REVIEW: Katherine at Feather Ghyll
Mar. 31st, 2007 05:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllKatherine at Feather Ghyll: Anne Bradley. The Children's Press, 1959.
This is it, the book that I named this journal after. It’s a story in the ‘recuperating invalid learns to embrace life’ sub-genre, of which the most famous example is probably What Katy Did. (I’m trying to think of other convalescence stories, although those that I can think of – Princess Prunella for instance – are further down the line of convalescence). Katherine Shenton is sent to the country, to a farm in the village of Feather Ghyll, by her widowed father to get better, having not really recovered from an accident, thanks to inept nursing and the loneliness of being shut away in the town. She's given a new interest in life through the hobbies that the new friends she makes there ply her with. the story is full of bright characters, attractively drawn, who charm the reader as much as Katherine, from the animals, such as Pompey the kitten, to the humans who help Katherine to get better. Two of these stand out, her chums, lively best friend Sally Martin, the vicar’s eldest daughter and ‘irrepressible James’ Hooperthwaite (who was probably one of my literary crushes of last year, even though as far as I can make out, he's in the lower sixth) with his breezy and interested outlook on life, a farmer’s son who plans on being a vet. Because of the time the story was written, there’s no romantic subplot, thus avoiding a possible triangle, although I suppose there's subtext if you want to read it that way, however, the romantic subplot is strictly for the grown ups.
In a way, the book reminded me of the Blue Peter spirit – it was no surprise to discover from research that other stories published by Bradley are Guide books, which I’d love to read. The emphasis is on characters entertaining themselves and everyone around them, its epitome being a puppet theatre that is a team effort to bring off. Through all this activity, Katherine turns out to have a knack for arts and crafts. Of course, the Blue Peter resemblance is ironic because this is set around the time it was published, 1959, so, there was no mass TV although there is talk of Katharine's gramophone.
I found it extremely readable, an enjoyable page-turner with a good deal of character driven-humour. Edited 20/12/13 for consistency of italicisation and punctuation.
This is it, the book that I named this journal after. It’s a story in the ‘recuperating invalid learns to embrace life’ sub-genre, of which the most famous example is probably What Katy Did. (I’m trying to think of other convalescence stories, although those that I can think of – Princess Prunella for instance – are further down the line of convalescence). Katherine Shenton is sent to the country, to a farm in the village of Feather Ghyll, by her widowed father to get better, having not really recovered from an accident, thanks to inept nursing and the loneliness of being shut away in the town. She's given a new interest in life through the hobbies that the new friends she makes there ply her with. the story is full of bright characters, attractively drawn, who charm the reader as much as Katherine, from the animals, such as Pompey the kitten, to the humans who help Katherine to get better. Two of these stand out, her chums, lively best friend Sally Martin, the vicar’s eldest daughter and ‘irrepressible James’ Hooperthwaite (who was probably one of my literary crushes of last year, even though as far as I can make out, he's in the lower sixth) with his breezy and interested outlook on life, a farmer’s son who plans on being a vet. Because of the time the story was written, there’s no romantic subplot, thus avoiding a possible triangle, although I suppose there's subtext if you want to read it that way, however, the romantic subplot is strictly for the grown ups.
In a way, the book reminded me of the Blue Peter spirit – it was no surprise to discover from research that other stories published by Bradley are Guide books, which I’d love to read. The emphasis is on characters entertaining themselves and everyone around them, its epitome being a puppet theatre that is a team effort to bring off. Through all this activity, Katherine turns out to have a knack for arts and crafts. Of course, the Blue Peter resemblance is ironic because this is set around the time it was published, 1959, so, there was no mass TV although there is talk of Katharine's gramophone.
I found it extremely readable, an enjoyable page-turner with a good deal of character driven-humour. Edited 20/12/13 for consistency of italicisation and punctuation.
