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Shoes #6
The Painted Garden
The Painted Garden: A Story of a Holiday in Hollywood
303 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
66 people are currently reading
1407 people want to read
About the author
Noel Streatfeild
161 books612 followersMary Noel Streatfeild, known as Noel Streatfeild, was an author best known and loved for her children's books, including Ballet Shoes and Circus Shoes. She also wrote romances under the pseudonym
Susan Scarlett
.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
October 5, 2020
California, here they come! The Winters family spends several months in Hollywood so father Bob can recuperate away from the damp London winter. The three kids are at first dismayed to be leaving beloved activities and pets behind. For Rachel it is her dance lessons; for Jane, her beloved dog Chewing Gum; and for Tim, his piano lessons. After a brief adjustment period at Aunt Cora's, each finds a way to flourish in California. Loved the varied roads of discovery for each of the kids and the rewind back to the late 40's. Their nanny Peaseblossom is a delight as is Bella, the maid at Aunt Cora's. And what a nice surprise to have the Fossil sisters from Ballet Shoes make a reappearance. Had to request this title from another library system and it was worth the trouble.
July 27, 2013
This is one of those books that you need to read as a child to experience what the author intends.
I am sure I'd have loved it if I'd read it at 10. A family in need of money given the chance to travel to Los Angeles, away from rationing and towards adventures in dancing, radio and Hollywood. It's wish-fulfilment at its peak.
Eldest child Rachel wants to be a dancer, and meets Posy Fossil from previous book Ballet Shoes (to the delight of readers I would guess). Youngest Tim is talented on the piano and finds his own niche in their new home. It is middle child Jane, envious of her siblings' abilities and opportunities who is given the biggest chance of all...
The story goes in the way you'd expect it, with just a few curveballs (the reason for Mr Winter's inability to work seems quite shocking, the relationship between Jane and Maurice not ending as you'd think). It's quite formulaic, plot wise, but enjoyable for a reader, as you yearn for certain things to happen, and lo and behold...
As an adult, The Painted Garden is sweet, cloyingly so at times, the children actually pretty annoying. As a parent I'd be talking to my child if they spoke in the way the girls sometimes do. The entitlement they seem to feel that they deserve certain things really don't sit well with me.
The awful stereotyping of Italian and 'coloured' accents also was though I suppose of its time, something I'd alter if I read it to my child. And I would also have to discuss the probably-inappropriate present of a cigarette case to an eight-year-old too! I know it would have not been unusual then.
Overall, a great children's classic read and a trip down Of-Its-Time Lane for an adult reader.
I am sure I'd have loved it if I'd read it at 10. A family in need of money given the chance to travel to Los Angeles, away from rationing and towards adventures in dancing, radio and Hollywood. It's wish-fulfilment at its peak.
Eldest child Rachel wants to be a dancer, and meets Posy Fossil from previous book Ballet Shoes (to the delight of readers I would guess). Youngest Tim is talented on the piano and finds his own niche in their new home. It is middle child Jane, envious of her siblings' abilities and opportunities who is given the biggest chance of all...
The story goes in the way you'd expect it, with just a few curveballs (the reason for Mr Winter's inability to work seems quite shocking, the relationship between Jane and Maurice not ending as you'd think). It's quite formulaic, plot wise, but enjoyable for a reader, as you yearn for certain things to happen, and lo and behold...
As an adult, The Painted Garden is sweet, cloyingly so at times, the children actually pretty annoying. As a parent I'd be talking to my child if they spoke in the way the girls sometimes do. The entitlement they seem to feel that they deserve certain things really don't sit well with me.
The awful stereotyping of Italian and 'coloured' accents also was though I suppose of its time, something I'd alter if I read it to my child. And I would also have to discuss the probably-inappropriate present of a cigarette case to an eight-year-old too! I know it would have not been unusual then.
Overall, a great children's classic read and a trip down Of-Its-Time Lane for an adult reader.
March 26, 2016
This felt like a slightly different Streatfeild book. Of course, it's also (I think) the first one I've read for the first time as an adult. But, mostly, it's that it's about the untalented sibling. And, unlike characters like Petrova, she is not happy being untalented. Which I thought was very realistic! She's written with sympathy, but the narrative still make it clear the poor girl isn't that talented, despite the movie role!
