Review: ALL THREE: It Began With Picotee

It Began With Picotee is this week's book. It is their first book, and like their mother, all 3 sisters collabrated to do it. It was first published in 1946, the same year as both Diana and Josephine published their first solo books.

It is illustrated by Rosemary Robertson, who was not only a friend of Josephine's, but also did their mother's They Bought Her A Pony.

The blurb reads:-

It began with Picotee, then came Tony, and Pengo and a whole host of other ponies. Some were amenable to discipline, others were decidedly not. But good, or bad, for the three girls who looked after them, the more ponies they had the more they liked it.

It Began With Picotee is rather an apt title, since this began which is was obviously a rather fruitful career for all 3 sisters.

It is, as the blurb suggests, the story of 3 sisters. How much is based on themselves I do not know, but I suspect rather a lot. The first chapter they acquire a second pony - Tony - and they take him hunting. At the time of writing, unlike today, hunting was a key feature of the countryside horsey scene. Thankfully it is not too graphic in it's description so if you accept that hunting went on, it's not liable to offend.

The second chapter is taken up by the girls acquiring yet another pony - Pengo - and without giving too much away, the fun and games they have with him. 

Then in the third chapter they acquire a pony called Imp who they rename Angus. Again like the previous chapter they have - albeit different - fun and games with him.

The fourth chapter is taken up with 3 more ponies that the sisters acquire. One is called Bronx, which the groom says "Mind you sit tight, Miss, 'e didn't 'alf cut some capers in the yard this morning". This is most likely based on the sisters experience themselves as the exact words were used in a 1941 article by the sisters in Riding Magazine.  Again like the first chapter there is a hunting scene but, nothing liable to offend. 

The next few chapters is taken up with schooling which I suspect Josephine may have a hand in. Certainly they acquire no more ponies although there is a horse show the results I will no divulge as to not spoil the story. 

The final chapter is entitled Plenty of Ponies unfortunately contains the n word but it's not used as an insult but a reference to a shade of brown. Thankfully it's the only occurrence of that unfortunate word. It may be noted that none of the PTs used racial slander in their pony books since. Though it you have to remember that this book was originally published and written in the 1940s where attitudes were completely different to a modern audience. 

I quite enjoyed this book. It's a bit rambling in places but overall a decent plot. It's not their finest work but then again you have to remember it's their first work. First works by authors rarely are. Overall a decent effort. 

Review: JOSEPHINE - Six Ponies

Six Ponies is this week's book. It has a special place in many people's hearts: firstly it is Josephine's first book (published in 1946) and secondly it is the first in the ever popular West Barsetshire series, or more commonly known as the "Noel and Henry" series. For this reason I have labelled as both.

Six Ponies is a rather long book, and when Collins republished it under their Pony Library series, and also Armada and Swift, they cut it quite significantly. Consequently, until recently, a first edition with full text and original illustration had been quite hard and expensive. Fortunately, Fidra Books in 2007 in their wisdom have republished it in it's entirety. In 2019 Jane Badger also released it in it's entirety meaning that now everyone can have a full story at a reasonable price.

The edition I have used in this review is the Fidra one (the one with the blue border). If anyone is unfamiliar with Fidra's style, they always have some sort of introduction, where possible, it is written by the author. Sadly due to Josephine's ill health she could not complete one, although she has written one for Fidra's other works: We Met Our Cousins and London Pride (by their mother: Joanna Cannan). So before the main story there is a short biography by Vanessa Robertson (owner of Fidra) and an article about the "Noel and Henry" series by Jane Badger (of Jane Badger books).

I will deal with the article first, then the story.

The article begins with a bit of social history about riding in the 1920's and the 1930's, useful as most people reading any P-T books (and even some of Joanna Cannan's books) will be unfamiliar with "backwards" seat, as they have never seen it. This is often referred to in the P-T's early works, particularly Josephine's. It also details many influential books, particularly Equitation, a book by Henry Wynmalen (ironically enough they appeared an 1941 edition of Riding Magazine describing a pony called Cocktail which Henry Wynmalen also wrote an article comparing the car and the horse). This book greatly influenced the P-T sisters.

The article goes on to describe the book's characters, not only their riding but also their temperament. Not just in Six Ponies, but throughout the whole series.

