 |
| (Amazon UK link) |
I remembered that the plot involved four children going to stay with their Great-Aunt Dymphna in a ramshackle old house in Ireland. I also remembered that they were expected to look after themselves, including cooking and cleaning, and that it took them some time to accept this. But that’s all I remembered.
I had entirely forgotten the start of the story, when we meet the children in their family home in London. Alex is thirteen, his sister Penny is twelve. Their brother Robin is ten, and the youngest is Naomi, who is nine. They’re ordinary children - unusual in Noel Streatfeild’s books! - who work hard on their homework, with a mother who keeps house, aided by women who come in to clean. Sheets are sent to the laundry.
The children’s father is a research chemist, on the track of an elusive virus or bacteria, and often late home. He’s a bit vague, too. So it’s a bit of a shock when he arrives home early from work one day. And even more of a shock when the children learn - eventually - that he’s going away for a year on a funded research grant, travelling the world. Apparently he’s always longed to do this, but has never had the opportunity.
They gradually get used to him being away… then there’s a sudden emergency, and their mother has to leave them the next day. And the children are sent away to Ireland, to the great-aunt they have heard about, but have never met.
And it’s a rude awakening. Aunt Dymphna is a terrible driver, she cares nothing for dust and broken down furniture, she takes no notice of time at all (except on Sundays, if the Vicar preaches for more than fifteen minutes), and she expects them to be a lot more competent than they are in practical things.
I had entirely forgotten an extra subplot involving a strange boy who turns up and has to be hidden. And I hadn’t remembered any of the details of what the children had to do, or how they gradually overcame their ignorance and reluctance to do housework. Penny learns some basic cooking - thanks, in part, to a friendly lady who lives in a cottage nearby - and Alex learns to fish.
Noel Streatfeild had a great gift of characterisation, and I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this book, even though it’s not one of my favourites. The storyline is rather bizarre; it’s hard to imagine anyone as free-range and uninhibited as Aunt Dymphna, but perhaps people like her do exist. She certainly felt real while I was reading the book. The four children are all three-dimensional, each with their own quirks and ways of thinking.
This book was first published in 1966 so it doesn’t feel as dated in style as some of Streatfeild’s earlier books. Of course there’s a lack of technology; Aunt Dymphna doesn’t even have a phone or radio, and televisions were less common in the mid-sixties in the UK anyway. The children don’t seem to miss the radio, although they’re worried about how they’re going to send cables to their mother.
As with many of Streatfeild’s books, the ending is quite abrupt. The visit comes to an end in the last chapter, and the children are left at the airport. But perhaps there’s no more to be said. The book is about the summer when the children all grew, emotionally or practically, and it’s hoped that their new insights and determination will carry over to their everyday lives back in London.
Recommended if you like this era of children’s fiction. It was probably aimed at the 9-12 age group originally, as that’s the ages of the children, and I expect avid and fluent readers from about eight or nine upwards might like this, as something a bit different. It also makes a good read-aloud. I'm delighted that books like this have been reprinted recently; this is not only available in paperback form, it can also be found for the Kindle.
No comments:
Post a Comment