Some P-T/blog related thoughts

I have had some fruitful pony book parcels this week. I managed to acquire (many thanks to bevi who put me on the right track) the edition of the Black Beauty's Family which has that elusive Black Raven in.

Which got me thinking. As I was sitting on my bed last night, after helping Jane (of Jane Badger books) with her soon to be published Christine section, that how long it would take to get through every single P-T books I have (including those I have left on my wish list). So I started to write it all out. 104 books. Which means, that taking into account, that I am only doing one book a week, that it will take 2 years (since there are 52 weeks in a year). That is a long time, and I bet by the time it is finished, things will move on in my life. Of course, most of Christine's later books are for a younger age groups than most of hers, so that wont take as long to do, but it's one commitment. I just hope that I manage to find all the ones that are on my want list. I suspect that The Horse Sale will be the hardest, since I am after that lovely edition that Sheila Rose did the cover for (blue background), which is harder to find, than other edition of the same book. I must admit that I do prefer illustrated covers over photographic covers of books, illustrations seem timeless and have a certain charm. I had a look at my local county library's website, and they do have 20 P-T books, and fortunately one of them is on my want list, so hopefully I can request it if I am desperate (since it is not located at my local or the main library). Though sadly, with the exception of Fair Girls and Grey Horses, they do not have any of the author's adult titles.

I also managed to get hold of my last wanted Joanna Cannan book: They Bought Her A Pony. Which means now that I have all the Joanna Cannan pony books. I have not read any of her other non pony related titles, as again, like her daughter's adult works, my local library does not stock any (and there are none in the county, the nearest I got was May Cannan).

But it got me thinking: once about 2 years down the line: should I do Joanna? As it says on my first post, this is mainly about the P-T's. Sometimes, kind of like today, I will go off track and stray away from the P-T's but this will always be pony book related (and yes, shock horror!! I do have other pony books which arent by the sisters). But I think Joanna does have a rightful place here: if she was not born, then we would not have the P-T's. Also if it wasnt for Joanna encouraging them and the sisters seeing her writing throughout their childhood (had their mother been a housewife, then maybe we wouldnt have the lovely books we have today), then they would not have been tempted to start what is obviously a very successful and fruitful career, both for themselves and pony book sellers alike. I doubt that one pony book seller has not had at least 1 P-T book pass through their hands. I am sure Jane has plenty in her stock room!! Also, Vanessa at Fidra has definitely reprinted 2 of Joanna's works and Josephine's Six Ponies, if there wasnt a demand for P-T/Joanna Cannan books, then she wouldnt go down that route.

It als0 got me thinking: what is the most expensive pony fictional book (not just P-T books)? Previously, I would have said that Primrose Cumming's Silver Snaffles was the most expensive, being such a hard to find book in the first place, and definitely commanding a high price. However with the soon to be released Fidra books edition coming out, and for the maximum price of £15, I bet a lot of people will be going for that. Great if you are a buyer (myself included: I have ordered a copy), I suppose it is horrible if you are a bookseller. What was a nice little earner is probably sitting longer unsold than it did before, though there are some purists who want the original edition (and have the money for it!). I dont know the answer: the most I spent on a single book was £45 on an Caroline Akrill hb edition of I'd Rather Not Gallop (and it is signed to boot).

Anyway, here is my want list, if anyone is interested. I have not included titles which I have already and want to replace with certain editions, I'll leave that until later, as it is not something I am desperate for. If you have any of these, please let me know. Just one thing: I am not interested in hardback editions of books which are missing their dustjacket: I cant stand that. Though of course, if it is something with a pictorial cover (such as the Collins Pony Library series), I'll make an exception. Like I previously said, I prefer illustrated over photographic covers.

Josephine Pullein-Thompson

# Proud Riders
# Save The Ponies!

To make matters worse, there is an book also called Save The Ponies by Gillian Baxter as well as Josephine. They arent the same book: Gillian's was published in 1971, whereas Josephine's was published in 1983. You would think that the publishers would check there hasnt been a book with the same title, considering Gillian's was only published 12 years before. Anyway, I am definitely not after the Gillian Baxter edition.

Christine Pullein-Thompson

# A Pony In Distress
# Incredible Pony Tales
# Little Black Pony
# Magical Pony Tales
# Ponies In The Blizzard
# Ponies In The Forest
# Ponies In The Park
# The Best Pony For Me! (am now waiting for this one, but I dont count it being off the want list until it is physically in my hands)