What do you think?
Rate this book
The Marlows #3
Falconer's Lure
New Girls Gone By paperback (2003).
261 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
2 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Antonia Forest
18 books29 followersAntonia Forest was the pen name of Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein. She was born in North London, the child of Russian-Jewish and Irish parents. She studied at South Hampstead High School and University College, London, and worked as a government clerk and a librarian. Best known for her series of novels about the Marlow family, she published her first book, Autumn Term, in 1948.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 7, 2022
Antonia Forest wanted to write a pony story, but her publisher felt there were too many ponies on the market and asked if she had any other animals up her sleeve. She settled on writing about hawks -- and I wish that had become a trend! I'd love to read more books about 1950s children and their hawks, and happier hawk-related books than A Kestrel for a Knave. All of Antonia Forest's books are difficult to get, but this one seems to be particularly obscure -- a secondhand copy finally popped up at a reasonable price, and I snatched it up. This is a very important book if you are following the fortunes of the Marlows: the family move from London to the countryside, and Patrick Merrick is introduced. Like all Forest's books, it appears to be a normal holiday story, and is full of stiff-upper-lip heartiness, but it's also more than the sum of its parts. The Marlows experience a death in the family, and struggle with illness, phobias, and various traumas, experiencing little support from those around them. Forest writes convincingly about place and the natural world, as well as the beauty and wildness of the hawks. I'm not always keen on Patrick Merrick, their neighbour and friend, who is introduced in this book, but here he's more likeable and a more poignant figure, as he's recovering from a long illness, and is forced to give up his hawks. Nicola is the central character as is usual for the Marlow stories, and she is independent, head-strong and believable, as always. I found this one wonderfully diverting, and I wish there were twenty more like it!
September 15, 2012
One of my favourites of the holiday books in this series. I just think all the incidents bring out character interaction really nicely. Moments when characters shot themselves in the foot and moments when I felt a sudden rush of affection for them. Forest always seems to have this slightly odd balance between emotional sensitivity and understanding of people's weaknesses and a kind of support of quite vehement repression. I bristled at the father, in a follow-up comment to the traumatic adventure story "The Marlows and the Traitor" saying he thought it was quite time Ginty got over it and that illness was always boring to all but the sufferer. In childrens' books of this age the children always play the game in the end, but I always wondered what the parent thought they would do if the child didn't, couldn't, wouldn't.
August 26, 2019
The third entry in Antonia Forest's rather eclectic series of children's novels devoted to the fortunes of the Marlow family - a collection which includes both traditional school stories and holiday adventures - Falconer's Lure chronicles the events of one fateful summer. Visiting their father's Cousin Jon at Trennels Old Farm - the home of the Marlows for close to ten centuries - the family are unprepared when tragedy strikes, and spend most of the holiday attempting, in their various ways, to reconcile themselves to their loss, and adjust to the change in lifestyle that it brings with it.
Of course, there's a lot of exciting, well-written adventure here too, focusing mostly on Nicola's growing friendship with neighbor Patrick Merrick, and involvement in the sport of falconry. Peter's interest in photography, and continued fear of heights, Lawrie's determination to pursue a career on the stage, and Rowan's decision to leave school, in order to help the family, are also explored, and an end-of-summer festival, regatta and gymkhana round out the narrative developments.
Occurring shortly after the events of The Marlows and the Traitor , which detailed the preceding Easter-time adventures of the four youngest Marlows, Falconer's Lure was an engaging and well-written story, although it failed to enthrall me to the same degree as its predecessor. This may have been owing to the rather splintered narrative focus, or perhaps, to the possibility that espionage makes for better reading than birding. Still, Forest's talent for complex characterization, and sensitive appreciation of young people's inner lives, shines through. Ginty's continued struggle to come to terms with her traumatic Easter-time experiences, Peter's not always wise approach to dealing with his phobia, the younger Marlows' sometime insensitivity to Ann, are all well observed. Though it probably won't rank among my favorite Marlow books, it was still a great pleasure to read!
Note: readers should be aware that, like The Marlows and the Traitor , there is a single use of the word "n*gger" here, something I find rather astonishing, given the late publication date (1957) of the book. I'm wondering when this word stopped being acceptable in Britain...?