Anyway, it just felt a little less . . . fun, I guess. But you get to see adult Fossils!!! And I liked Rachel. She has a quiet kind of journey. (I like Tim, too, but I guess he felt less distinct. I guess Streatfeild's boys have never stuck out to me much.)
But I am sad the book ended
Anyway, it just felt a little less . . . fun, I guess. But you get to see adult Fossils!!! And I liked Rachel. She has a quiet kind of journey. (I like Tim, too, but I guess he felt less distinct. I guess Streatfeild's boys have never stuck out to me much.)
But I am sad the book ended
April 7, 2024
Wonderful read, and very unexpected too. I'd forgotten just how great her other books are and I'm so glad I gave this a chance. The writing is sweet and warm and the children's adventures are full of wonder. The Christmas scenes in particular really moved me, and the beginning of the book, about the family's first steps in America, is hilarious. I enjoyed this very very much and I can't wait to read and reread more of her work.
January 2, 2025
Ahhhh Aunt Cora never improves. But saying goodbye to Bella and the others was sad. I do wish Jane would have had better personal growth but she really didn’t have much encouragement. I was very sad they didn’t show her reunion with Chewing-Gum. I want very much to find a copy for myself however. I had a slow start due to the holidays but once I picked it up again, I flew through it. I couldn’t put it down. Five stars all around.
July 19, 2015
This was probably my least favorite Shoes book growing up, because Jane is a difficult character to read about. This is a Streatfield novel, so the story starts with quite a set of coincidences: her father is ill and the doctor says he must get out of England for the winter; his sister lives in Santa Monica; Jane is wandering around Santa Monica when she finds a lost dog, whose owner is a movie producer looking for a Mary for his The Secret Garden. Jane gets the part because she's British and emphatic.
Jane's a hard character. Her sister is a talented dancer and her brother is a talented pianist. She's the middle, untalented child - and the plainest one, too. Streatfield has characters like that, but they usually aren't given a story. Here, Jane is, and it's both compelling and disturbing.
I'm not going to take away from the fact that Jane is very difficult, because she is - and very realistically so - but her parents' behavior is shocking. Which was a new discovery for me, on this reread. Bee is embarrassed of her, and John is entertained by her, and neither try to parent at all. Mrs. Doe, who's in the book for three pages, a) is a better listener and b) gives excellent, practical advice which c) demonstrates more understanding of Jane than her parents ever show. And then there's Dr. Smith and even Jane's Mr. Browne, who both relate to Jane through her dog - again more than Bee and John do.
Movie Shoes ends up being a story - likely inadvertently - of an enchanted California interlude. Of a child who's the odd one out, and who makes her own luck through sheer force of will, and who's going back to her odd-man-out life in England, where her best friend is her dog. Outside the confines of this book, the story is pretty miserable.
Jane's a hard character. Her sister is a talented dancer and her brother is a talented pianist. She's the middle, untalented child - and the plainest one, too. Streatfield has characters like that, but they usually aren't given a story. Here, Jane is, and it's both compelling and disturbing.
I'm not going to take away from the fact that Jane is very difficult, because she is - and very realistically so - but her parents' behavior is shocking. Which was a new discovery for me, on this reread. Bee is embarrassed of her, and John is entertained by her, and neither try to parent at all. Mrs. Doe, who's in the book for three pages, a) is a better listener and b) gives excellent, practical advice which c) demonstrates more understanding of Jane than her parents ever show. And then there's Dr. Smith and even Jane's Mr. Browne, who both relate to Jane through her dog - again more than Bee and John do.
Movie Shoes ends up being a story - likely inadvertently - of an enchanted California interlude. Of a child who's the odd one out, and who makes her own luck through sheer force of will, and who's going back to her odd-man-out life in England, where her best friend is her dog. Outside the confines of this book, the story is pretty miserable.
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April 18, 2022Jane is the middle child in her family - the untalented, ungracious and plain one in between ballet dancer Rachel and pianist Tim. When the family moves to California for six months for her father's health, Jane is once again the odd one out, with any aspirations or talents. But then a movie director invites her to audition for the role of Mary in a film adaptation of The Secret Garden.
Jane is one of children's fiction's genuinely difficult main characters. She is crabby and unreasonable and stubborn, she has an awful temper and bottles things up, and she's a bad loser and an ungracious winner. I did not always like her, but I did find her very sympathetic! ("Were you an awful child" yes yes I was.) But you do see why she is always acting up and in a temper, because it does feel from her perspective that she isn't considered important to anyone.
