The Emerald Crown (by Violet Needham)

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After my mother died, a couple of years ago, I acquired her collection of Violet Needham novels. They weren’t books I had read, on the whole, but they were some of her favourites as a teenager. She collected them from charity shops and when re-published, and had quite an eclectic selection. Some are historical fiction, some were contemporary at the time when they were written.

‘The Emerald Crown’, which I have in a 1970 hardback edition, was first published in 1940, and as far as I can tell was meant to be set in around that period. However, the location is a fictitious central European country called Flavonia, which has been without its rightful monarch for several decades.

Enter Alexander, a fourteen-year-old boy who has recently been orphaned, and who has come to live with his guardian, Count Trollac. Most of the story is seen through the eyes of the count’s 12-year-old daughter Christine, who is generally known as Pixie. She’s a loyal and determined girl, and quickly spots that there’s something strange about the way people react to Alexander. Could he be the long-lost heir to the throne…?

A somewhat predictable story-line is enlivened by the search for the mysterious missing Emerald Crown of the title. Legend says that the rightful King will only appear when the Emerald Crown is found; moreover, it can only be found by such a king. So the reigning monarch isn’t too worried that he might be usurped, even though most of the people would love to see the return of their ‘real’ King.

It’s an adventure story that I think would appeal to either boys or girls of around nine or ten and upwards, if they can manage the somewhat dated style and enjoy stories with some excitement and tension but nothing too serious. I enjoyed it very much, and once again am wondering why I didn’t read some of Violet Needham’s books when I was younger.

I liked Pixie very much; perhaps today’s sophisticated 12-year-olds wouldn’t recognise her as a contemporary, as she seems younger in many ways. On the other hand, her understanding of politics and world events is rather beyond her age, as is her courage and independence. Alexander, too, is a believable character, struggling with grief at the loss of his mother, homesickness, and a deep tension as he has to come to terms with his destiny.

Having said that, the style is a bit awkward in places, and some of the minor characters are very caricatured. That doesn’t matter too much in a children’s book, but it might be off-putting to parents wanting to read it aloud to those who aren’t yet reading fluently for themselves.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's Book Reviews

The Boy in Red (by Violet Needham)

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My mother was a huge fan of Violet Needham when she was a teenager. She bought some of the books when they were newly published, and then as an adult found others in charity shops or, later on, re-published new editions. I hadn’t read most of them; my taste for historical fiction didn’t develop until I was an adult, and for some reason they never appealed.

When my mother passed away a couple of years ago, I decided to adopt her collection of Needham books, and am - very slowly, interspersed by other books - reading them. I think I appreciate them more as an adult than I would have done when I was younger.

‘The Boy in Red’ stands alone rather than being part of a series. It’s set in Holland in the 16th century. It features a 12-year-old boy called Maurice, in the period when there were violent battles between the Roman Catholics and the Calvinists in Europe. Maurice’s father is Catholic but his mother is Protestant. Life is dangerous, but they are an upper-class family, friendly with the Prince of Orange, a historical character also known as William the Silent. Maurice is devoted to the Prince, and his parents agree to let him become a page in the royal service.

William’s introduction into life as a page is fraught with difficulties and uncertainties, but he’s a likeable boy and soon makes friends. His loyalty and courage ensure that he is entrusted with some dangerous missions; he suffers a great deal at one point, although the author skates very lightly over the details.

I found it quite hard to get into this story at first. I didn’t know anything much about this period in European history, and was quite shocked at the extent of the bloodshed between two factions of what we now recognise as branches of the same faith. Much of this is hearsay; this is, after all, a book intended for older children and the details given are vague, although it’s clear that many people lose their lives, sometimes in highly unpleasant ways.

By the time I was half way through it became difficult to put this book down; it’s well-written, as are the author’s other books that I’ve read. There’s plenty of excitement and tension, and Violet Needham is clever in weaving her story of this fictional page into the real life historical scenarios.

However, it’s not really my kind of book. I liked Maurice as a character, but found most of the others a little two-dimensional; there were rather too many people for me to relate to them all, and I sometimes got a bit lost, trying to remember who was whom, and - in particular - who was on which side. It might have helped if I had been familiar with the historical context.

‘The Boy in Red’ has recently been re-published in full by Girls Gone By, with an introduction that introduces William the Silent and may make it easier to understand the historical references. This could be of interest to older children or teens who are interested in 16th century European history, but is most likely to appeal to adults who remember the author from their childhood.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's Book Reviews

The Black Riders (by Violet Needham)

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I am still shaking my head as I wonder why I did not start reading Violet Needham's books many years ago. She was one of my mother's favourite writers; she read them as a child, and re-read regularly as an adult. For some reason they didn't appeal to me until after my mother passed away, a year ago, at which point I collected all her books by this author to keep in memory. This is the fourth one I've read, and as with the others I've enjoyed it very much.