It also compares other well known books, and also the schooling side of things: Josephine's books are (with a couple of exceptions) famous for being instructional. Jane comments:

"However, although pony books can easily turn into didactic tomes (J M Berrisford's A Pony In The Family bieng an example of the didactic unrelieved by either humour or plot) there is more than enough wit and character in the Noel and Henry books to make them eminently readable: we can appreciate Noel's improvement without understanding precisely how she does it."

The entire article can be found on Jane's website (link on the right if viewing this on a PC or tablet). 

The blurb reads (of the Fidra Books edition):-

When six members of the West Barsetshire Pony Club each take on the challenge of breaking in a New Forest Pony they have little idea of what they will encounter. They have to teach them to wear a saddle and bridle, to carry a rider, to jump fences and behave quietly in traffic. Then, they have to ride them in a competition to see who has done the best. Who will do the best? June Cresswell who has an expensive pony and rides in every competition: John who has no-one to help him; the Radcliffes who shout and quarrel and live in the whirl of their huge family; Susan who has a groom and hardly looks after her pony herself; or shy, dreamy Noel? The first book in Josephine Pullein-Thompson's series about the West Barsetshire Pony Club, Six Ponies introduces some of her most memorable characters and brilliantly captures the highs and lows of schooling a young pony.

and the Armada (second image) edition's blurb reads:-

Six New Forest ponies to break in and school with a year to do it in! The members of the Pony Club can hardly believe their luck when Major Holbrooke chooses them for the job.

Besides the excitement of gymkhanas, rallies and paperchases, this is an added challenge. Will they have enough spirit and determination to tackle it? Their enthusiasm sometimes wears think with bolting ponies, refusals and even broken bones.

Yet by the year's end, the children have gained the upper hand, and their six perfectly-schooled ponies are the envy of all!

The other books in the Noel and Henry/West Barsetshire Pony Club series are: The Radney Riding Club, Pony Club Team, One Day Event and Pony Club Camp. The books Pony Club Cup,
Pony Club Challenge and Pony Club Trek do not belong to this series: instead they belong to a different Pony Club (see Woodbury Pony Club tag).


This book was Josephine's first solo book and is widely regarded to be one of her best.
It's good that the publishers have decided to republish it again, this one is in it's entirety, as unfortunately all paperback editions prior to this were drastically cut. Who can argue when the only other way to get the full story, was to purchase a first edition, which is considerably more expensive than this one.
It's the story of 6 children who are given 6 young ponies to train, with a competition at the end to see who has trained them the best. The author is well known for combining training instructions, with stories about ponies, and this one does not disappoint. The trials and tribulations of training youngsters is a key part to the story, but there are some incidents there to give some humour (such as when the pony steals the apples off the greengrocer's cart).

That's not to say that the characters do not have their faults. The first Pony Club Rally (which sets the scene) the children are useless. When they are told that six ponies are to broken in by members of the Pony Club there is much criticism of each other (both by members and their mothers) over who is going to ruin their pony. This turns quite catty at times. It makes not the easiest of reading for some people. 

Although originally written over 50 years ago, it's appeal has not been lost, and should be on every pony mad girl's shelf, and every collector should have one on their shelf. Even if you aren't a pony mad girl (or a parent of one), it is written so wonderfully well that an adult who likes to train ponies should read this, although it is meant as a story the quality is so excellent it could be used as a training aid!
This book also has an introduction which covers the rest of the series, and details about the characters and the background to the book. An excellent read, and should be considered a great classic.

The ending is somewhat bittersweet but generally satisfying. I recommend getting an copy of this book, preferably the full text. 

Review: CHRISTINE - We Rode To The Sea

We Rode To The Sea is this week's book. It is Christine's first solo book, and was first published in 1948; two years after It Began With Picotee.

The red bound cover is rather a strange one, it is an Collins Crown Library edition. Nobody quite knows it's origin, but it is the only P-T book to have this treatment. Monica Edwards' books Wish For A Pony and The Summer of the Great Secret have these editions. However, this one is dated 1949, the same as the regular first edition. I thought it may be because it originally cost a crown, but my mother says that it would have been an extremely expensive book so that theory is out of the window. Especially considering that Britain had only just come out of the second world war only 3 years ago, and was still on rationing. One theory is that it was a cheap edition of the first edition. I cant tell you how much this originally cost, as mine has been price clipped.

