National Velvet is a novel by Enid Bagnold, first published in 1935. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Enid Bagnold Lady Jones, CBE ( 27 October 1889 &ndash 31 March 1981) known by her maiden name as Enid Algerine Bagnold Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Plot summary

National Velvet is the story of a girl, Velvet Brown, who rides her horse to victory in the Grand National steeplechase. The Grand National is the most valuable National Hunt horse race in the world The steeplechase is a form of Horse racing (primarily conducted in the United Kingdom, United States, France, and Ireland) and derives The fictional horse which Velvet Brown trained and rode in the National is called The Piebald. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae.

Velvet Brown is an awkward teenager living in a small English coastal village of Sewels in Sussex, dreaming of one day owning many horses. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Her mother is a large taciturn woman who was once famous for swimming the English Channel; her father is a butcher. One day when Velvet is sent on a delivery for her father she encounters a strange man who, after a brief conversation with her, leaves all his horses to her in his will and then commits suicide.

Velvet and her sisters manage to feed and keep the horses, and they have some success entering in local gymkhanas. Gymkhana is a term used in the United Kingdom, east coast of the United States, and other English-speaking nations to describe an equestrian event Meanwhile, Velvet wins her dream horse in a local raffle - an ungainly, strong-willed piebald gelding known as The Pie (short for "The Piebald"). A piebald is an animal especially a Horse, that has a spotting pattern of large white and black patches A gelding is a castrated animal &mdash in English the term specifically refers to a castrated male Horse or other Equine such as a Donkey This is the horse she has fallen in love with; together with her father's apprentice, Mi Taylor, she starts dreaming of winning the Grand National steeplechase.

After being given her mother's winnings (in gold) from swimming the English Channel for the entry fee and figuring out how to conceal Velvet's gender, Velvet and Mi take the trip to compete in the race. She gets through the jockeys' changing and weighing rooms, disguised as a Russian jockey, and wins the race almost by default; a thick fog has caused most of the horses to fall or refuse to jump. Velvet slips off the Piebald after the winning-post due to exhaustion, and her sex is discovered in the first-aid station. The racing world is both horrified and fascinated by a young girl's winning its toughest race and Velvet and the Piebald become a nine-day wonder, with Velvet and her family nearly drowning in notoriety (which echoes her mother's unsought fame after swimming the English Channel). The National Hunt Committee exonerates all involved, and Velvet and her family return to their ordinary lives.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

• In 1944, the novel was made into a highly successful film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. National Velvet is a 1944 film based on the novel by Enid Bagnold, first published in 1935 Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE (born 27 February 1932) is a two-time Academy Award -winning English-American actress Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr; September 23, 1920) is an American Film Actor and Entertainer whose
• From 1960 to 1962, there was a television series based on the book which aired on NBC. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. National Velvet was a 1960 television series starring Lori Martin as Velvet Brown who lives on a dairy farm The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's
• In 1978, a sequel film, International Velvet, was made starring Tatum O'Neal. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) International Velvet is a 1978 dramatic film It was a sequel to the 1944 classic National Velvet. Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963 in Los Angeles California) is an Academy Award -winning American actress best