The parallels between The Secret Garden and her role of Mary aren't subtle. In fact she is cast for that very reason, for being so like the sour, unhappy Mary - and it's the transition to the gentle, blooming Mary that she finds difficult in both film and real life. I found that so interesting, that even though Jane does get happier and make some friends, she was difficult in many ways to the very end.
All of the children act in ways which feel both childish and real, their concerns and their point of view are taken seriously - though the book is also quite funny, so it's never too earnest.
Jane is one of children's fiction's genuinely difficult main characters. She is crabby and unreasonable and stubborn, she has an awful temper and bottles things up, and she's a bad loser and an ungracious winner. I did not always like her, but I did find her very sympathetic! ("Were you an awful child" yes yes I was.) But you do see why she is always acting up and in a temper, because it does feel from her perspective that she isn't considered important to anyone.
The parallels between The Secret Garden and her role of Mary aren't subtle. In fact she is cast for that very reason, for being so like the sour, unhappy Mary - and it's the transition to the gentle, blooming Mary that she finds difficult in both film and real life. I found that so interesting, that even though Jane does get happier and make some friends, she was difficult in many ways to the very end.
All of the children act in ways which feel both childish and real, their concerns and their point of view are taken seriously - though the book is also quite funny, so it's never too earnest.
June 1, 2010
Better known as Movie Shoes, this story follows the three Winter children from their London home to the shores of Santa Monica in order for their father to recuperate from a nervous breakdown in the warm climate of his sister’s home. Like in Ballet Shoes (a favorite of mine as a girl), the youngest and the eldest children hold the recognizable talent and looks in the family and the middle child is prickly and difficult.
The story opens with Tim, Jane, and Rachel eavesdropping on the doctor’s conversation with their mother, trying desperately to learn if their father will ever recover from the shock of accidentally killing a child who runs in front of his car. The doctor’s advice of sending him to a sunny climate for the winter holds little hope, but a letter is sent to the children’s aunt, who has lived in California for many years. A positive response from her — inviting the whole family to visit — and a surprise inheritance for their mother’s friend and the children’s nanny to fund the trip set the stage for an international adventure.
First there’s travel — on trains and an ocean liner; then there are the cultural differences. And then when they reach California, they find their aunt is unbearable, prone to taking to bed with nerves and sick headaches, and unwilling to share much beyond room and board (which the adults agree is still terribly generous of her). Plus, she seems to stand in the way — intentionally or otherwise — of what each child wants most out of the California trip: for Rachel, a chance to meet with the famed Posy Fossil and to take dance lessons; for Jane, a friendly dog to hang out with; and for Tim, a piano upon which to practice.
Luckily, what the children seem to learn in America is that generally its inhabitants are friendly and inclined to help you out. Posy tracks Rachel down, gets her an audition, and takes her under her wing; Aunt Cora’s cook, Bella, helps Tim track down a piano upon which to practice and generally counsels him to keep a positive outlook on things; and Jane encounters a sympathetic dog owner who also happens to be a director about to film The Secret Garden, but whose star suddenly became unavailable. The family’s six months in the U.S. offers up wild adventures — but will these be enough in the end to keep them on this side of the Atlantic?
[A couple notes:
* One, I bought my copy second-hand, and all but the first page of Chapter 16 is missing.
* Two, I believe I own this book back at my folks’ as Movie Shoes but was lured into buying it again because of the title difference. (For what it’s worth, Movie Shoes is the later, American title.) It was totally the mention of the return of the Fossil sisters that grabbed me and made me buy it.
* Three, in looking into the title question, I have learned that this is a revised and abridged version of the book. I had been surprised by how casually they worked food parcels into the story. Had I not read/watched 84, Charing Cross Road, I certainly wouldn’t have realized how long food shortages and rationing went on in England and recognized the reference. Apparently some of the other things they cut referred to similar bits of British post-World War II restrictions.
Although the book wasn’t nearly as good as I remember it being, nor as good as Ballet Shoes remains, it was still an enjoyable read. I’d recommend it to those who an enjoy a Pollyanna-type ending to their stories.
The story opens with Tim, Jane, and Rachel eavesdropping on the doctor’s conversation with their mother, trying desperately to learn if their father will ever recover from the shock of accidentally killing a child who runs in front of his car. The doctor’s advice of sending him to a sunny climate for the winter holds little hope, but a letter is sent to the children’s aunt, who has lived in California for many years. A positive response from her — inviting the whole family to visit — and a surprise inheritance for their mother’s friend and the children’s nanny to fund the trip set the stage for an international adventure.
First there’s travel — on trains and an ocean liner; then there are the cultural differences. And then when they reach California, they find their aunt is unbearable, prone to taking to bed with nerves and sick headaches, and unwilling to share much beyond room and board (which the adults agree is still terribly generous of her). Plus, she seems to stand in the way — intentionally or otherwise — of what each child wants most out of the California trip: for Rachel, a chance to meet with the famed Posy Fossil and to take dance lessons; for Jane, a friendly dog to hang out with; and for Tim, a piano upon which to practice.
Luckily, what the children seem to learn in America is that generally its inhabitants are friendly and inclined to help you out. Posy tracks Rachel down, gets her an audition, and takes her under her wing; Aunt Cora’s cook, Bella, helps Tim track down a piano upon which to practice and generally counsels him to keep a positive outlook on things; and Jane encounters a sympathetic dog owner who also happens to be a director about to film The Secret Garden, but whose star suddenly became unavailable. The family’s six months in the U.S. offers up wild adventures — but will these be enough in the end to keep them on this side of the Atlantic?
[A couple notes:
* One, I bought my copy second-hand, and all but the first page of Chapter 16 is missing.
* Two, I believe I own this book back at my folks’ as Movie Shoes but was lured into buying it again because of the title difference. (For what it’s worth, Movie Shoes is the later, American title.) It was totally the mention of the return of the Fossil sisters that grabbed me and made me buy it.
* Three, in looking into the title question, I have learned that this is a revised and abridged version of the book. I had been surprised by how casually they worked food parcels into the story. Had I not read/watched 84, Charing Cross Road, I certainly wouldn’t have realized how long food shortages and rationing went on in England and recognized the reference. Apparently some of the other things they cut referred to similar bits of British post-World War II restrictions.
Although the book wasn’t nearly as good as I remember it being, nor as good as Ballet Shoes remains, it was still an enjoyable read. I’d recommend it to those who an enjoy a Pollyanna-type ending to their stories.
June 16, 2010
In this story, the Winter family moves from England to the US for six months so that the father can recover from an accident in the nice southern California weather. Coming from war-ravaged London where food is still rationed even though the war (WWII) has been over for a couple of years, the Winters bask in the sunshine and the unlimited fruit and butter.
The eldest child, Rachel, is a ballet dancer (at Madame Fidolia's school, of course), and the youngest, Tim, is a talented pianist. Jane, the ornery middle child, has never shone at anything and is even the plainest of the three. When she gets the chance to play Mary in a movie of "The Secret Garden," she hopes that she will be the important Winter for once. But because the famous Posy Fossil arranges ballet lessons for Rachel and Tim finds a way to earn money playing the piano, Jane doesn't become quite the star of her family that she had hoped.
[Author:Noel Streatfeild] has a keen perception of children (or at least it seems so to me, as I do not). She captures vividly their ambitions, their irritations, their varied relations with their families. Even if no one else understands the difficult Jane, Streatfeild does, and she makes her more likable.
But of course she is known most for her focus on the performing arts. My first introduction to ballet was probably Ballet Shoes. And everything I know about "The Blue Bird" is definitely from that book. In addition to dance and theatre, Streatfeild incorporates literature into her books. Movie Shoes is all about The Secret Garden. Jane has read the book several times before being cast as Mary, and I agree with her ideas about Mary's character. It's great when the director tells her something he wants her to do, and she protests (futilely), "But Mary wouldn't do that!"
How much I enjoy the Shoe books! Because only three (Ballet Shoes, Dancing Shoes and Theatre Shoes) are in print in the US, I've had to collect the others from used book sales and a trip to Scotland. Movie Shoes was a happy find at a book sale a couple of months ago.
The eldest child, Rachel, is a ballet dancer (at Madame Fidolia's school, of course), and the youngest, Tim, is a talented pianist. Jane, the ornery middle child, has never shone at anything and is even the plainest of the three. When she gets the chance to play Mary in a movie of "The Secret Garden," she hopes that she will be the important Winter for once. But because the famous Posy Fossil arranges ballet lessons for Rachel and Tim finds a way to earn money playing the piano, Jane doesn't become quite the star of her family that she had hoped.
[Author:Noel Streatfeild] has a keen perception of children (or at least it seems so to me, as I do not). She captures vividly their ambitions, their irritations, their varied relations with their families. Even if no one else understands the difficult Jane, Streatfeild does, and she makes her more likable.
But of course she is known most for her focus on the performing arts. My first introduction to ballet was probably Ballet Shoes. And everything I know about "The Blue Bird" is definitely from that book. In addition to dance and theatre, Streatfeild incorporates literature into her books. Movie Shoes is all about The Secret Garden. Jane has read the book several times before being cast as Mary, and I agree with her ideas about Mary's character. It's great when the director tells her something he wants her to do, and she protests (futilely), "But Mary wouldn't do that!"
How much I enjoy the Shoe books! Because only three (Ballet Shoes, Dancing Shoes and Theatre Shoes) are in print in the US, I've had to collect the others from used book sales and a trip to Scotland. Movie Shoes was a happy find at a book sale a couple of months ago.
December 11, 2015
The very worst Streatfield I have ever read. None of the characters is remotely sympathetic, and I didn't feel at all empathetic with any of the three self-involved children. Tim was obnoxious, Rachel oblivious and Jane flat-down unpleasant. Their parents just kind of hang around waving their hands admiringly and saying, "Well honey if that's what you want to do, go for it." The Americans are cardboard (did Streatfield ever visit America?) with stupid made-up sounding names like "Sneltzworther"--and seriously, "Bee Bee Studios"?
Streatfield certainly wasn't trying very hard. I found it very hard to believe that even in 1949 an American child actress in Hollywood would go around curtseying to guests at her own party! Shaking hands yes, being polite certainly--but not curtseying. But then Streatfield has a "thing" about curtseying in her "dancing stories."
Posy Fossil makes a reprise performance from an earlier book--as I thought, going to Czechoslovakia in 1938 didn't work out, though we are never told how she and her dancing master made it to the US before WW2. But even she and her entourage are background. I trudged to the end, willing it to be over, just to see if Streatfield could redeem this thing. She couldn't. The ending was tacked-on, just to sweep the family back to England loaded down with presents and satisfying éclat, having got what they wanted--money and a free vacation, I guess. The final scene with the train had me rolling my eyes.
If you haven't read any of Streatfield's "Shoe" books--don't start here! If I had, it would have put me off her for life. Maybe that's why the author worked in so much about "The Secret Garden"--maybe she knew it wasn't very good, so she tried to ride on a better book's coattail.
Streatfield certainly wasn't trying very hard. I found it very hard to believe that even in 1949 an American child actress in Hollywood would go around curtseying to guests at her own party! Shaking hands yes, being polite certainly--but not curtseying. But then Streatfield has a "thing" about curtseying in her "dancing stories."
Posy Fossil makes a reprise performance from an earlier book--as I thought, going to Czechoslovakia in 1938 didn't work out, though we are never told how she and her dancing master made it to the US before WW2. But even she and her entourage are background. I trudged to the end, willing it to be over, just to see if Streatfield could redeem this thing. She couldn't. The ending was tacked-on, just to sweep the family back to England loaded down with presents and satisfying éclat, having got what they wanted--money and a free vacation, I guess. The final scene with the train had me rolling my eyes.
If you haven't read any of Streatfield's "Shoe" books--don't start here! If I had, it would have put me off her for life. Maybe that's why the author worked in so much about "The Secret Garden"--maybe she knew it wasn't very good, so she tried to ride on a better book's coattail.
February 22, 2025
A typical Streatfeild family feature in this book: a gifted ballet dancer, a talented musician, and an irritable un-artistic middle child. The family have the chance to spend the winter with a relative in California, and the middle child gets a chance to shine. Family dynamics push this book forward; a lovely gentle read with humour and moving moments.
Most of the story takes place in California, with some mildly amusing scenes as they try to adjust to American culture and language, and discover that children are expected to earn pocket money rather than being given it by parents.
One of the things I particularly like about this book is a side story about two of the sisters from Streatfield’s classic ‘Ballet Shoes’. I also enjoyed the children’s gradual changes in outlook and motivation, and the way they come to love their new environment and the people around them. There are caricatures amongst the minor characters, but I don’t see that as a problem.
I very much enjoyed re-reading this, and would recommend it to anyone who likes children’s fiction of this kind.
Four and a half stars, really.
Longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...
Most of the story takes place in California, with some mildly amusing scenes as they try to adjust to American culture and language, and discover that children are expected to earn pocket money rather than being given it by parents.
One of the things I particularly like about this book is a side story about two of the sisters from Streatfield’s classic ‘Ballet Shoes’. I also enjoyed the children’s gradual changes in outlook and motivation, and the way they come to love their new environment and the people around them. There are caricatures amongst the minor characters, but I don’t see that as a problem.
I very much enjoyed re-reading this, and would recommend it to anyone who likes children’s fiction of this kind.
Four and a half stars, really.
Longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...
October 31, 2012
During the summer I was eight, I chose this for the plane ride to my grandparents'. And even though we went to the library at least twice a week, I read it over and over again. Not only does Streatfeild give the perfect shout-out to The Secret Garden, she brings back the Fossils! I still get excited when Rachel has lunch with Posy and Pauline.
Aunt Cora is one of my favorite Streatfeild characters. She's so selfish and whiny, and her type doesn't really appear in any of the other Shoes books.
I didn't know "Good King Wenceslas" when I was eight, so it was only later that I appreciated the "California, Here I Come" scene.
I enjoy trying and failing to picture myself as a modern-day Peaseblossom.
Aunt Cora is one of my favorite Streatfeild characters. She's so selfish and whiny, and her type doesn't really appear in any of the other Shoes books.
I didn't know "Good King Wenceslas" when I was eight, so it was only later that I appreciated the "California, Here I Come" scene.
I enjoy trying and failing to picture myself as a modern-day Peaseblossom.
Read
September 9, 2015The painted garden is a heartwarming book and was recommended to me by my mother. It can occasionally be dry and boring but is normally engaging. It explores the theme of self discovery. It is about the Winter family, mainly the middle child, crabby Jane, and their adventures during their trip to America.
September 21, 2021
This is definitely one of my favorite of the Shoe books. Each and every character (except Aunt Cora but even she gets better) is a delight with so much personality. I loved seeing how each Winter (and Peaseblossom) adapted to being in California.
March 26, 2008
The only Streatfeild I didn't like. Could not warm up to the children in this story at all.
September 11, 2025
Noel Streatfeild was one of my favorite authors growing up. This was the first time I've reread The Painted Garden (AKA Movie Shoes) since childhood, and I didn't find it as enjoyable as I remembered. I loved the parts about the English family traveling by liner across the Atlantic, experiencing culture shock in New York City, and especially traveling across the continent by train to California (where the father is recovering his health in the home of his sister who married an American). Basically, I found that everyone, author included, was really unfair to Jane, the plain middle child who is eclipsed by her attractive and talented siblings. I found myself giving her a high functioning autism diagnosis as I read, which made the lack of emotional support she gets feel even more unfair.
February 27, 2017
Another one of the great "Shoes" books. Noel Streatfeild used some of the knowledge from her own life to look at things most children's writers (excepting the greatest ones, the folk and fairy tale creators) don't: work, money, and envy. I read this one several times sixty years ago and remember it in detail.
The great ones leave indelible memories.
The great ones leave indelible memories.
January 29, 2025
I discovered this Streatfeild at boarding school and have loved it ever since.
The Winters have had a bad time as John has been very ill since he had a car accident and he hasn't been able to work since so they have been poor. Britain is also still recovering from World War Two and his wife Bee is feeling pretty low about things until the doctor suggests going abroad to relatives. They decide to write to his sister Cora who lives in California and end up going there for 6 months when the stars align! Rachel the eldest is a talented dancer who studies at Madame Fidolia's Academy, Tim is a budding pianist and Jane doesn't seem to have any talent apart from being reasonably quick at lessons. It is Jane who surprises them all in California.
