The inclusion of three hidden scrolls has parallels with Verne's 1867 story, ''
The Children of Captain Grant
''In Search of the Castaways'' (french: Les Enfants du capitaine Grant, lit=The Children of Captain Grant) is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–68. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of ill ...
'', which Van Melkebeke had recommended to Hergé. Hergé acknowledged Van Melkebeke's contribution by including a cameo of him within the market scene at the start of the story; this was particularly apt as Van Melkebeke had purchased his books in Brussels' Old Market as a child.
''The Secret of the Unicorn'' was the first half of a two-part story arc that was concluded in the following adventure, ''
Red Rackham's Treasure
''Red Rackham's Treasure'' (french: link=no, Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge) is the twelfth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised daily in , Belgium's leading francophon ...
''. This arc was the first that Hergé had utilised since ''
Cigars of the Pharaoh
''Cigars of the Pharaoh'' (french: link=no, Les Cigares du pharaon) is the fourth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the series of comic albums by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper '' Le Vingtià ...
'' and ''
The Blue Lotus
''The Blue Lotus'' (french: link=no, Le Lotus bleu) is the fifth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper for its children's supplement , it was ...
'' (1934–36). However, as Tintin expert
Michael Farr
Michael Farr (born 1953) is a British expert on the comic series ''The Adventures of Tintin'' and its creator, Hergé. He has written several books on the subject as well as translating several others into English. A former reporter, he has also ...
related, whereas ''Cigars of the Pharaoh'' and ''The Blue Lotus'' had been largely "self-sufficient and self-contained", the connection between ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' and ''Red Rackham's Treasure'' is far closer.
In previous works, Hergé had drawn upon a variety of pictorial sources, such as newspaper clippings, from which to draw the scenes and characters; for ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' he drew upon an unprecedented variety of these sources. In drawing many of the old vessels, Hergé initially consulted the then recently published ''L'Art et la Mer'' ("''Art and the Sea''") by
Alexandre Berqueman Alexandre may refer to:
* Alexandre (given name)
* Alexandre (surname)
* Alexandre (film)
See also
* Alexander
* Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of:
* Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name " Alexandre (disambiguation)"
* Idálio Ale ...
. Seeking further accurate depictions of old naval vessels, Hergé consulted his friend Gérard Liger-Belair, who owned a Brussels shop specialising in model ships. Liger-Belair produced plans of a 17th-century French fifty-gun warship for Hergé to copy; ''Le Brillant'', which had been constructed in
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
in 1690 by the shipwright
Salicon and then decorated by
Jean Bérain the Elder
Jean Berain the Elder (1640 – 24 January 1711) was a draughtsman and designer, painter and engraver of ornament, the artistic force in the Royal office of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi where all the designs originated for court spectacle, from fê ...
.
He also studied other vessels from the period, such as the ''Le Soleil Royal'', ''La Couronne'', ''La Royale'' and ''Le Reale de France'', to better understand 17th-century ship design. It was from the ''Le Reale de France'' that he gained a basis for his design of the ''Unicorn''
jolly boat
The jolly boat was a type of ship's boat in use during the 18th and 19th centuries. Used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship, or for other small-scale activities, it was, by the 18th century, one of several types of ship's boat. The de ...
. No ship named the ''Unicorn'' was listed in the annals of the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
, but Hergé instead took the name from a British
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
which had been active in the mid-18th century; the fictional ship's unicorn
figurehead
In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...
was also adopted from the frigate.
The character of Red Rackham was partly inspired by
Jean Rackam, a fictional pirate who appeared in a story alongside female pirates
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny (8 March 1697 – disappeared April 1721), sometimes Anne Bonney, was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of the few female pirates in recorded history. What little that is known of her life comes largely from Capta ...
and
Mary Read
Mary Read (1685 – 28 April 1721), also known as Mark Read, was an English pirate. She and Anne Bonny were two famous female pirates from the 18th century, and among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the " ...
that Hergé encountered in a November 1938 edition of '. Red Rackham's looks and costumes were also inspired by the character Lerouge, who appears in
C. S. Forester
Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (27 August 1899 – 2 April 1966), known by his pen name Cecil Scott "C. S." Forester, was an English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare, such as the 12-book Horatio Hornblower series depicting a Roya ...