Anyway, the blurb reads:-

The scatterbrained MacGregors set out with five horses and a dog for a riding tour in the Highlands. They lose maps, money and tempers and become involved in a chase after two prisoners. They camp in the glens, eat oatcakes in crofters' kitchens, and at last, coming down the trees, they see the open sea.

If you had not guessed, this book is set primarily in Scotland, a theme similarly replicated in her mother's book We Met Our Cousins (first published in 1937). Interestingly, all editions bar this one and the more commonly seen first edition, have an rather interesting introduction, which reads:-

"Come on," I cried with mad impatience. "What did you see?"
"I saw," said Duncan slowly, "two Germans riding two horses - our horses - Harvester and Landslide. Now can you understand my rage?"

The Macgregors were on a riding tour in the highlands. The war was just over; but food was rationed and escaped German prisoners lurked in the hills. Seven pounds was enough for a holiday for four people, a dog and five horses in those far off years when a loaf of bread could be bought for twopence three farthings. But Alister's wallet vanished and the map was lost and all their watches shopped, while the Macgregors pursued the Germans from glen to glen until they met at last, face to fact on the cliffs above the sea.

This was my first book. Life was different when I wrote it. Horses still travelled on trains in special trucks, and the carriages were full of soldiers and sailors and nearly everything was rationed. It is the book which made my name. I hope you enjoy it.

Christine Pullein-Thompson

It is the only P-T book (and certainly the only Christine one) that features an introduction. Even the Collins Pony Library edition (second picture) features that.

This is a general adventure rather like the later Ride By Night. It's told from the prospective of Hughneena Macgregor. They certainly seem patriotic with references to Scotland a lot throughout the book, with the term "By the blighted hopes of Scotland" used a lot.  It's perhaps the least horsey of CPT's books save her non horsey ones.

Despite this I enjoyed it. The Macgregors have a lot of misfortune including as the blurb suggested losing maps. It's an enjoyable read despite the lack of horsey action. What got me is the wonderful description of the Highlands despite never visited I felt as though I was there. This is due to the PTs excellent writing. Despite everything going wrong I never felt frustrated. This is a excellent read which I never found boring and would recommend to a modern reader. The only thing that dates it is the fact that horses travel by train in the beginning of the book. This is never done these days and thanks to Doctor Beeching there are fewer railway stations than the time that CPT was writing. If you don't like general horsey adventures and generally avoid this I urge you to read this: you may be pleasantly surprised.

Review: JOSEPHINE - Plenty Of Ponies

This week's book is Plenty Of Ponies. It was first published in 1949, making it one of Josephine's earlier books (in fact it was her third book that she published).

The blurb reads (first picture):-

'Quite frankly, I don't think much of you Esmonds' said the colonel. 'You've got some of the nicest ponies in this Pony Club, but you don't seem to take any trouble.'

The Christmas holidays promise wonderful adventures for the five Esmonds - but somehow they always end up in disgrace. They let The Turk gallop through hounds, October has run riot in Mr. Simpson's garden - and now they've brought chaos to the Pony Club rally.

However, there's still the Children's Meet, and the Esmonds are determined to redeem themselves - and give the colonel the shock of his life....

The second scan is of a Collins Pony Library edition, which does not contain a blurb. However both editions contains illustrations. The Collins Pony Library edition are credited to Anne Bullen, which are presumably the same ones as the first edition. The other one (a White Lion edition) does not credit the illustrator, but they are the same ones as in the Collins Pony Library edition (and presumably, by Anne Bullen). The cover has been done by someone else, however.

The book starts out with Professor Esmond pointing out their bad points, of which they decide to "improve their characters". However things do not go to plan, even when hunting on Boxing Day the Master gets cross and a Colonel Howard tells them off.

This book is somewhat slightly stuffy, these days people do not think of "improving their characters". However there is a great deal of (mis)adventures to be read in this book, and this makes up for it. Granted, there aren't so many horse filled incidents until near the end, but the relationship of the children is enough to keep you occupied. Perhaps this is not the ideal book to start off with if you have not read Josephine's books before, as this is not her best work. However, it must be remembered that it is an early work of hers, and that is the reason why.

In some ways that old fashionedness sticks out, there is talk of brandy when someone is ill/has an accident, which is not used today in quite the same way (and certainly not given to children) and also of liver pills (which are not used these days either). Also there are frequent mentions of servants and gardeners, which (unless you are very rich) people don't have these days. Also when there is talk of hanging, it also dates it, as we don't have hanging anymore.

