Non pony works and more

I finally found Josephine's They Died In The Spring, so that means that I should be able to do it. I badly behind. My original plan was to do all of Josephine's at the end of the year, but it looks unlikely. This blog is very time consuming - the main problem is that I have to read the books.

A couple of weeks ago I lost my cat, and that messed things up. Mainly to do with concentration.

I have also decided (at some point, I need to do the pony books) to do the non pony books. Josephine I have already covered: she only wrote one, which is A Place With Two Faces. Christine was (not surprisingly) the most prolific: she wrote 30 non pony books. There is a possibility of her writing another: amazon list one, which is not listed on the British Library's catalogue. Certainly none have shown up to date. Diana wrote 9 books (three under her married name of Diana Farr), though I had only 7 on my want list. This is because two of them are political related (one of those is an autobiography) and frankly it bores me to tears. Even worse than The Pennyfields, I think.

I have 17 of Christine's books on my want list (excluding the one that may not exist) and 6 of Diana's. The majority of Christine's seem to be written in the 1960s and the same goes for Diana.

One of (Christine's) I got was this week: No-One At Home. It was written in the 1960s, though I got an 1976 reprint. Nothing wrong with that: except it clearly states that it was made from recycled paper. I thought that recycled paper books began in the 1990s: clearly not. Obviously Hamish Hamilton started to be environmentally aware, which was quite remarkable for the time, as all their (the PT's I mean) other pony works did not come from recycled paper which date from around the same time. I have seen on pony books "war economy standard" on books dating from WW2, but I thought that meant it was from lesser quality paper, and lower print runs.

Anyway, that turned out rather interesting. Generally, CPT's non pony work tend to be for an younger age, I have 3 in front of me. No-One At Home states it is for "about six to about nine years of age" and Giles And The Greyhound states it is "ideal for the 7- to 10-year-old". The Boys From the Cafe has no age range stated, though I suspect (though not having read it) it is for the 7 to 10 years range. I have no idea about Diana's works, though I suspect Choosing (published under her married name) is for adults.

Review: JOSEPHINE - A Place With Two Faces

OK I am cheating here. First of all I have misplaced They Died In the Spring, hence the lack of updates because I cant continue with the (Chief) Inspector Flecker series until I find it. Because of the rarity of the series I cant borrow/buy another one easily. If I don't find it soon, I will find another Josephine book.

Secondly, recently I have decided to purchase all of Christine's and Diana's non (fictional) pony works, and therefore I will be reviewing them at a later date. I want to get review the pony books first. Also, because of the rarity (in comparison) of their non-pony works, I need the complete series.

Because I touched on A Place With Two Faces before in a previous post, I have now decided to give it a proper review. All 3 sisters decided to publish under a different name (Diana published 3 books under her married name - Farr and Christine published 2 books under the (possible) pseudonym of Christine Keir). This book fades into some relative obscurity, mainly because it is hard to find, and not many people are aware that she wrote it. I was pointed out last year to a book called Who's Who, which lists many notable people, and in it, it has a complete bibliography of her works. (Diana is not listed, however her brother Denis Cannan is.) If you are interested in reading it, it is to be found in your reference section of your local library, however many libraries subscribe to Know UK. In Know UK, you can search Who's Who. Go to your local council's website and they will tell if you if you can access KnowUK. You do need to be a member of your local library, as Know UK does require you to enter your library card number.

A Place With Two Faces is quite a departure from her usual style. I am not sure why she wrote it under a pseudonym, maybe because she was so well known for her pony books during the 1970s (this one was published in 1972) that she did not decide to confuse parents as this is definitely not for children. Or alternatively, if she did not want to write any more of this style or it flopped (perhaps it wasnt a best seller due to it's rarity) then nobody would know who Josephine Mann was (or rather is). Or maybe, because it is such a wild departure that she wanted to distant herself, and her way was writing it under a pseudonym. You decide.

I say it is not for children, as it is described as gothic terror novel; certainly it is not "cosy" reading and it is definitely not instructive. It has drug and sex references for a start: though it does not go into great detail, they arent subjects for horsey loving kids. The religion Wicca is quite a predominent feature in the book, although it is not shoved down your neck. The blurb (of the first image) reads:-

'Darksome Night and shining Moon,
East then, South then West then North,
Hearken to the witches' run,
Hear I come to call thee forth -
Earth and Water Air and Fire...'

Fleeing from a broken romance, Jenny Maxwell came to Kilruthan in search of work and an escape from here past.

The large double-house set on the edge of the moors offered her a fresh start, and Mrs. Shaw, an eccentric author, seemed a hospitable employer. But from the moment she entered the house she was struck by the ominous echoes of fear that haunted every room. Strange accidents began to occur and she realised, with horror, that someone or something was out to kill her.

Caught in Kilruthan's web of evil, Jenny found herself witness to a witches' ritual and a black dance of death - a devil's dance which was to end in a sacred offering. And well she knew, with terror in her heart, that she was to be the sacrifice.

and the other blurb (second image) reads:-

Darksome Night and shining Moon,
East then, South then West then North,
Hearken to the witches' run,
Hear I come to call thee forth -
Earth and Water Air and Fire...'

A broken romance had brought Jenny Maxwell to Kilruthan on the edge of the moor. Here she would forget the hurt she suffered.

But from the moment she entered the house she was struck with fear. Strange accidents began to occur and she realized, with mounting horror, the something or someone wanted her dead.

Caught in an ominous web of evil, Jenny found herself witness to a witches ritual and a black dance of death - a devil's dance that could only end with Jenny herself as the sacred offering!

Both editions are not illustrated.

Firstly, I know nothing about the religion Wicca, so I dont know how true or not true it portrays the religion. But looking from the Wikipedia article, it appears some aspects are true.

In addition to the sex and drug references there is a death at the end of the book of one of the characters, which is highly unusual, as Diana was the one that used to do death in her books, Josephine as far as I am aware of (bear in mind I havent read all her books) doesnt do "death". There is also a romance in it too.

I found this book strangely enjoyable. I certainly forgot it was Josephine who wrote it about a quarter of the way through: however you could tell it was written by a decent author. Maybe if you are used to books by other gothic authors such as Anne Rice (this book also pre-dates any of Anne's works) then you may find not quite up to her standard, but if you want a cosy and loving read, then this is not for you. I found it quite chilling in places.

Still it is worth noting that there is more to the P-Ts than pony books. I have yet to experience either Diana's or Christine's non pony books, but they do come from good writing stock: Joanna (their mother) wrote more novels (including detective) than pony books. I have yet to read them either: but from what I know, they dont feature horses/ponies at all.