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Spuddy
He was a grey-black mongrel; tough canny, loyal - and abandoned. The fisherman called him The Spuddy.The only person to care for The Spuddy in the busy Hebridean village of Gaymal is Andy, a young mute boy staying in the town with relatives. For both of them, their meeting brings friendship after loneliness; but when the new companions are taken up by Jake, skipper of the Silver Crest, events take a swift and unexpected turn.This moving, surprising story will warm the hearts of the many admirers of Lillian Beckwith's Hebridean stories and win her new friends.
96 pages, Paperback
First published November 11, 1974
1 person is currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Lillian Beckwith
47 books73 followersLilian Comber wrote fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children under the pseudonym Lillian Beckwith. She is best known for her series of comic novels based on her time living on a croft in the Scottish Hebrides.
Beckwith was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in 1916, where her father ran a grocery shop. The shop provided the background for her memoir About My Father's Business, a child’s eye view of a 1920s family. She moved to the Isle of Skye with her husband in 1942, and began writing fiction after moving to the Isle of Man with her family twenty years later. She also completed a cookery book, Secrets from a Crofter’s Kitchen (Arrow, 1976).
Since her death, Beckwith’s novel A Shine of Rainbows has been made into a film starring Aidan Quinn and Connie Nielsen, which in 2009 won ‘Best Feature’ awards at the Heartland and Chicago Children’s Film Festivals.
Beckwith was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in 1916, where her father ran a grocery shop. The shop provided the background for her memoir About My Father's Business, a child’s eye view of a 1920s family. She moved to the Isle of Skye with her husband in 1942, and began writing fiction after moving to the Isle of Man with her family twenty years later. She also completed a cookery book, Secrets from a Crofter’s Kitchen (Arrow, 1976).
Since her death, Beckwith’s novel A Shine of Rainbows has been made into a film starring Aidan Quinn and Connie Nielsen, which in 2009 won ‘Best Feature’ awards at the Heartland and Chicago Children’s Film Festivals.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 11, 2023
One of Lillian Beckwith's novels, about a small boy and a dog. But it is in her autobiographical books that she really shines.
January 27, 2017
Exceptional depiction of life in the Hebrides. Warm, humorous and true.
May 16, 2018
The ending was touching, and this one had its moments, but, it's still no favorite of mine.
May 10, 2011
A lovely read which had me in tears a couple of times. I do miss this author's books.
Back Cover Blurb:
The moment Andy saw the Spuddy again his dejection became resolution. The Spuddy and he were going to be friends, and friends must look after each other. It wouldn't be easy - that much he knew - but if only he could keep the Spuddy fed and unharmed until his father came home on leave he was certain his father would find some way of ensuring that he could keep the dog.
Back Cover Blurb:
The moment Andy saw the Spuddy again his dejection became resolution. The Spuddy and he were going to be friends, and friends must look after each other. It wouldn't be easy - that much he knew - but if only he could keep the Spuddy fed and unharmed until his father came home on leave he was certain his father would find some way of ensuring that he could keep the dog.
May 7, 2019
"He was a grey-black mongrel: tough, canny, loyal -- and abandoned. The fishermen called him the Spuddy.
"The only person ito care for the Spuddy in the busy Hebridean village of Gaymal is Andy, a young dumb boy staying in the town with relatives. For both of them, their meeting brings friendship after loneliness; but when the new companions are taken up by Jake, skipper of the Silver Crest, events take a swift and unexpected turn.
"This moving, surprising story will warm the hearts of the many admirers of Lillian Beckwoth's Hebridean stories and win her new friends.
~~back cover
Warm your heart? That's not how I'd describe it. This story is a real heartbreaker: I was reading the last of it waiting in the doctor's office and couldn't help crying at the end. Yes, there's a wee bit of HEA, and a good many of the problems are resolved, but still a real tearjerker. I don't want to say more than that, so as to not give away the story, but if you have a soft heart for dogs and kids and people struggling through bad times, be sure to have the tissue box handy as you read.