The hero of 'The Black Riders' is 11-year-old Dick, an orphan who lives in an unnamed empire, presumably somewhere in central Europe, in the early part of the 20th century. He befriends a mysterious man who is part of a political uprising against the current governor, and saves him from being found. 

Dick then finds himself caught up in an underground resistance movement where he passes on messages, walks many miles, risks his life regularly, and stays strong to some important promises. I have to say that political adventure stories about boys are not really my kind of book; yet I liked it very much. 

This was, apparently, Violet Needham's first novel, first published in 1939. The writing is fast-paced, the characters well-drawn. If the plot is a little confusing at times - I wasn't entirely sure of the political ramifications, or why the resistance movement had to be so secret - it doesn't actually matter too much, since the story is about adventure with a strong theme of fortitude alongside loyalty under extreme pressure.

Unsurprisingly it feels dated; at first I thought it was older than it is, until there was mention of cars. Undoubtedly there are stereotypes and caricatures too; yet the 'good' people have their faults, and the 'bad' ones don't all turn out to be quite so bad after all, even if their motivations are sometimes a bit dubious.

All in all I thought this a very good read, which would probably appeal to adventure-loving children from the age of about nine or ten upwards, if they read fluently; it could also make an excellent read-aloud, as adults can enjoy it too.

Not currently in print, and second-hand prices are very high; however this may be available in some libraries.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

The Woods of Windri (by Violet Needham)

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Although my mother had loved Violet Needham's books since her childhood, and collected several of them as an adult, I had hardly read any of them until last year. I enjoyed the two I read, which were contemporary to Needham's era (mid 20th century) and decided to try one of her historical novels, also intended originally for older children and teens.

'The Woods of Windri' is set in Mediaeval times, and is a story of adventure and romance. The Lord Brian of Windri is a widower with two daughters: the beautiful Phillippa, who is about sixteen, and her ten-year-old sister Magdalen who is courageous, intelligent, and rather a tomboy. As the story opens, Lord Brian has just received an unexpected offer of marriage from Sigismund, the Count of Monte Lucio, a region which has been feuding with Windri for some years. So it would be an advantageous liaison... and in those days, most marriages were arranged by parents.

Meanwhile Magdalen goes exploring in the woods, despite being forbidden to do so, and comes across a malnourished boy of about fourteen who has escaped from the nearby Abbey. Her father is quite taken with him, and decides to offer him a role as page...

The writing is good, if inevitably somewhat dated, and probably gives good idea of the kinds of feuds and violence that was normal in Mediaeval times. It's set almost entirely in upper-class circles, and while I"m no expert, the conversations and situations felt believable... some of them very unpleasantly so. Children are beaten, traitors hanged, prisoners tortured. There are no gory details, thankfully but the implications are there in what seems, to my mind, rather a callous way as if they are to be expected.

The end of the book is rather disturbing too; however, since some of the plotting is rather complex (and went rather over my head in places - rules of inheritance really don't interest me) it's not one I would want to give to a child of less than about ten or eleven, perhaps older still.

Having said that, I'm glad I read it; it's certainly a good story which kept me interested right up to the end.

Although written in 1958, this was republished in 2003 and is still in print in the UK.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

The bell of the four evangelists (by Violet Needham)

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The author Violet Needham was born in 1876, and raised in comfortable conditions for the era. She started writing novels for children - mainly historical - in her sixties. My mother, a child of the 1930s, was a huge fan. She kept some of her childhood favourites, and as an adult found several others in charity shops. She was delighted when the ‘Girls Gone By’ publishers started re-printing these books. For some reason, I hardly read any of Violet Needham’s novels while my mother was alive. But now have her copies on my own shelves, and am slowly discovering them.

‘The bell of the four evangelists’ was written as contemporary fiction in 1947. It features a 12-year-old girl called Penelope Merivale whose parents must travel abroad, and cannot take her. She has the option of boarding school (which she dislikes heartily) or going to stay with her cousin-once-removed Tabitha. 

Tabitha, we learn, was once in love with Penelope’s father (her first cousin) and when he married someone else, she determined never to see him again. But she is eager to meet his daughter. Penelope is not very keen when she first hears of the suggestion, but she’s a thoughtful child, prone to ‘hunches’. After some pondering, she decides that it would be a good idea to stay with her cousin after all.

