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Background
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- English Title: Asterix
and the Great Divide
- French Title: Le
Grand Fosse
- Asterix Book Number:
25
- First Published: 1980
- First Published in English:
1981
- Written and Illustrated
by: Albert Uderzo
- Translated By:
Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge
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With the death of Rene Goscinny, the writer
of the Asterix books, the continuation of the series was thrown
into doubt. Uderzo, the illustrator, did not want to keep
making Asterix books and had very reluctantly completed the
drawings for Asterix in Belgium. It was the fans that wrote
to him that convinced him to both illustrate AND write
a new Asterix book.
Uderzo decided not to get a new writer to
help. Derek Hockridge, one half of the english translating
team explained "He went on writing the cartoons alone
when the author, Rene Goscinny, died, because he was afraid
that someone else would inject the cartoon, consciously or
otherwise, with their own ideas."
His first solo effort was Asterix and the
Great Divide. It borrowed heavily from Shakespeare's play
Romeo and Juliet, and depicted a village divided in half by
hate for each other, and a large ditch. The story also borrowed
from the contempory issues of day, also being written as a
commentary on the Berlin Wall. "It's a reference to
the period in history when I was writing the adventure. I
thought it more amusing to convert the wall into a ditch.
"
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Plot
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Two rival chieftains have been elected
to govern a little village in Ancient Gaul and a ditch dug
through the village divides it, literally, into a party of
the left and a party of the right. But the son and daughter
of the two chieftains are in love. Histrionix and the beautiful
Melodrama have more sense than their fathers, and call in
Asterix, Obelix and the druid Getafix to sort out the political
wrangling. What with the intriguing of the sinister traitor
Codfix, who wants' to marry Melodrama himself, the Gauls'
work is cut out for them - can they persuade the star-crossed
lovers' village to reunite against the threat ofjulius Caesar's
Roman legionaries? Getafix comes up with an interesting
solution...
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Take
a look Inside
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You can view Images
from Asterix and the Great Divide here.
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Notable
Characters
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What it means: Majestic
(regal) and Clever Dick (an insult)
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About : These are two rival
Chieftans of the same village, one controls the villagers
of the left hand side of the village and the other the
right. Just how far will they go to become the sole chief?
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What it means: Histrionics
(Exaggerated emotional behavior for effect) and Melodrama
(a drama characterised by exaggerated emotions)
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About : Two not so ill fated
lovers from opposite sides of the village. Together, they
decide to try and end the madness of half the village
being opposed to the other half, so that they will be
able to be together.
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Codfix
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Umbrageous Cumunonolingus
- What it means: Umbrageous (Easily offended/shady)
Cumulonimbus (storm cloud)
- About : A suffering Centurion who has
to put up with Legionaries obsessed with getting slaves.
He gets convinced to help Codfix with his evil schemes.
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Compare
the Painting
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Chief Majestix poses exactly
like....
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...this portrait of King Louis
XIV
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Review
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Uderzo proved this with adventure that not only could he
draw, he could write. It works very well as an Asterixian
version of the Romeo and Juliet story, but has some other
nice moments. I particularily like the subplot involving
the Roman's needs for slaves, and this is as funny a concept
that Goscinny would have come up with.
This is a success for Uderzo and a welcome addition to
the Asterix library.
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Buy
Asterix and the Great Divide
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