"The only person ito care for the Spuddy in the busy Hebridean village of Gaymal is Andy, a young dumb boy staying in the town with relatives. For both of them, their meeting brings friendship after loneliness; but when the new companions are taken up by Jake, skipper of the Silver Crest, events take a swift and unexpected turn.
"This moving, surprising story will warm the hearts of the many admirers of Lillian Beckwoth's Hebridean stories and win her new friends.
~~back cover
Warm your heart? That's not how I'd describe it. This story is a real heartbreaker: I was reading the last of it waiting in the doctor's office and couldn't help crying at the end. Yes, there's a wee bit of HEA, and a good many of the problems are resolved, but still a real tearjerker. I don't want to say more than that, so as to not give away the story, but if you have a soft heart for dogs and kids and people struggling through bad times, be sure to have the tissue box handy as you read.
June 20, 2011
This was a sad little book about a dog, the Spuddy, left behind when his owner’s widow moves away. He is befriended by a mute boy who comes to live with his aunt and uncle in the small Scottish fishing village. Andy has been abandoned by his mother and his father is in the Merchant Navy, away at sea. There is also a fisherman, Jake, whose young wife doesn’t care for him, and leaves him for long periods of time to go visit her family. The lyrics of Eleanor Rigby kept coming to mind as I read this, “All the lonely people, where do they all come from?”
July 8, 2019
Nice wee easy read.
April 21, 2020
A quick read....saw the Christmas special of ‘Call the Midwife’ and wanted to read something taking place in the Hebrides....enjoyed it!!
June 23, 2021
What a wonderful short read. A delightful story about a dog, a boy and a man. An insightful, thought provoking character study. Highly recommended.
September 12, 2024
What an amazing little book! What a great little story about a boy and a dog set in the Hebrides. I came across it strictly by accident, but I was fascinated by the fact that I had never seen this book any place anywhere ever it had a cute old vintage cover paperback and I was instantly intrigued. It doesn’t take very long to read. The writing is absolutely amazing. The boy, Andy is mute and then, in 1977 people who didn’t talk were called “dumb” so that requires a bit of background. Overall it was very well written with lots of details that make you feel transported. I’m curious about Lillian Beckwith’s other books.
December 20, 2025
A short heart warming, poignant read about a boy, a dog and and a fisherman, which both gets you smiling, but also a has you in tears.
For a short book the characters and setting are well developed, though they are written as people were back in the 1970's, so there is a lack of strong female characters. Even so it is well written, and takes you back in time to the Hebrides of the 1970's.
For a short book the characters and setting are well developed, though they are written as people were back in the 1970's, so there is a lack of strong female characters. Even so it is well written, and takes you back in time to the Hebrides of the 1970's.
July 11, 2023
A lovely short novel with no pretenses: a boy and his dog. Early in the story there are broken families with slight back stories that need to be fleshed out. Perhaps this is the result of Reader's Digest condensation? I might just find the entire novel. I loved the illustrations by Nita Engle!
March 8, 2023
Spuddy is a dog we all know too well.
November 17, 2023
Beautiful heart warming story of a dog Spuddy, a dumb young boy Andy, a skipper of a boat Jake.
More in
https://medium.com/@vram45/the-spuddy...
More in
https://medium.com/@vram45/the-spuddy...
February 10, 2016
My mother, who was Irish, collected and read this entire series and loved it and passed it on to me. I, in turn, absolutely loved it. I could feel the damp, the chill, the smell of the sea, the hard work, the laughter, the peace, the strength and the wit of the main character and I revised the series again and again.
March 1, 2016
Lillian Beckwith, RDC-M #1, 1977, 1/82. An abandoned dog named Spuddy and a boy who is an outsider form a friendship. Okay.
February 21, 2024
É uma bonita história que fala sobre relações e os seus traumas. Poderia facilmente ser adaptado para o grande ecrã 👉 fica a sugestão.
December 27, 2023
A short read but a good book. Worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews