Review: CHRISTINE - A Day To Go Hunting

A Day To Go Hunting is this week's book. Although about hunting, it is not connected to the Chill Valley Hunt series. It was first published in 1956.

The blurb (taken from the first image) reads:-

A DAY TO GO HUNTING is no ordinary pony story but an exciting and absorbing novel for girls and boys. It all takes place in one day - the day of the meet. Most of the local riders are there: John, a farmer's son; Angela, Tony, eleven-year-old Mark; the Trumans and their parents; Lucy, Graham, Adam; the proprietress of the riding school and Jan, her working pupil. Hounds find almost at once and run across the Vale. A fog descends, things begin to go wrong and suddenly catastrophe looms up. Through the course of this eventful day everyone is affected by what takes - ambitions are realised, new friends made, jobs are lost and found; above all, several learn more about themselves in the crisis which calls forth their latent qualities. The story ends as they return home - all of them wiser, happier and more than a day older than at the start.


The blurb, taken from the paperback edition (second image) reads:-

Excitement ran high all around the county, even though the morning was cold and wet, for it was a day to go hunting. There was havoc at the riding school and Midnight had thrown a shoe. Poor Mark had been looking forward to the hunt for so long, but Merrylegs had disappeared from her paddock!

Just as the hounds were moving off, the sun broke through the clouds. It was going to be a perfect day. But Jane was nervous of the hard and slippery ground, and with good reason. Her young thoroughbred, Trooper, rides too fast at a fence and goes down. Then the hounds pick up a false scent and get into a park full of deer. Everyone knows the park is out of bounds. And worse still, a thick, swirling mist comes down. What a day to go hunting!

The first edition is illustrated by Sheila Rose. The second (paperback) edition is not illustrated. 

It begins with the setting of the scene, and we are introduced to several of the characters. In the first edition there is a handy list of characters at the beginning of the book so the reader is not too confused.  

Then there's the actual hunt which takes place with several disasters around. A fog distends, people get lost and animals injured. The story is long winded with one disaster to the next. It is too drawn out and is not one of Christine's finest. I personally feel it would have been better off as a short story or novella. It didnt grab it as it was too much of a ramble with lots of padding.  The sheer amount of incidents are unbelievable .

It is unlikely to be republished due to the fact there is a lot of hunting content. That is a good thing, as aside from the hunting content it is generally a weak story. If you dont like reading about hunting then this isnt for you as there is not enough to be going on to make it worthwhile. 

Review: CHRISTINE - Bedtime Pony Stories

Bedtime Pony Stories is this week's book.  It was first published in 1997 and is illustrated by Mark Smallman. 

The blurb reads:-

F I VE ORIGINAL STORIES BY Christine Pullein-Thompson 

ROSIE GOES TO TOWN 

'Rosie wanted to see her friends again, to drink from the clear pool there and to gallop and buck with the soft grass between her hoofs. The longing grew inside Rosie until she could bear it no longer. Her field felt empty now, the grass all eaten and there was not a single bramble growing on the high rail fence. It did not take Rosie long to escape,  first she leant against the gate, then the slip rails; neither moved a centimetre. Next she went from rail to rail along the high fence, until she found one which moved, and now with one gigantic push from Rosie's chest, it came apart and lay on the ground in splinters. Rosie jumped the lower rail and then she was on the road outside...'

'Rosie Goes To Town' is just one of five original stories in this book written by famous author of pony books, Christine Pullein-Thompson. 

Each story is just the right length for reading at bedtime and captures an enchanting world of ponies and the children that love them.

As the blurb suggests, the book contains short stories. They are complete stories, unlike their Pullein-Thompson Treasury (to be covered later) which contains some excerpts. 

The first story: A Strange Pony in the Garden is essentially a rehash of Little Black Pony, a book written much earlier, albeit with a few things changed. Little Black Pony has been already covered in this blog, so I shall not spoil the story. It stands up on its  own and is a good all round story. 

