Review: JOSEPHINE - I Had Two Ponies

I Had Two Ponies is this week's book. It was first published in 1947, making this the second book that she had published. It is also the first book she wrote which is not part of a series. In 2020 it was made available both as an ebook and paperback versions by Jane Badger Books. 

The blurb reads:-

The author of Six Ponies has written a new story about country children. It is told by Christabel who disliked her ponies that she did not mind at all when they were sold. She is sent to spend the Easter holiday with a wild family on a farm, and, at first despised by them for being snobbish, gradually becomes a much nicer person. Secretly she teaches herself to ride, and when she has won the confidence of the Westlake family, is helped by them to rescue back her two ponies from their cruel owners.

The author is part owner of a riding school, and as well as telling an amusing story, is able to give much good advice about riding and looking after ponies.

Like it said Christobel appears in the beginning to have it all. She goes to a private school and is to lazy to look after her ponies (not that she cares much for them) so are sold by her businessman of a father. She goes to stay with the Westlakes, as her parents are off to India, who are mostly horsey and rough by her standards. This causes friction especially when it is found that no great care was taken to find good homes for Christobel's ponies by the Westlakes. 

She turns out to be a most disagreeable person,  constantly arguing with the Westlakes. At one point she buys a riding book and in the stills of the night she secretly rides their ponies. She does mostly well considering she is rusty. But it's while she is in town that she comes across her former pony. The new owner is a disagreeable wood merchant. She is told that she can buy him for forty pounds but she doesnt have the money straight away as she has to write to her daddy, which due to the fact he is in India,  will take 3 weeks. But her former pony is sent to the sales before she can buy him. His fate is complete.

At one point the book shows it's age; there is a visit to a circus where there are references to animals (in the United Kingdom animal circuses are rare, if not banned) and quarantine due to measles (again rare in the United Kingdom due to strong vaccination uptake). 

But without giving too much away, it's a quest of their endeavours of trying to find the ponies and that takes up most of the book. In the end I like to think that Christobel's character has improved. The ending i feel was a bit abrupt and whether she buys both ponies is never truly resolved.  

It is interesting that Christobel writes: in the end she says that her story has been accepted in The Rider's Review. Prior to writing this Josephine (and her sisters) had 2 articles accepted in Riding Magazine (see my review of It Began with Picotee: the new edition) so the chances are it was based on the author herself.  

All in all a good moralistic tale but told wonderfully. 

 

Review: JOSEPHINE - A Job With Horses

A Job With Horses is Josephine's final book that she wrote. It was first published in 1994 and was republished in 2022 by Jane Badger. It is currently available as an ebook and paperback.  

The blurb reads:-

After her mother remarries, Kate feels uncomfortable in her stepfather's house, and then her baby brother arrives, working away from home seems more and more attractive. Having passed her BHSAI exam, a quiet summer with a family in a West Country stately home, improving the children's riding and assisting the Castle's jousting team, seems the perfect solution. But Kate does not bargain for mystery prowlers and a kidnapping....

As it is a J A Allen edition, the blurb is short as the back also contains information about Josephine. It is also available from Jane Badger Books, of which the edition has had a slightly different cover, but other than that it has not been edited. The Jane Badger Books edition came out in 2024 and is available in both ebook and paperback format. 

It starts with Kate, having previously lived a life with her mum, having her life turned upside down as her mum starts a new relationship. It is to be noted that A Job with Horses is written for a slightly more mature and modern audience than most of her books. Her mum was previously single; something up until the 1970s was frowned upon on in British society. Until the publication of the Woodbury Pony Club series in the 1980s I cannot recall a single mother in any of Josephine's books. A sign of changing times.

Having arrived at the castle she meets Lisa; the person she shares the cottage with where she is staying. She warns her to keep her window shut due to prowlers. Kate then meets the riders/children she's supposed to teach and they are unconventional riders. She's told about the Knights including Mr Melville. He is supposed to be after the family's treasure buried in the English Civil War, a topic first visited in the previously published book Black Swift (by Josephine). I have previously reviewed Black Swift. 

As per typical Josephine style there is the usual tips about schooling and the complexities of jousting. Jousting has never been something that has been tackled before or since in any pony book, let alone one with the PTs.  In fact schooling appears fairly heavily in this book. 

There is a touch of romance and the prowlers prove to be real. There is more to this story which I wont divulge as not to spoil it. There is a touch of mystery as there is a robbery in the castle.  But it works out satisfactorily and believable. 

Overall a good and fairly modern effort. If you like mystery combined with an historical place I urge you to give it a go.