's novel, ''
The Captain from Connecticut
''The Captain from Connecticut'' is a novel, published in 1941, by C. S. Forester, the author of the novels about fictional Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower. ''The Captain from Connecticut'' is set at the tail end of the Napoleonic War ...
'', and by the 17th-century French
buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...
Daniel Montbars
Daniel Montbars (1645–1707?), better known as Montbars the Exterminator, was a 17th-century French buccaneer. For several years, he was known as one of the most violent buccaneers active against the Spanish during the mid-17th century. His reput ...
. The name of Marlinspike Hall— in French—was based upon the name of the real Belgian town,
Sart-Moulin. The actual design of the building was based upon the
Château de Cheverny
The Château de Cheverny () is located in Cheverny, Loir-et-Cher, France. It is one of the châteaux of the Loire Valley.
History
Henry Le Mareschau was the owner of Cheverny in 1315, held under the Count of Blois(F1). It was sold to Jean H ...
, albeit with the two outer wings removed. In introducing Sir Francis Haddock to the story, Hergé made Captain Haddock the only character in the series (except
Jolyon Wagg
Jolyon is a male given name, a Medieval spelling variant of Julian, originating in England.
People
Notable people named Jolyon include:
* Jolyon Brettingham Smith (1949–2008), British composer, conductor, performer, author, radio presenter an ...
, introduced later) to have a family and an ancestry. The story included hints that Francis Haddock is the illegitimate son of the
French Sun King, Louis XIV, possibly as a reference to Hergé's belief that his father was the illegitimate son of the Belgian king
Leopold II. ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' was set entirely in Belgium and was the last ''Adventure'' to be set there until ''
The Castafiore Emerald
''The Castafiore Emerald'' (french: link=no, Les Bijoux de la Castafiore) is the twenty-first volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from July 1961 to September 1962 in ...
''. It would also be Hergé's favourite story until ''
Tintin in Tibet
''Tintin in Tibet'' (french: Tintin au Tibet, link=no) is the twentieth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from September 1958 to November 1959 in ''Tintin (magazine ...
''. The final two pages of the adventure mark the first appearance of Tintin's iconic costume of a white shirt under a blue sweater; having worn a variety of outfits in previous volumes, notably a brown suit and a yellow shirt with a red tie, he would don this attire in all subsequent books. In the final panel, Tintin breaks the fourth wall. It is the only instance of this effect in the entire series.
Historical parallels
![Sir Richard Haddock](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Sir_Richard_Haddock.jpg)
After publishing the book, Hergé learned that there had actually been an Admiral Haddock who had served in the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
during the late 17th and early 18th centuries: Sir
Richard Haddock
Admiral Sir Richard Haddock (c. 1629 – 26 January 1715 Old Style) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the Anglo-Dutch Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral in August 1690. In Herge's ''Adventures of Tintin'', Rich ...
(1629–1715). Richard Haddock was in charge of the ''Royal James'', the flagship of the
Earl of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...
during the
Battle of Solebay
The naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
The battle began as an attempted raid on Solebay port where an English fleet was anchored and large ...
of 1672, the first naval battle of the
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...
. During the fighting, the ''Royal James'' was set alight and Haddock escaped but had to be rescued from the sea, following which his bravery was recognised by the British monarch,
King Charles II. He subsequently took command of another ship, the ''Royal Charles'', before becoming a naval administrator in later life. Admiral Haddock's grandfather, also named Richard, commanded the
ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...
during the reign of
King Charles I.
Another individual known as Captain Haddock had lived in this period, who had commanded a
fire ship
A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...