It is a book I am not particularly fond of, but if you can get past the old fashionedness of it, it is not too bad. Like All Change/The Hidden Horse, the ponies are a secondary element to this book.

Review: DIANA - The Pennyfields

The Pennyfields is a slightly bizarre book. First of all, like The Boy and The Donkey/The Donkey Race this should be an slightly OT topic, as unlike Diana's pony books, they do not a pony. However the Pennyfields (Pennyfield being the surname of the family) do have a donkey, so this could be classified as a pony book, rather than something like The Battle Of Clapham Common which is obviously not a pony book.

The blurb reads:-

"Gosh! The pig!" cries Marie, leaping to her feet.

In a moment they were on the pavement in time to see the fat white sow dash down a side street. They ran after her. The onlookers roared with laughter, and school boys whistled derisively.

Marie, a fast runner, soon gained on the pig. Jennet was laughting so much she could hardly run at all. She told Soloman to head it, and Soloman, mistaking her order, nipped the pig's heels, causing her to run the faster....

The Pennyfields is a happy story, full of good fun.

I am not sure I agree with the last comment. Of all the words, I dont think happy is the right thing for a book. As for full of good fun.....

The basis of the story is that the Pennyfields want a pony, a canoe and rather bizarrely, a shotgun (if they cant afford a horse). This story is basically an account of them trying to get hold of the money, as they are fed up of being poor.

Well to be honest, I found this book rather boring. It takes place during the Second World War (it was after the third time of reading about the Black Market I finally cottoned on), which accounts for them being poor. This is Diana's third book, being first published in 1949. Albeit rationing did carry on until the 1950s in the UK though. It is the first time that I struggled to finish a P-T book, and to date, the only one. The blurb doesnt help much either, and is to be honest, is one for the true fan of the P-T books. Thankfully it is not an expensive book on ebay.

The Pennyfields carry out all sorts of bizarre tasks to get their money, including cleaning windows, but in perspective, I suppose during WW2, the men who would normally do these kind of things would be in the trenches, or in P.O.W. camps. The only men around would be too old, or too injured to do these things. Though, why would you want to clean windows, when they were blacked out at night and you couldnt see much through them anyway, with all the safety tape on them should they be in an area where a bomb would have landed. In most cases the things that they would be doing, most children I suspect would do them without pay, as part of the "war effort".

Although there are a few incidents, there is nothing spectacular about this book, it is not one that grabs you and unlike the pony books, isnt very interesting for any child. This is the first time I am struggling to say anything about this book. In the end, they do get the pony, though it is unclear (thankfully) whether or not they get the shotgun. Like I said, this is one for the true P-T fan.

Review: DIANA - Three Ponies and Shannan

Three Ponies and Shannan is the sequel to last week's book: I Wanted A Pony. Unlike I Wanted A Pony, this focuses on Christina, who through a Pony Club camp, meets Augusta, the star of the previous book. Unfortunately, for some reason, that is the tone of the rest of the series (A Pony To School and Only A Pony). I have no idea why Diana chose to take that route, as now Augusta is resigned to be a secondary character (if somewhat minor) now. You could easily be forgiven for thinking that it is not in the same series as I Wanted A Pony.

This edition is not illustrated. 


The blurb reads:-

LIFE SAVER...

The barn looked romantic in the moonlight and the ponies seemed to be pleased to see me...but my knees knocked, my hands shook. Filled with despair, I crept forward. Did a drowned boy await me? As I gazed into the dark depths of the well, I could see no red hair, no grasping hand, nothing but the bubbles on the water...

Then suddenly there was a splash, and Terence appeared, desperately trying to keep himself afloat. His face was not deadly pale like those of drowning people described in books, but he appeared frantic and struck out widely with his arms, crying: "Help me. Quick, help me!"

Discounting the lack of Augusta, this makes an interesting story. Christina is obviously a rich girl, and in some ways, rather like Augusta's cousins. Her life is involved with nothing but shows, but to me, she seems richer than Augusta's cousins, having a butler (apart from a groom, Augusta's cousins have only a maid) as well as groom. There is talk of Lobster , which even in these days, are not cheap. Through a series of events, she managed to get a dog (that is where the Shannan bit comes from), though she has the three ponies already.