The second story: Clever Kelpie is the story of Jamie and Morag who live in the Highlands of Scotland. They have a pony called Kelpie. Without wishing to give too much away, it is the story of how Kelpie saved the day. 

The third story, Honey's Day Out is the story of Ollie and his sister Katy plus their non horsey family's day out at a show. 

The fourth story, Rosie Goes To Town is pretty much covered by the blurb. Basically it's the exploits of a pony who lives in Wales who escapes her field. Without giving too much away, it's a story of how things change.

The fifth and final story, Pantomime Ponies is the story of four ponies and their donkey friend. The ponies are rather demeaning to their donkey friend as they usually appear, as the title suggests, in a pantomime every Christmas. But when their owner, Mr Hatter, wants the donkey instead of them, things change and in the end, without giving too much away, the donkey gets accepted.  

If you're wanting uncomplicated,  light reads, then this book is a good read. Yes it doesnt go into depth as it's meant for younger readers, but the stories stand out on their own and are decent enough. It can sometimes be tricky to find but worth it. 

Review: JOSEPHINE - Race Horse Holiday

Race Horse Holiday is this week's book. It was first published in 1971.

As you can see there are two blurbs, and the first one reads:-

"We waited. The night was full of a thick velvety quite that was not silence. There was just the occasional stamp and scrape from the stable as horses got up or lay down. Time passed very slowly and I began to imagine hunched figures creeping down the shadow by the loose boxes....I had begun to believe in the horse doper again. I watched and my brain grew numb, groaning for sleep. Suddenly the noise began! We grabbed our mallets and ran across the yard..."

The other edition (one with the photographic cover) uses the same blurb, although it has this additional paragraph:-

An exciting mystery develops when Vivien and Jon spend their holidays at a local racing stables.

The story starts with Vivien and Jon being packed off on holiday to a friend of their parents who owns a racing stables. The mother is going to Russia; in older pony books this would be India. Mr Alex Grant, plus his daughters Angela and Katie racing yard is the setting for this book. They arrive at the yard and are given some horses to ride, though they arent racehorses. They are told of a dispute between 2 apprentices. When several horses dont go well there is allegations of a doping plot. 

The dispute continues until there is a kidnapping and a mystery. Without giving too much away, it is solved. 

Although it lacks the schooling techniques of Josephine's earlier books,  there is some racing information woven into the story and you are given a lesson. If you like adventure stories you cant go much wrong with this. I enjoyed it. 

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. 

Review: JOSEPHINE - Murder Strikes Pink

Murder Strikes Pink is the third and final book in the (Chief) Inspector Flecker mystery series. Unlike Gin and Murder and They Died In The Spring, the horse element is the most strongest out of the 3. It was first published in 1963, though the image shown is an 1990 reprint. It was republished in 2016 by Greyladies and was available as an ebook in 2017 by Endeavour Press. Sadly that ebook is unavailable but the entire series was made available in a boxset entitled Home Counties Mysteries in 2025 by Lume Press. 

The blurb reads:-

Rich and embittered Theodora Thistleton, constantly brow-beat her secretaries. Where she found fault she not only judged, but tried to punish. Perhaps she deserved to die? At least one other person thought so strongly enough to kill her, and it was the task of Detective Chief-Inspector Flecker to find the murderer. Miss Thistleton had inspired hate in all who came into contact with her, and the more Flecker's investigations progressed, the more he was inclined to sympathise with the murderer.

The first chapter sets the scene by taking place at a horse show. Theodora Thistleton or T.T. has a string of people riding her horses. She is taken ill at the horse show and subsequently dies. 

The next chapter starts with a Detective-Superintendent called Jackson who starts the case. The cause of death is revealed. A Marion Keswick is investigated; she was T.T.'s driver to the show. It is also revealed that she has recently spilt up with her husband, an Lawrence Keswick who coincidentally is a beneficiary of T.T's will as they were cousins.  Lawrence Keswick is interviewed, too. Then a  piece of evidence is found in the horsebox used in the show; it is found to belong to a Marion Keswick. It seems to be all sewn up that the killer is indeed Marion Keswick. 