, the ''Anne and Christopher''. It was recorded by
David Ogg
David Ogg (born 23 November 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Ogg was a half forward flanker in the Swan Districts team which won the 1990 WASFL Grand Fin ...
that this captain and his ship had been separated from their squadron whilst out at sea and so docked at
Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
to purchase goods that could be taken back to Britain and sold for a profit. For this action, Haddock was brought before an admiralty tribunal in 1674, where he was ordered to forfeit all profits from the transaction and suspended from his command for six months.
Publication
''Le Secret de La Licorne'' began serialisation as a daily strip in newspaper ''Le Soir'' from 11 June 1942. As with previous adventures, it then began serialisation in the French Catholic newspaper ''
CÅ“urs Vaillants
''CÅ“urs Vaillants'' (''Brave Hearts''), known later as ''J2 Jeunes'' and ''Formule 1'', was a Catholic French language weekly newspaper for French children. Founded in 1929 by ''l' Union des Å“uvres catholiques de France'' (The Union of Catholic ...
'', from 19 March 1944. In Belgium, it was then published in a 62-page book format by
Editions Casterman in 1943. Now fully coloured, the book included a new cover design created by Hergé after he had completed the original serialisation of the story, along with six large colour drawings. The first printing sold 30,000 copies in
Francophone Belgium.
''The Secret of the Unicorn'' and ''Red Rackham's Treasure'' were the first two ''Adventures of Tintin'' to be published in standalone English-language translations for the British market, as ''
King Ottokar's Sceptre
''King Ottokar's Sceptre'' (french: link=no, Le Sceptre d'Ottokar) is the eighth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper for its children's sup ...
'' had previously been serialised in ''
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
'' in 1951. Published by Casterman in 1952, these two editions sold poorly and have since become rare collector's items. Both stories would be republished for the British market seven years later, this time by
Methuen with new translations provided by Michael Turner and Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper. In the English translation, Sir Francis Haddock is described as having served the British monarch Charles II, in contrast to the original French version, in which he serves French king
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
.
The series' Danish publishers,
Carlsen
Carlsen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Carl". The form Karlsen is cognate. The parallel Swedish forms are Carlsson and Karlsson.
Notable people with the surname include:
* Agnete Carlsen (born 1971), Norwegian footb ...
, later located a model of an early-17th-century Danish ship called ''Enhjørningen'' (''The Unicorn'') which they gave to Hergé. Constructed in 1605, ''Enhjørningen'' had been wrecked in explorer
Jens Munk
Jens Munk (3 June 1579 – June 1628) was a Danish-Norwegian navigator and explorer. He entered into the service of King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway and is most noted for his attempts to find the Northwest Passage.
Early life
Jens Munk ...
's 1619–20 attempt to navigate the
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...
.
Critical analysis
''The Secret of the Unicorn'' resembled the earlier ''Adventures of Tintin'' in its use of style, colour and content, leading
Harry Thompson
Harry William Thompson (6 February 1960 – 7 November 2005) was an English radio and television producer, comedy writer, novelist and biographer. He was the creator of the dark humour television series ''Monkey Dust'', screened between 2003 a ...
to remark that it "unquestionably" belongs to the 1930s, considering it to be "the last and best of Hergé's detective mysteries". He asserted that this story and ''Red Rackham's Treasure'' marked the third and central stage of "Tintin's career", also stating that here, Tintin has been converted from a reporter into an explorer to cope with the new political climate. He further added his opinion that it was "the most successful of all Tintin's adventures".
Jean-Marc Lofficier
Jean-Marc Lofficier (; born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comics and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier ( ...
and Randy Lofficier asserted that Sir Francis Haddock was "the best realised character" in the story, conversely describing the Bird Brothers as "relatively uninspired villains". They went on to state that ''The Secret of the Unicorn''-''Red Rackham's Treasure'' arc represents "a turning point" for the series as it shifts the reader's attention from Tintin to Haddock, who has become "by far, the most interesting character". They praised the "truly outstanding storytelling" of ''The Secret of the Unicorn'', ultimately awarding it a rating of four out of five.
