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lorrietruck 's review for:
The Little White Horse
by Elizabeth Goudge
I read this book as a kid and loved it - after her father dies, Maria Merryweather travels from her home in the city to live with her cousin Sir Benjamin in the country. Travelling with her are her beloved governess Miss Heliotrope and dog Wiggins. On arrival in Moonacre, it quickly becomes clear that all is not well, and Maria must set out to solve a very old mystery in order to restore peace to this small town.
As a child, I was entranced. Goudge's descriptions are intoxicating. She spends much of the book going into detail of the clothes that are worn, the countryside, the lavish spreads at dinner time. Far from being tedious, it brings to life a vivid picture of a slightly fantastical world.
As an adult reader, the moral lessons become much more apparent. Women should take care to avoid vanity, and must above all, not ask questions or be curious about anything. All the answers will be revealed, by a man, when he is good and ready to tell you. A woman had not stepped foot in Moonacre Manor in twenty years before Maria and Miss Heliotrope arrive, and seriously, I don't blame them.
Also - don't fight with your partner. They'll leave you over something stupid like the colour pink and you'll be stubbornly miserable until someone else fixes it for you.
Also, it does get quite religious at times - but far from being cloying or preachy (and as an agnostic, it doesn't take much for me to find religion annoying), it actually espouses all those good things about religion. Having good character, looking out for other people, doing the right thing etc.
It is a perfect children's book really, employing the most classic of children's book scenarios. In how many children's books, does the hero/ine become orphaned and travel somewhere new to discover some sort of mystery and realise they are much more important than they ever assumed? Heaps. And there's a reason - because it works!
The reason I reread this book this year, 2010, is because I was browsing at the video store and realised they'd made it into a movie. I didn't finish watching the movie, it definitely wasn't a good adaptation. So I stopped the movie, went to my bookcase and pulled out the book, read that instead. A much better choice.
As a child, I was entranced. Goudge's descriptions are intoxicating. She spends much of the book going into detail of the clothes that are worn, the countryside, the lavish spreads at dinner time. Far from being tedious, it brings to life a vivid picture of a slightly fantastical world.
As an adult reader, the moral lessons become much more apparent. Women should take care to avoid vanity, and must above all, not ask questions or be curious about anything. All the answers will be revealed, by a man, when he is good and ready to tell you. A woman had not stepped foot in Moonacre Manor in twenty years before Maria and Miss Heliotrope arrive, and seriously, I don't blame them.
Also - don't fight with your partner. They'll leave you over something stupid like the colour pink and you'll be stubbornly miserable until someone else fixes it for you.
Also, it does get quite religious at times - but far from being cloying or preachy (and as an agnostic, it doesn't take much for me to find religion annoying), it actually espouses all those good things about religion. Having good character, looking out for other people, doing the right thing etc.
It is a perfect children's book really, employing the most classic of children's book scenarios. In how many children's books, does the hero/ine become orphaned and travel somewhere new to discover some sort of mystery and realise they are much more important than they ever assumed? Heaps. And there's a reason - because it works!
The reason I reread this book this year, 2010, is because I was browsing at the video store and realised they'd made it into a movie. I didn't finish watching the movie, it definitely wasn't a good adaptation. So I stopped the movie, went to my bookcase and pulled out the book, read that instead. A much better choice.