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Adventure at Brackendale
188 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1961
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 19, 2025
"Ann felt that the glaring yellow orbs were beginning to hypnotise her. She could feel her knees beginning to weaken. She felt she was growing smaller and smaller while the tawny body, the sun shining full on it and revealing the muscles twitching on the powerful shoulders and forepaws, seemed to be growing steadily larger and larger."
Adventure at Brackendale is an exciting adventure story for young people, set in the rugged North Country terrain of England's Lake District. It features two teenage girls as protagonists; one English and one French.
Avril Levreche has come from Paris to spend time with her friend Ann Birkett, hoping to improve her English, and also to spend some time walking and hill-climbing. From the outset things are not as she expects. The Parisian sophisticate and the farmer's daughter soon find a common bond, as they fight increasingly difficult and exciting challenges. However, the two both throw themselves into the extraordinary events that happen, and find unexpected allies in an old countryman, and two frosty schoolteachers who are paying guests at the farm. A plane crash, and a mysterious stranger with a surprising profession, make for a gripping tale.
The Lakeland scenery is authentically described, and also the lifestyles of those who take rescuing a sheep who has fallen down a crevice in their stride, just as much as the daily milking of cows, feeding of chickens, and so on. Children grow up fast, and have to develop tenacity, courage and the resourcefulness to take on adult tasks early, on a farm.
There is a good balance between action, setting and characters, and although the story is very far-fetched, it never veers into the realms of fantasy. The protagonists are brave, loyal and use their wits to get out of the very real danger they are in. They cooperate with those in authority over them in spirit, if not in every little task. This is a novel which young teenagers can identify with, and also which sets a good example. For instance Ann has to unexpectedly be in charge of the bed and breakfast the hillside farm has as a sideline, in addition to all her daily farmyard tasks. Also the sophisticated Avril, confident that her climbing skills in the Alps will stand her in good stead, finds that life is more basic than she expects, and much has to be improvised.
I personally enjoyed the setting, and the use of occasional local terms such as fell (hill or mountain), and rill (a narrow channel of running water in the rocks or soil; a tiny stream made by water running down the fell: I have walked up these, as if they were paths). And when one character slips inadvertently a long way down the "scree" (a mass of small loose stones covering the hillside), that brought back vivid memories too. Ouch! Fell-running was mentioned, and "hound trails" formed an essential part of the plot. (Please note that this is NOT hunting with dogs, but involves a trail of aniseed laid over a cross country course, which the hounds race along.) The ever encroaching bracken (which is incidentally an invasive species, and a menace to the native plants) is also very important. I like the way the author has used these typical features of the landscape to be germane to the plot. So often adventure stories could have been set anywhere. I also particularly enjoyed the humour of someone grappling with the intricacies of the English language, and the contrast between city expectations, and the reality of life in the country.
The author, Linda Peters, writes interestingly and well. I have been disappointed to find no other books, and nothing about her yet, in my research. The only clue I have is on the dust jacket of Adventure at Brackendale published in 1966 (originally 1961) as one of the early "Children's Press" titles - books aimed at juveniles, and coyly grouped into "Titles for Girls" and "Titles for Boys" (for no reason that I can see, except for the main characters. I know that I read them regardless, and find that my husband also recognises and remembers reading "The Secret of the Loch" from the "girls" section!) Nowadays this book would be classified as YA, as the story is geared to a younger audience, but the word "children" seems rarely used now to refer to young people of maybe 13-16 and over.
The blurb says:
"Linda Peters has set her story in the beautiful Lake District, which she knows and loves, and has written a most enjoyable book full of excitement and suspense."
Another all but forgotten author, then, who remains a mystery.
Additional:
Kind friends have discovered that Linda Peters was one of several pseudonyms used by the prolific children's author Arthur Catherall: a name I certainly do know. The mystery is solved, thank you!
Adventure at Brackendale is an exciting adventure story for young people, set in the rugged North Country terrain of England's Lake District. It features two teenage girls as protagonists; one English and one French.
Avril Levreche has come from Paris to spend time with her friend Ann Birkett, hoping to improve her English, and also to spend some time walking and hill-climbing. From the outset things are not as she expects. The Parisian sophisticate and the farmer's daughter soon find a common bond, as they fight increasingly difficult and exciting challenges. However, the two both throw themselves into the extraordinary events that happen, and find unexpected allies in an old countryman, and two frosty schoolteachers who are paying guests at the farm. A plane crash, and a mysterious stranger with a surprising profession, make for a gripping tale.