I found this book as gripping and comforting as ever. I love the way all of the children learn about hard work in California and how Jane learned many lessons and had some glory for a change. Again we get to catch up with Fossils and Posy does some of her naughty imitations. Some of the characters are hilariously drawn. Maurice and Mrs Tuesday and Aunt Cora are particularly vivid. I loved David and Bella too. Reading about sunny California in cold January was a nice escape although of course things aren't great there at the moment with the fires. I noticed bits of history more this time around. Especially the weird rule about not being able to exchange pounds for dollers and how plentiful everything was in America compared to Britain as we still had rationing.
A wonderful book about travelling to a different country and how unexpected things can happen to the least likely people and be the making of them. Streatfeild does family stories with a bit of showbiz thrown in so well.
The Winters have had a bad time as John has been very ill since he had a car accident and he hasn't been able to work since so they have been poor. Britain is also still recovering from World War Two and his wife Bee is feeling pretty low about things until the doctor suggests going abroad to relatives. They decide to write to his sister Cora who lives in California and end up going there for 6 months when the stars align! Rachel the eldest is a talented dancer who studies at Madame Fidolia's Academy, Tim is a budding pianist and Jane doesn't seem to have any talent apart from being reasonably quick at lessons. It is Jane who surprises them all in California.
I found this book as gripping and comforting as ever. I love the way all of the children learn about hard work in California and how Jane learned many lessons and had some glory for a change. Again we get to catch up with Fossils and Posy does some of her naughty imitations. Some of the characters are hilariously drawn. Maurice and Mrs Tuesday and Aunt Cora are particularly vivid. I loved David and Bella too. Reading about sunny California in cold January was a nice escape although of course things aren't great there at the moment with the fires. I noticed bits of history more this time around. Especially the weird rule about not being able to exchange pounds for dollers and how plentiful everything was in America compared to Britain as we still had rationing.
A wonderful book about travelling to a different country and how unexpected things can happen to the least likely people and be the making of them. Streatfeild does family stories with a bit of showbiz thrown in so well.
November 6, 2015
I like the Winter family (even truculent Jane), and I love reading about their adventurous journey to Hollywood (they travel across America in a train! I am so jealous). It's one of NS's best stories, and we get to meet Sylvia, Nana, Pauline and Posy again, and hear about what Petrova is up to. My Puffin edition is also illustrated by Shirley Hughes, just line drawings of course, but beautifully done.
The descriptions of film-making are fascinating - but so are the descriptions of America, and family life on both sides of the Atlantic - it's a very absorbing book! The characterisation is, as usual, spot on, and NS captures exactly what siblings say to each other, how they feel and what they do.
As an adult reader, I am slightly miffed that nobody called Peaseblossom moved in to make my life easier after I had my first baby. But I still enjoy the story. Wall to wall sunshine from the moment they arrive, for a start. What's not to like?
The descriptions of film-making are fascinating - but so are the descriptions of America, and family life on both sides of the Atlantic - it's a very absorbing book! The characterisation is, as usual, spot on, and NS captures exactly what siblings say to each other, how they feel and what they do.
As an adult reader, I am slightly miffed that nobody called Peaseblossom moved in to make my life easier after I had my first baby. But I still enjoy the story. Wall to wall sunshine from the moment they arrive, for a start. What's not to like?
July 31, 2015
I actually read my mother's original copy of The Painted Garden, published in England in 1949, and I read it to my 11 yr old daughter. We both enjoyed it very much. The edition we read does contain stereotyped dialog for different characters, which some modern readers may object to. But I thought it did a good job of describing how this post-war English family reacted to the abundance and affluence of southern California. I also appreciate how many of the characters are less than perfect. Streatfeild shows kids being kids, having meltdowns and jealousies, and coping with feeling left out. None of these emotions are romanticized but neither are they vilified. She shows normal people coping with normal emotions. I think my daughter related and hopefully learned something. I enjoyed passing this book on to the next generation.
May 20, 2011
I've read this book so many times, the cover has fallen off, and the pages are yellowed from being outdoors and traveling across England when I was in elementary school. But it's fantastic. It's a brilliant portrayal of life for young children in England during the war coming to California, and then trying to adapt. Noel Streatfeild is a wonderful storyteller, and The Painted Garden is, in my opinion, her best. It's the perfect step back in time.
I had to buy this in London, at a book shop that only sold out of print books by English authors, but if you can get your hand on this, you should definitely read it!
I had to buy this in London, at a book shop that only sold out of print books by English authors, but if you can get your hand on this, you should definitely read it!