The next chapter introduces Chief Inspector Flecker's involvement in the case. He sets about interviewing the suspects. This takes up a fair amount of the book, during which another potential murder weapon is revealed.  Eventually the killer is revealed, without giving too much away, it is not Marion Keswick.  There is more to the story however.

To me it was less controversial in some waya than the previous offering. It touches on subjects such as adoption and single motherhood, which were frowned upon at the time of writing. Generally everything is sewn up albeit the ending is a bit abrupt.  Not a bad effort overall. 

Review: JOSEPHINE - They Died In The Spring

They Died In The Spring is Josephine's second book that is intended for adults. It is also the second in the Chief Inspector Flecker series. It was first published in 1960. The picture to the right is of the first edition. It was made available as an ebook by Endeavour Press in 2017. That has been out of availability now. However the entire series is available as a entire ebook boxset  entitled Home County Mysteries by Lume Press in 2025. 

The blurb reads:-

Though he knew Colonel Barclay had antagonised the inhabitants of Winmore End by his threat to plough the village cricket field, Paul Barclay insisted afterwards that no thought of murder had occurred to him when he found his father's body sprawled on the track though the woods, with a shotgun beside it.

It was Dr. Hedley, the pathologist at Crossley Hospital, who gave the alarm, but by the time the body was in the mortuary and the larch plantation, much trampled by the search party, was devoid of clues. Then Hilda Schmidt, the Sinclairs' foreign home help, failed to return from a jaunt to London, and the Bretfordshire police, making no headway, asked for help from Scotland Yard.

Detective Chief Inspector James Flecker soon learned that the bombastic Colonel had fallen foul of a good many people, including his own family, and that Hilda Schimdt was not beloved by all. As Flecker's inquiry gathered speed, several solutions presented themselves and the most likely was one which, for reasons of his own, he contemplated with aversion...

Although it does come in the same series as Gin and Murder, it does not feature the same characters (bar Chief Inspector Flecker) as it, so if this is the only one that you can get hold of, it doesnt matter. Although I think that in general murder mystery books, bar the police, do not feature the same people (though I am no expert). It is also not set in the same villages or areas as Gin and Murder either.

Unlike Gin and Murder, there is no horsey element to it (bar a bit when a suspect says what she did with her horse that day - she went to a hunter trial). If you are reading this because you like murder mystery novels and came across Josephine's Pullein-Thompson's work, don't worry. However, if you only want to read this because of the horsey element, then it may not be for you. If like me, you want to read every single one of the Pullein-Thompson's books, bar their non-fictional work/anthologies, then go ahead. It is written to the same high standard as Gin and Murder.

(Oh and the slightly horsey element does return in the final book of the series: Murder Strikes Pink.)

To me, the plot is still decent enough, but this book was not as enjoyable as the previous ones. To me, the plot wasnt so strong and bar the horsey element, not enough to keep you hooked. Whereas Gin and Murder was quite a clever and intriguing plot, this one wasnt. Also, the pace of the book is faster than Gin and Murder, and therefore a little confusing at times. Again, like Gin and Murder, the majority of the book is taken up with the investigation.

Also, like Gin and Murder, there is a little swearing, though again pretty much minimal. Two things that I dont like about this book is that one character said that all people with mental health problems should be locked away (and the key thrown away). Also, someone in the book was referred to as having a "schizoid personality". Just because you have a mental health problem does not make you a murderer and it is this kind of talk that promotes stigmatism these days. Though, upon reflection, Josephine was writing a book set in the late 1950s/1960s, and at that time, people with mental health problems were generally locked away, forgotten about in hospitals. Neither was the treatment around that there is today. In fact statistics show that people with mental health problems are more likely to be a victim of crime rather than the perpetrator.