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foggy_rosamund 's review for:
The Little White Horse
by Elizabeth Goudge
This was a formative fantasy novel for me, and rereading it I hoped I would still be swept along the dreamlike prose. This is definitely a problematic favourite: there is a huge emphasis on Victorian morality (girls are modest, incurious and obedient) and it paints an idyllic view of the English lord of the manor and his loyal servants. It's also quite religious, in a way that a modern children's book would not be. But despite these shortcomings, I still find it a delight. We meet Maria, her governess Miss Heliotrope, and her dog, Wiggins, in the dark of night as they travel from London to the West Country. Maria has never been to her ancestral home of Moonacre, but when she arrives there she feels instantly at home among the strange animals, genial gentlemen, and beautiful countryside. But one of her ancestors has committed a terrible wrong, and Maria must rectify this.
This book is perhaps part of why I always prefer purple prose to the pared-down, journalistic style we see so often. I love Goudge's expansive descriptions of lush fields, forests at night, moonlight, fairy-tale tower rooms, and mouth-watering food. This book feels like an ultimate indulgence: you want to live in Moonacre, experience the beauty, the food, and the affection of the adoring animals. It is brilliant escapism, and the atmospheric descriptions are absorbing every time you open the book.
This book is perhaps part of why I always prefer purple prose to the pared-down, journalistic style we see so often. I love Goudge's expansive descriptions of lush fields, forests at night, moonlight, fairy-tale tower rooms, and mouth-watering food. This book feels like an ultimate indulgence: you want to live in Moonacre, experience the beauty, the food, and the affection of the adoring animals. It is brilliant escapism, and the atmospheric descriptions are absorbing every time you open the book.