Phillipe Goddin commented on the scene in the story in which Haddock relates the life of his ancestor, stating that the reader is "alternately projected into the present and the past with staggering mastery. Periods interlocked, enriched one another, were amplified and married in a stunning fluidity. Hergé was at the height of his powers".
![Benoit Peeters 20100329 Salon du livre de Paris 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Benoit_Peeters_20100329_Salon_du_livre_de_Paris_3.jpg)
Hergé biographer
Benoît Peeters
Benoît Peeters (; born 1956) is a French comics writer, novelist, and comics studies scholar.
Biography
After a degree in Philosophy at Université de Paris I, Peeters prepared his Master's at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociale ...
asserted that both ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' and ''Red Rackham's Treasure'' "hold a crucial position" in ''The Adventures of Tintin'' as they establish the "Tintin universe" with its core set of characters. Focusing on the former comic, he described it as one of Hergé's "greatest narrative successes" through the manner in which it interweaves three separate plots. He felt that while religious elements had been present in previous stories, they were even stronger in ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' and its sequel, something which he attributed to Van Melkebeke's influence. Elsewhere he asserted that it "explores this prelude with extraordinary narrative virtuosity".
Biographer
Pierre Assouline
Pierre Assouline (born 17 April 1953) is a French writer and journalist. He was born in Casablanca, Morocco to a Jewish family. He has published several novels and biographies, and also contributes articles for the print media and broadcasts for ...
stated that the story was "clearly influenced... in spirit if not in detail" by
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
's book, ''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' in that it "seemed to cater to a need for escapism". He described the adventure as "a new development in Hergé's work, a flight from the topical to epics of pirate adventures set in distant horizons". Assouline also expressed the view that the ancestral figure of Sir Francis Haddock reflected Hergé's attempt to incorporate one of his own family secrets, that he had an aristocratic ancestor, into the story.
Michael Farr
Michael Farr (born 1953) is a British expert on the comic series ''The Adventures of Tintin'' and its creator, Hergé. He has written several books on the subject as well as translating several others into English. A former reporter, he has also ...
believed that the "most remarkable" factor of the book was its introduction of Sir Francis Haddock, highlighting that in his mannerisms and visual depiction, he is "scarcely distinguishable" from Captain Haddock. He also highlighted that the scenes in which Captain Haddock relates the tale of his ancestor carries on the "merging of dreams and reality" that Hergé had "experimented with" in ''
The Crab with the Golden Claws
''The Crab with the Golden Claws'' (french: link=no, Le Crabe aux pinces d'or) is the ninth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised weekly in , the children's supplement ...
'' and ''
The Shooting Star
''The Shooting Star'' (french: link=no, L'Étoile mystérieuse) is the tenth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised daily in , Belgium's leading francophone newspaper, ...
''. Noting that unlike ''The Shooting Star'', this two-book story arc contains "scarcely an allusion to occupation and war", he praised the arc's narrative as "perfectly paced, without that feeling of haste" present in some of Hergé's earlier work.
In his
psychoanalytical
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might be ...
study of the ''Adventures of Tintin'', the academic Jean-Marie Apostolidès characterised the ''Secret of the Unicorn''-''Red Rackham's Treasure'' arc as being about the characters going on a "treasure hunt that turns out to be at the same time a search for their roots". He stated that the arc delves into Haddock's ancestry, and in doing so "deals with the meanings of symbolic relations within personal life". Discussing the character of Sir Francis Haddock, he states that this ancestral figure resembles both Tintin and Haddock, "the foundling and the bastard", thus making the duo brothers as well as close friends. He adds that when Captain Haddock reenacts his ancestor's fight with Rackham, he adopts his "very soul, his ''
mana
According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a ...