The Lakeland scenery is authentically described, and also the lifestyles of those who take rescuing a sheep who has fallen down a crevice in their stride, just as much as the daily milking of cows, feeding of chickens, and so on. Children grow up fast, and have to develop tenacity, courage and the resourcefulness to take on adult tasks early, on a farm.
There is a good balance between action, setting and characters, and although the story is very far-fetched, it never veers into the realms of fantasy. The protagonists are brave, loyal and use their wits to get out of the very real danger they are in. They cooperate with those in authority over them in spirit, if not in every little task. This is a novel which young teenagers can identify with, and also which sets a good example. For instance Ann has to unexpectedly be in charge of the bed and breakfast the hillside farm has as a sideline, in addition to all her daily farmyard tasks. Also the sophisticated Avril, confident that her climbing skills in the Alps will stand her in good stead, finds that life is more basic than she expects, and much has to be improvised.
I personally enjoyed the setting, and the use of occasional local terms such as fell (hill or mountain), and rill (a narrow channel of running water in the rocks or soil; a tiny stream made by water running down the fell: I have walked up these, as if they were paths). And when one character slips inadvertently a long way down the "scree" (a mass of small loose stones covering the hillside), that brought back vivid memories too. Ouch! Fell-running was mentioned, and "hound trails" formed an essential part of the plot. (Please note that this is NOT hunting with dogs, but involves a trail of aniseed laid over a cross country course, which the hounds race along.) The ever encroaching bracken (which is incidentally an invasive species, and a menace to the native plants) is also very important. I like the way the author has used these typical features of the landscape to be germane to the plot. So often adventure stories could have been set anywhere. I also particularly enjoyed the humour of someone grappling with the intricacies of the English language, and the contrast between city expectations, and the reality of life in the country.
The author, Linda Peters, writes interestingly and well. I have been disappointed to find no other books, and nothing about her yet, in my research. The only clue I have is on the dust jacket of Adventure at Brackendale published in 1966 (originally 1961) as one of the early "Children's Press" titles - books aimed at juveniles, and coyly grouped into "Titles for Girls" and "Titles for Boys" (for no reason that I can see, except for the main characters. I know that I read them regardless, and find that my husband also recognises and remembers reading "The Secret of the Loch" from the "girls" section!) Nowadays this book would be classified as YA, as the story is geared to a younger audience, but the word "children" seems rarely used now to refer to young people of maybe 13-16 and over.
The blurb says:
"Linda Peters has set her story in the beautiful Lake District, which she knows and loves, and has written a most enjoyable book full of excitement and suspense."
Another all but forgotten author, then, who remains a mystery.
Additional:
Kind friends have discovered that Linda Peters was one of several pseudonyms used by the prolific children's author Arthur Catherall: a name I certainly do know. The mystery is solved, thank you!
November 6, 2017
A Parisian girl spends the summer on the farm of her English friend Ann. The first few days of her trip turn out to be very exciting with a crashed plane, a fall into a crevice and a strange man with a secret.
The story is well written and both girls use their initiative throughout the story. Very little talk about how they should be proper ladies, which was refreshing.
The story is well written and both girls use their initiative throughout the story. Very little talk about how they should be proper ladies, which was refreshing.
September 7, 2017
Avril and Ann attempt to capture an escaped circus lion with beef, aspirins and a hay net.
What could possibly go wrong ?
Hilarious.
What could possibly go wrong ?
Hilarious.
April 5, 2023
A very underestimated book. As a specialist reader of children's books from the 1940s/1950s/1960s, I was delighted to find a copy of this book in a charity shop. The cover really does not do justice to the story itself. The story is so much more than that. With an emphasis on animals and an understanding of the way in which young people relate to them, the story takes the reader on a well-contrived tale with excitement at the end of the book.
Characters are clearly defined and develop thoroughly as the story unfolds.
It may have been written a few decades ago but is as fresh now as it would have been then.
Characters are clearly defined and develop thoroughly as the story unfolds.
It may have been written a few decades ago but is as fresh now as it would have been then.
August 18, 2024
I reread this book since it was one of my favourites as a teenager.
It was okay but it did not fully survive the passing of time.
I understand the story line but I am not able to see any great lesson portrayed or learned through what is written.
It was okay but it did not fully survive the passing of time.
I understand the story line but I am not able to see any great lesson portrayed or learned through what is written.
August 27, 2018
More exciting than your average vintage schoolgirl book 😎
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews