The Emerald Crown

Stormy Petrel #2

by Violet Needham

Many children will remember Miss Needham's book of last Christmas, The Black Riders, which proved such a success; as the Junior Book Club wrote in recommending it, “For sheer excitement The Black Riders must be awarded very high marks.” This year the same author gives us The Emerald Crown, a stirring tale of a boy and girl in the Kingdom of Flavonia. There is unrest in the country when Alex arrives from England to spend his holidays with the young Countess Pixie. The people are ruled by a usurper, but the rumour is still strong among them that the real heir to the throne is still alive. Some say they have seen a star fall over the mountains, which signifies the return of the Prince of Valens to the throne. Pixie knows these tales, and is determined to find the Emerald Crown, without which the rightful King cannot be acclaimed. But who is the rightful King ? The peasants know, for they bow their knees; the servants know, for they stare strangely. How Pixie and Alex rind out makes an exciting story full of intrigues and adventures, of drives through the snow and rides through the forests, of loyal friends and dangerous enemies. Anne Bullen adds to the colourful background with pictures of galloping horses, mountains and castles, escapes and discoveries, and final triumph.

Genres: Childrens

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Author of 19 books for children published between 1939 and 1957. Although she came to writing late — she was 63 when her first book, The Black Riders, was published — her books achieved immediate and lasting popularity with young reader

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘When the snows have melted and birds are singing in the woods, the king will take the Emerald Crown.’ When Alex comes to stay with Pixie’s family after the death of his mother, she does her best to make him feel at home. But soon they find themselves caught up in the mysteries, legends and political intrigues that swirl around Trollsgarde and the lost crown of the House of Valens. Will the prophecy come true - will the rightful king ever claim his Emerald Crown?

As ever with Violet Needham, here we are dealing with the problems that face young aristocrats in Ruritania, and in that sense this book is a fantasy world where perfect feudal loyalty meets all the mod cons: Pixie can be equally sure of obsequious admiration from every peasant on the estate and functioning radiators and electric light when she comes home. But also as ever with Violet Needham, there is a deep undercurrent of psychological realism which is what makes her writing more than just nostalgia for a lost age of empire. Alex, lonely and grieving, facing a future of adult responsibility forced onto him by political affairs far beyond his control, must have resonated with many young readers during the 1940s when this book was first published, while Pixie, emotionally and economically secure, but also threatened in other ways by the adult habit of disposing of children at will, must have been both a reassuring fantasy and a depiction of something feared and experienced without necessarily being understood, and that done all the better because Needham treats it almost allegorically through story rather than expressing it explicitly.

In other ways, though, this is not my favourite Needham. Far too much unnecessary tiptoeing around the blindingly obvious, for one thing, as even the most dense reader will have worked out why Alex has come to Flavonia long before he does. And we hear a lot about how the good aristocrats do so much for their people, but then we’re shown that the people’s lives don’t seem to be any different from those of their medieval ancestors. Let us hope that the rightful King of Flavonia invests heavily in a welfare state and education system when he begins to rule...

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The young Countess Christine Trollac, known to all as Pixie, wasn't sure at first that she would take to the boy who was visiting her family's historic castle home of Trollsgarde one Christmas season, but she needn't have worried. Although raised in England, Alexander was fluent in Flavonian, and made a pleasant but by no means quiescent companion. Despite the differences in age—Alexander was fourteen, and some years older than Pixie—the two became good friends, and had many adventures together. It was in the course of those adventures that they discovered some startling facts about Alexander's true identity. But would he be willing to follow his "destined way?" And how could he do so, without first finding the Emerald Crown...?

Originally published in 1940, The Emerald Crown was the second in Violet Needham's Stormy Petrel series, in which young people have rousing adventures in a Ruritanian setting. The first book, The Black Riders was set in a fictional central European country known only as The Empire, and concerned the doings of one Dick Fauconbois; whereas this follow-up switches focus, moving to the kingdom of Flavonia, a small country on the border of the Empire. There are no shared characters between the two books, although I understand they come together in later installments of the series. In any case, this was an immensely engaging and entertaining follow-up to The Black Riders , which I greatly enjoyed, and which set a high bar. Needham has something of a cult following, and is considered the master of the Ruritanian romance for young readers. Reading these two books, it is not difficult to see why. I read the Girls Gone By reprint of this from 2005, and enjoyed the introduction by Hilary Clare, particularly the exploration of the significance of the Emerald Crown itself. I thought the parallels to Hungary's Crown of St. Stephen were fascinating, particularly as I had recently watched the second season of the television show Sisi, about the Austrian Empress Elisabeth, and there was an episode in which she and Count Andrássy recovered the lost crown. One of those happy cases of serendipity, in my reading and viewing life! In any case, I would strongly recommend this one to readers who enjoy Ruritanian tales. It is not necessary to have read The Black Riders first, I do not think, although one should read that earlier title before proceeding to the third in the series.

[grosbeak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as interesting as Black Riders, but a perfectly enjoyable Ruritanian tale, complete with a Missing Heir from the line of True Kings, a lost crown, mysterious guardians of the same, and more secret passages and cupboards than you can shake a stick at. Pixie and Alex are fine juvenile protagonists, and, once again, there's the occasional glimpse into the adult world of politics, which, though hardly Realpolitik, is surprisingly complex and mature for a "middle-grade" book.

[Tony Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

At a time when displaced royal families still lingered in Estoril, and Hungary had a real emerald crown, this book resonated. Needhams books were perfectly illustrated as well.

[Temaris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second of the Stormy Petrel books, and an enjoyable Ruritanian-esque adventure story. Basil Alexander comes to Trollheim as a guest after the death of his mother. What he doesn't know is his connection to the history of the country. It's an open secret for the servants and villagers, and Pixie, the protagonist for much of the book, young daughter of the Count of Trollheim, works it out as time passes. The reader guesses it about ten seconds in, if they know the genre *g*.

Pixie is an odd protagonist -- her poise and vocab do not match her putative age. The Scottish grandmother is a frankly bizarre inclusion (though it does work for the story), and I wanted to know how the hell she ever met someone from the middle of Europe. Alexander is a nicely drawn character -- intelligent, careful, and gradually coming to love the place -- and the people.

It's a children's book, and some things are glossed over, and some things are laid on a little thick (the clues for instance...).

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Emerald Crown’ was first published in 1940, and set around that period. The location is a fictitious central European country called Flavonia, which has been without its rightful monarch for several decades.

Most of the story is seen through the eyes of 12-year-old Christine, generally known as Pixie. She’s a loyal and determined girl, who catches on quickly to the story's main theme, something which is rather obvious to readers from the first chapter. The storyline is enlivened by the search for the mysterious missing Emerald Crown of the title, whose discovery will herald the appearance of the real King.

It’s an adventure story that could 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, and a little more depth than some more modern fiction. I liked it very much, although the style is a bit awkward in places, and some of the minor characters are very caricatured.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another much loved book read and reread and thoroughly recommended to grandchildren.