Tabitha is probably only about forty, or even a little younger, but she has some unidentified illness that makes her seem much older than she is. The occasional line drawings in the book make her look rather older, and I forgot, sometimes, that she is really quite young. Penelope and Tabitha find themselves becoming friends rapidly, and Penelope starts to learn about the house where her cousin lives as well as an ancient family feud. Confusingly the two branches of the family are called Merivale and Marvell, and I did not always remember which was which.

As Penelope explores the countryside and gets to know some local folk, she’s puzzled by strange happenings. Owls hoot unexpectedly, and she sees visions of people from the past, as well as hearing odd conversations that she does not always remember. Then she meets Guy Marvell, a somewhat distant cousin. Although they are from opposite sides of the feuding family, they find themselves in rapport and liking each other very much.

It’s quite an exciting book, with secrets and tension, and a supernatural element that’s oddly prosaic in some ways. Even though I didn’t always follow every subplot precisely, I enjoyed it very much. Penelope is a likeable heroine, and the often acerbic Tabitha is a delightful companion despite her frailty. The ending chapters are quite dramatic - perhaps overly so, but somehow it doesn’t matter - and I found it hard to put down.

The book is fascinating from the point of view of real social history. Written in the 1940s as a contemporary novel, it gives a great picture of what life was like for a well-off and intelligent but somewhat lonely girl such as Penelope. There are assumptions made about the ‘class’ system, but it’s remarkably egalitarian, considering the era.

There’s a good introduction to the book, written for the 2011 reprinting, which first-time readers are warned contains spoilers. So I didn’t read it until I had finished the novel - and then enjoyed the general background and commentary that were given.

I feel a little sad that I didn’t get around to discovering Violet Needham’s books until now but am glad I am finally doing so. I assume this book was written for older children and younger teens, but it would probably appeal to any fluent readers of about eight and above who like adventure stories and don’t mind a bit of unexplained mystery.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 19th September 2013

The Horn of Merlyns (by Violet Needham)

(Amazon UK link)

My mother was a great fan of Violet Needham, a little-known writer who was popular in my mother’s childhood and teens. Needham's books were published between 1939 and 1957, and were mostly historical or contemporary children’s fiction. My mother had managed to keep hold of some of her old editions, and had found a few more in charity shops. She was then delighted when the ‘Girls Gone By’ publishers reprinted, in full, a few of her favourites which she had not been able to get hold of previously.

Despite seeing them on her shelves as far back as I can remember, I hardly  read any of Violet Needham’s books. I’m not entirely sure why, as some of the titles are quite intriguing, and I do like books intended for older children from this era. However, when my mother died, I decided to bring these to Cyprus, as much as anything because she was so very keen on them. Wanting something fairly light recently, I decided to read ‘The Horn of Merylns’. Research told me it was a stand-alone novel.

The story is about eleven-year-old twins called Giles and Gillian, usually known as Jack and Gill. Orphaned young, they have lived with their rather strict grandmother for some years. They have been repeatedly told that their father’s side of the family are unpleasant people who dislike them. But as the story opens, their grandmother has passed away, and so they are sent to stay with their aunt and uncle in an old country house called Merylns. It’s a lovely place, but not a happy one. Their uncle Julian suffered a terrible tragedy, and their Aunt Elfrida is disabled, unable to move alone, after an accident.

Jack spends most of the year in school, so Gill is sent to Merlyns on her own, where she is very suspicious of her uncle, and quite lonely. She slowly settles in, and gets to know an eclectic mixture of local people, as well as learning about the history of the house, which includes a missing horn and a strange curse...

Violet Needham’s writing flows effortlessly. I found myself quickly drawn into the story, feeling for Gill as she explors her new environment nervously. She expects constant reproofs or worse, and is puzzled when she is shown kindness. I liked Julian and Elfrida too, and was intrigued by the adventure part of the story. I found it quite difficult to stop once I had got into it, and overall enjoyed it very much.

It’s a children’s book, so it was evidently going to have a happy ending. But it is still quite tense in many places. There’s an oddly mystical element too - a ragged old man plays quite a large part in the story, and Gill sometimes wonders exactly who he might be...

All in all, I thought this a very enjoyable book. Written as contemporary fiction in 1943, it gives a nice picture of everyday life in the countryside in the war years. I’m only sorry I didn’t pick this book up before, but look forward to reading the others over the next few months.

Recommended to older children or teens who like a good story with likeable characters, set in the past. Tends to be quite pricey, but may be found second-hand in the newer editions.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 16th June 2013