'', and is transformed in the process". Apostolidès also discusses Red Rackham, noting that the name "Red" conjures up "the forbidden colour of blood and wine" while "Rackham" combines ''raca'' ("false brother") with the French word for
scum (''racaille''), then highlighting a potential link between Rackham's name and that of Rascar Capac, an Incan mummy who appears in ''
The Seven Crystal Balls
''The Seven Crystal Balls'' (french: link=no, Les Sept Boules de Cristal) is the thirteenth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised daily in ', Belgium's leading francoph ...
''. He further draws parallels between the model ships containing the secret parchments with the Arumbaya fetish containing a rare diamond which appears in ''
The Broken Ear
''The Broken Ear'' (french: link=no, L'Oreille cassée, originally published in English as ''Tintin and the Broken Ear'') is the sixth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by ...
''.
Literary critic
Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to:
Academia
* Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy
* Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts
* J. Thomas ...
highlighted the scene in which Tintin was imprisoned in the Marlinspike crypt, observing that it had parallels with Tintin's exploration of tombs and other secret chambers throughout the series. He identified the mystery left in Francis Haddock's parchments to be another appearance of Tintin's adventures being "framed by enigmas". To this he adds that in solving the enigma, Tintin shows that he is "the best reader" in the series, and it is this which establishes him as "the oeuvre's hero". McCarthy praised Hergé's Silk as one of the pivotal characters in the series who can "exude a presence far beyond that which we might expect from a novelist, let alone a cartoonist".
Pierre Fresnault-Deruelle discussed the scene in the story in which Tintin was imprisoned in the crypt of Marlinspike Hall. He stated that in this section "Hergé offers us an
embedded story
A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...
, a kind of interlude in which the artist, setting aside the use value of objects, takes the liberty of giving them mischievous powers, akin to a certain surrealism".
Adaptations
In 1957, the animation company
Belvision Studios
Raymond Leblanc (born 22 May 1915 – 21 March 2008) was a Belgian comic book publisher, film director and film producer, best known for publishing works such as ''The Adventures of Tintin'' by Hergé and ''Blake and Mortimer'' by Edgar P. Jaco ...
produced ''
Hergé's Adventures of Tintin
''Hergé's Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin, d'après Hergé) is the first animated television series based on Hergé's popular comic book series, ''The Adventures of Tintin''. The series was produced by Belvision Studi ...
'', a series of daily five-minute colour adaptations based upon Hergé's original comics. ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' was the fourth to be adapted in the second animated series; it was directed by Ray Goossens and written by
Greg Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname.
People with the name
*Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people
*Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...
, a well-known cartoonist who was to become editor-in-chief of ''
Tintin
Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to:
''The Adventures of Tintin''
* ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé
** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series
** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...
'' magazine.
In 1991, a collaboration between the French studio
Ellipse
In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...
and the Canadian animation company
Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
adapted 21 of the stories into a series of episodes. ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' was the ninth story of ''
The Adventures of Tintin
''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...
'' to be produced and was divided into two thirty-minute episodes. Directed by Stéphane Bernasconi, the series has been praised for being "generally faithful" to the original comics, to the extent that the animation was directly adopted from Hergé's original panels.
A 2011
motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
feature film directed by
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
and produced by
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
was released in most of the world October–November 2011, under the title ''
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn'', and in the US on 21 December, where it was simply titled ''The Adventures of Tintin''.
The film is partially based on ''The Secret of the Unicorn'', combined with elements of ''Red Rackham's Treasure'' and ''The Crab with the Golden Claws''. A
video-game tie-in to the movie was released October 2011.
References
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
''The Secret of the Unicorn''at the Official Tintin Website
at Tintinologist.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret of the Unicorn, The
1943 graphic novels
Belgium in fiction
Comics set in Belgium
Comics set in Brussels
Comics set in the 17th century
Literature first published in serial form
Methuen Publishing books
Nautical comics
Pirate comics
Tintin books
Treasure hunt comics
Works originally published in Le Soir
Works set in country houses