Adventure at Moonacre
ROHINI RAMAKRISHNAN
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Penniless at 13, Maria Merryweather has to leave London. Life in the country proves exciting, scary and romantic.
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The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge has a plot that is exciting, scary and romantic. Maria Merryweather finds herself penniless at the age of 13 when her father dies. Orphaned, she is forced to leave London, the city she grew up in. Accompanied by Miss Heliotrope and her spaniel Wiggins, she leaves the city she loves, to live with her second cousin Sir Benjamin Merryweather, in his manor house of Moonacre in the village of Silverydew.
How the aristocratic Maria copes with the rough and tumble of country life and meets adventure. From day one, mystery shrouds the house — from her tiny little room, where no grown up can enter to the mysterious person who puts out her clothes and leaves a little posy of wet violets in the mornings to the unseen being who cooks delicious gigantic meals — the riddles remain unsolved, evoking the interest of the reader. Wrolf the dog and Zachariah the cat have their own secret tales and they are not what they seem to be! Feuds and vendettas of the past that still colour the present have Maria and her friend Robin determined to put things right in their part of the world. Misunderstandings are cleared and lovers are reunited.
Characterisation is at its best especially in the lovable Sir Benjamin Merryweather and the hunchbacked dwarf, Marmaduke Scarlet, and the evil Monsieur Cocq de Noir. Descriptions whether they are of place, person, food or event fill the story, making visualisation vivid: "Marmaduke Scarlet had surpassed himself. It was amazing what he had got into a small space. Ham sandwiches. Jam sandwiches. Sausage rolls. Apple turnovers. Gingerbread. Saffron cake. Sugar biscuits. Radishes. A small crystal bottle of milk."
Weaving the past and the present together enriches the plot. The language, is simple and direct, making it reader friendly. The only puzzling aspect is the title, for though the white horse has its significance, its presence is fleeting.
Awarded the Carnegie Medal in 1946, and televised by the BBC as "Moonacre," the book is a completely satisfying experience and remains so for a long time.
The Little White Horse, Elizabeth Goudge; Lion Publishing pic; £4.99
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