The book goes along quite nicely and nothing extraordinary happens (unless you count the incidents with Shannan, which make pleasant reading), until the camp. Apart from the aforementioned meeting of Augusta, she is forced, through Shannan's adventures to change herself (even falling into a pond at one point, and later, saving Terence), as previously she had been incredibly spoilt, not daring to look after the ponies herself (which is what the other characters of the story do). Her parents do spoil her, so much so, that she hadnt got to think for herself - even to the point it was a sin to get muddy. The gymkhana at the end makes a good end to the story.

It is a easy book to get into, and not too heavy going, unlike some of Diana's, but still for me, the shift of focus in the rest of the series onto Christina rather than Augusta, is somewhat of an annoyance. If this had been a focus on Christina, and the rest of the series had been equally on both of them (since Augusta turns out to be pretty important), then it could be forgiven.

Review: DIANA - I Wanted A Pony

I Wanted a Pony is the book I have chosen for this week.

It has a special place in my heart. Not only because this is Diana's first ever book on her own (it was published in 1946 - the same year as her joint work It Began with Picotee), but it was also my first Diana book. This edition dates from the 1970s, but it was bought second hand in the early-mid 1990s ( where I bought it from closed down in 1997). The original price is 20p, but I paid 40p (the price tag is still written inside). Also, this is the first book she wrote which is part of a series (the others being Three Ponies and Shannan, A Pony To School and Only A Pony). I will cover the rest of the series over the next few weeks.

Besides, at one point, we all can relate to the title, I am sure that 99% (if not all) of my readers are pony mad (is it possible to love pony books and not like ponies?) and of course, we wanted a pony at one point. Some of us are still waiting, whereas for some of it did come true.

This edition is illustrated, but the illustrator is not credited. However they do look like they are the same illustrations as in the first edition, which are by Anne Bullen.

The blurb on the back reads:-

"Dear Augusta - I shall be very greatful if you will accept this small present in return for so gallantly saving my farm from being destroyed....."

Fifteen pounds all for herself. Augusta cant believe her luck. Now she would be able to have her dearest wish - a pony of her own. Her three cousins, who think they are such marvellous riders, laugh at Augusta and her little grey pony. But she works hard at schooling him in preparation for the Stokely Show; and even though her cousins are very discouraging she has a surprise in store for them, for Augusta and Daybreak start winning prizes of their own.

If you can get past the fact that you can no longer buy a pony for £15, then this makes an interesting book and one I enjoy. I like the fact that it is told from Augusta's point of view, and the sheer bad manners (I get the feeling they never wanted her to live at their house) that her cousins show makes a good background for the story. They live in a place called Fledgewood, which is in Flintshire, which bears a bit of truth. As all of the PT's books are based in the UK (most of them England, though there are a couple of them in Scotland), there is a case of there being a real life Flintshire, whereas all the places they mention are completely fictional. I wonder if Diana knew that (and Christine, as one of her books also mentions a Flintshire too)? (I live in the county bordering the real life Flintshire by the way, and used to live 2 miles from the border.) Only in the real life Flintshire, there certainly isnt a Fledgewood (as mentioned in my first post, I am in North East Wales, and 99% of the places have Welsh names). Anyway, her cousins life revolves around shows, and one of them, Jill, even gets a showjumper in the book. The consequences of what happens when Jill tries out a potential purchase, Topper is a great addition to the book.

Anyway, her cousin, though not nasty, leave Augusta on her own, as there is no suitable pony for her (the last time they saw her riding was not successful, so they do not trust her with any of their ponies. However, as Augusta admits, she did improve after that, so she would have probably ok on their ponies), so at one point, she does a walk after her own, and this in turn, causes her to discover the fire, which leads to the fifteen pounds. As obviously the fifteen pounds let her buy the pony (though she did have to make a few personal sacrifices herself) that is how she got Daybreak (without her aunt's or cousin's knowledge). Although Augusta does have a few problems with Daybreak, these are soon sorted out, and you can tell she had fun.

It is good that she could prove to her cousins that she can ride and win rosettes, though how she got one of them would probably be banned today, in this modern health and safety mad world. Her cousins attitudes changes too at the end, though we will never know how much, as unfortunately her cousins do not feature in subsequent books in this series. All in all, a good book.