The Boy in the Dress

The Boy in the Dress

1st hardback edition
Author David Walliams
Illustrator Quentin Blake
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Children's fiction (8-12)
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
 1 October 2008
Media type Print (hardcover)
Pages 288
ISBN 0-00-727903-5
OCLC 233262822

The Boy In The Dress is a children's book written by David Walliams and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It is the first book by Walliams, a television comedian best known for the show Little Britain. It tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy who enjoys cross-dressing, and the reactions of his family and friends.[1][2] It is aimed at readers aged eight to twelve, and is intended to teach children that cross-dressing is a healthy and acceptable hobby and not something to be ashamed of.[3]

Plot

The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Dennis and his 14-year-old brother John, whose parents got divorced when he was only 7. The boys remain with their father, who resorts to comfort eating after his wife leaves. Dennis is talented in football, and is one of the best on his team. However, he deeply misses his mother, who left their family about five years ago, and finds comfort remembering his mother's yellow dress in an old picture. Dennis sees the same dress on the cover of a Vogue magazine, and buys a copy from Raj, the local shop owner. But when Dad finds the magazine, he is furious. John teases him by calling him "Denise". At school that day, Dennis is given detention for kicking a football through a window. While in detention, he talks to a girl named Lisa James, the prettiest and most fashionable girl in the school. Lisa invites him over to her house, and dresses him up in girls' clothing. Lisa and Dennis, after dressing him up in an electric blue dress, decide to take Dennis out in public, under the alter ego of "Denise", a French exchange student who speaks very little English. They go to Raj's corner shop. Raj does not recognise Dennis, believing he is "Denise". Subsequently, with their success of fooling Raj, Dennis goes to school with Lisa - as "Denise".

Dennis upsets his French teacher by criticizing her French accent. At break, Dennis kicks a football, slips, and is revealed to be a boy. Mr Hawtrey, the headmaster, expels him from the school for cross-dressing. Dad is furious, and sends Dennis to his room. Darvesh, Dennis's best friend, comes over, but is sent back to his home by Dad. Pushed by Darvesh, Dennis goes to an important football match on Saturday, where his entire team encourages him to play in a dress. The team wins against Maudlin Street, the rivaling football team. Dennis's dad attends the match, forgiving Dennis. On an early Sunday morning, Raj informs Dennis that Mr Hawtrey's sister, Doris, buys the Telegraph now instead of him. He also includes that there was "something funny about her". Lisa and Dennis go to Raj's shop and find out that Doris is actually Mr Hawtrey cross-dressing in a skirt. The two threaten that unless Dennis is reinstated to the school, they will tell everyone of Mr Hawtrey's cross-dressing habits. Mr Hawtrey agrees to reinstate Dennis.

At the end of the story, Dennis, his dad, and his brother get over the pain of the loss of Dennis' mother. Dennis and Lisa stay friends, and John starts to look out for his younger brother more.

Characters

Dennis Sims - A 12 year old. He lives with his brother, John, and his dad, an overweight truck driver. Dennis has a best friend called Darvesh. Dennis prefers wearing girl's clothes instead of boy's clothes; with the help of Lisa, he invents an alter-ego, "Denise", who is a French exchange student.

John Sims - Dennis's older brother and 14 years old.

Lisa James - A 14 year old. She is the prettiest girl in the school and is adored by everyone. Lisa loves Vogue, fashion, dresses and shoes.

Miss Windsor - A French teacher.

Raj - Owner of a local newspaper-shop. He is kind and loves children.

Mr Hawtrey - An extremely strict and unfair headteacher to the school. He expels Dennis for cross-dressing, but he himself cross-dresses, too.

Mac Cribbins - A boy in Lisa's class. His nickname is Big Mac and Fries because of his obesity and his excessive eating. He is shown to fancy Denise.

Darvesh Singh - Dennis' best friend. Darvesh's Mum - Very supportive mum who goes to all the events no matter how unusual. Is a Sikh.

Dad - Dennis and John's father. His name is not mentioned in the book. He resorts to comfort eating after his wife leaves. In the film, his name is Peter.

Denise Dennis' alter ego. Denise is French and speaks very little English, Dennis and Lisa create her when Dennis tries on Lisa's dress which she made.

Literary significance and reception

Reviewers and the press noted the book's resonance with Walliams's own cross-dressing.[3] Philip Ardagh in the Guardian noted the novelty of Walliams's light-hearted approach to the themes, compared with treatments in earlier children's books on the subject like Terence Blacker's 2004 title Boy 2 Girl.[4] Nicolette Jones in the Times praised Blake's illustrations and, though she called Walliams' writing "not the finest", noted "Everyone is on the side of freedom and tolerance by the end, for which the book must be applauded."[2]

Allusions

Dennis's father tells him "No more Small England, or whatever it is". French teacher Miss Windsor cuts short a school detention, hoping to get home in time to watch Neighbours, though in America this reference has been changed to The Young and the Restless.

Publication history

The book was published in hardcover by HarperCollins in October 2008, with a paperback release scheduled for May 2009.[5] Walliams and his comedy partner Matt Lucas recorded an audiobook of the story, also for HarperCollins, which was released in November 2008.[6] HarperCollins were reported to have signed Walliams for a two-book deal.[1][3]

Film adaptation

Aa television film adaptation was produced for BBC One, and aired on Boxing Day 2014.[7]

Filming began on 19 October 2014, according to Walliams' Official Twitter page. Casting for the episode was later announced on 21 October 2014.[8]

Cast

References

  1. 1 2 Salter, Jessica (7 August 2008). "David Walliams in Bond Street as a 'laydee'". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  2. 1 2 Jones, Nicolette (26 October 2008). "The Boy in the Dress, Sunday Times review". The Times. London. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 "Walliams book has laydee's touch". BBC News Online. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  4. ↑ Ardagh, Philip (15 November 2008). "Review: The Boy In The Dress by David Walliams". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "The Boy in the Dress paperback Amazon.co.uk listing". Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  6. ↑ "The Boy in the Dress Audio book". Harpercollins.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  7. ↑ Jeffery, Morgan (10 March 2014). "David Walliams' Boy in the Dress to be BBC One film for Christmas 2014". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  8. ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a604835/jennifer-saunders-kate-moss-for-david-walliams-bbc-one-christmas-comedy.html
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