Why a Booktrail?
Destination: New Hampshire (fictional Gravesend which is Exeter) Departure Time: 1950s
A tale of two boys from two different sides of society and the everlasting friendship between them
A Prayer for Owen Meany
What you need to know before your trail
Johnny Wheelwright and Owen Meany are friends but from opposite ends of the track so to speak. Johnny comes from a wealthy background whilst Owen does not. In fact his family are described as a bit odd and so poor that Johnny’s family often help out with clothing, food and helping Owen at school.
Johnny and Owen like to play baseball but one day Owen strikes the ball and it hitsJohnny’s mum and kills her. Johnny can barely forgive Owen and their friendship suffers but it does survive and this signals the start of the real journey and the real friendship between two young boys from opposite ends of the social scale who are there for each other as life propels them forward
Locations
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World events
Many events in the book are based around the time of very significant events in American history such as the Kennedy assassination and the Iran-Contra scandal,
Gravesend
The town in which the novel is set–Gravesend, New Hampshire–is modeled and inspired by Irving’s childhood town of Exeter. Gravesend Academy is thought to be Phillips Exeter Academy.
There are other similarities since both John Wheelwright and Irving himself grow up on Front Street, and are both dyslexic and both attend the academy and the University of New Hampshire.
Streetview Maps
B) USA - Exeter - "Gravesend Academy"
C) Canada - Toronto - Bishop Strachan private girls' school
Where Next?