March 11, 2013
Reading the British version, The Painted Garden, which has some significant differences from Movie Shoes.
So the major things cut out, from what I could see, were more detail about America and some key stuff about Bella the black servant and the Antonios. The dialogue for them was VERY stereotyped, and there were a few things about Aunt Cora not wanting the Antonios around her that I don't remember from Movie Shoes.
It's funny to me that I love Jane so much in this book, since Rachel is the ballerina and I always like the ballerinas. But then I find Rachel insufferable, and Jane a grumpy delight.
So the major things cut out, from what I could see, were more detail about America and some key stuff about Bella the black servant and the Antonios. The dialogue for them was VERY stereotyped, and there were a few things about Aunt Cora not wanting the Antonios around her that I don't remember from Movie Shoes.
It's funny to me that I love Jane so much in this book, since Rachel is the ballerina and I always like the ballerinas. But then I find Rachel insufferable, and Jane a grumpy delight.
April 3, 2016
I read Streatfeild for her marvellously eccentric style and her authentic-feeling child's-eye view and sometimes, like this one, because her books are total time capsules. (The bit where the children get told they're now foreigners is priceless. Also the bits where they experience ice cream sodas and strawberry milk for the first time. The world has moved ON.)
Um, avoid if you dislike one-dimensional portraits of non-white or non-English speaking people - that is, I do dislike but I can skate over in things first published in 1949.
Also [whispers] I'm fairly sure Peaseblossom is butch.
Um, avoid if you dislike one-dimensional portraits of non-white or non-English speaking people - that is, I do dislike but I can skate over in things first published in 1949.
Also [whispers] I'm fairly sure Peaseblossom is butch.
May 14, 2008
I wanted to love this one more than I did, since it is partly about the making of a movie version of The Secret garden. However, it is a victim of Streatfeild's writing - the principle child in the story is such a wretched little brat (and there doesn't seem to be an epiphany parallel to Mary's) that it makes this one less fun to reread than some of her others. That being said, I was still glad I read it.
June 11, 2007
A fabulous companion-of-sorts to The Secret Garden -- about a grumpy, awkward middle child named Jane Winter who ends up starring in a film version of it. It's interesting to consider them side-by-side to see how dramatically children's literature changed in a relatively short period of time (and for the record, I also love The Secret Garden!).
Want to read
July 7, 2010bought for Mom on ebay, $3.38+shipping. Also, this is not the correct edition.
Title: The Painted Garden: A Story of a Holiday in Hollywood (Puffin Books)
Author: Noel Streatfield
Publisher: Puffin Books
Binding: Paperback
Publisher Date: 29/01/1976
Item Condition: used-good
ISBN No: 0140301577
SKU No: W3-L1-R072A-04915
Title: The Painted Garden: A Story of a Holiday in Hollywood (Puffin Books)
Author: Noel Streatfield
Publisher: Puffin Books
Binding: Paperback
Publisher Date: 29/01/1976
Item Condition: used-good
ISBN No: 0140301577
SKU No: W3-L1-R072A-04915
December 11, 2014
I've loved Noel Streatfeild since I discovered Ballet Shoes, my favorite book of all time, at age 9. It's always a joy to find a new "Shoes" book, as most of them are out of print in the US; this one wasn't my favorite of the series, as the British setting of the others was always part of the magic (and the non-English 'dialects' were truly dreadful) but still a pleasant read.
June 2, 2015
A beautifully written book about life in California and working in a movie (as a child actor) in the early 1950s. I love how Noel makes the characters imperfect but understandable, never a caricature, and how none of them is forced to become "nice" so there can be a "happy ending." This would make a great Miyazaki movie.
February 11, 2016
Not nearly as good as Ballet Shoes or Dancing Shoes, primarily because, while the two oldest children are likable, and the father is a sympathetic character, everyone else is fairly horrid. And we're supposed to come to like Jane, and really, I just wanted to smack her, even as a child, throughout most of this. Still, I would have given this a 3.5 if that option was available.
July 18, 2016
Not as good as Ballet Shoes, and yet, I found the story of the children very compelling. The narrative is very similar to Ballet Shoes, but played out against the backdrop of Englishness in the USA. I enjoyed seeing the country described through English eyes. Having Posy turn up was especially nice.
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