Of course, there's a lot of exciting, well-written adventure here too, focusing mostly on Nicola's growing friendship with neighbor Patrick Merrick, and involvement in the sport of falconry. Peter's interest in photography, and continued fear of heights, Lawrie's determination to pursue a career on the stage, and Rowan's decision to leave school, in order to help the family, are also explored, and an end-of-summer festival, regatta and gymkhana round out the narrative developments.
Occurring shortly after the events of The Marlows and the Traitor , which detailed the preceding Easter-time adventures of the four youngest Marlows, Falconer's Lure was an engaging and well-written story, although it failed to enthrall me to the same degree as its predecessor. This may have been owing to the rather splintered narrative focus, or perhaps, to the possibility that espionage makes for better reading than birding. Still, Forest's talent for complex characterization, and sensitive appreciation of young people's inner lives, shines through. Ginty's continued struggle to come to terms with her traumatic Easter-time experiences, Peter's not always wise approach to dealing with his phobia, the younger Marlows' sometime insensitivity to Ann, are all well observed. Though it probably won't rank among my favorite Marlow books, it was still a great pleasure to read!
Note: readers should be aware that, like The Marlows and the Traitor , there is a single use of the word "n*gger" here, something I find rather astonishing, given the late publication date (1957) of the book. I'm wondering when this word stopped being acceptable in Britain...?
August 21, 2016
Falconer's Lure, recently reprinted by Girls Gone By Press, fills in a lot of the gaps that confused me as a child reading Antonia Forest's Kingscote books; how the Marlows seemed to live a long way from the school at first, and then much closer, and who Patrick was, and why he only appeared later on, and where the hawks came from. It's a much more "typical" children's holiday story than The Marlows and the Traitor, or indeed Peter's Room which I finally read a couple of years ago, with a loose and episodic plot covering typical (and not so typical) summer holiday activities; swimming, riding, hawking. Forest being Forest, though, this isn't your typical sunny summer holiday book; death and bereavement loom large, and the Marlows continue to be deeply dysfunctional in a stiff-upper-lip kind of way and not entirely likeable.
There are some really stunning passages in this book; the scene where Nicola and Patrick are on the Crowlands, watching Jon's plane in the distance, struck me in particular (I knew from reading later books, online synopses and fic what was going to happen, but it was still incredibly well done). I love how Forest shifts the viewpoint from character to character, never letting the reader completely sympathise with anyone but giving everyone, even the rather difficult characters like Ann and Ginty, at least a moment of sympathy. And Peter's diving scene reminded me of the thing I most loved about the Marlows as a child, and still do now: the way they use quotations and scenes from fiction and poetry to understand and interpret the world. I never really identified with any of the Marlows; they were all too brave and sporty and outgoing for me, apart possibly from Lawrie in whom I can see a lot of the things I least like about myself, but I absolutely recognised that way of filtering life through art, and I don't think I'd ever seen it described before. Certainly not in such a recognisable way. (Also, the idea of Peter and Selby earnestly debating whether Childe Roland defeated what was in the Dark Tower or not until the person behind them got fed up is wonderfully entertaining, and also absolutely the kind of thing I would do too.)
There are some really stunning passages in this book; the scene where Nicola and Patrick are on the Crowlands, watching Jon's plane in the distance, struck me in particular (I knew from reading later books, online synopses and fic what was going to happen, but it was still incredibly well done). I love how Forest shifts the viewpoint from character to character, never letting the reader completely sympathise with anyone but giving everyone, even the rather difficult characters like Ann and Ginty, at least a moment of sympathy. And Peter's diving scene reminded me of the thing I most loved about the Marlows as a child, and still do now: the way they use quotations and scenes from fiction and poetry to understand and interpret the world. I never really identified with any of the Marlows; they were all too brave and sporty and outgoing for me, apart possibly from Lawrie in whom I can see a lot of the things I least like about myself, but I absolutely recognised that way of filtering life through art, and I don't think I'd ever seen it described before. Certainly not in such a recognisable way. (Also, the idea of Peter and Selby earnestly debating whether Childe Roland defeated what was in the Dark Tower or not until the person behind them got fed up is wonderfully entertaining, and also absolutely the kind of thing I would do too.)
August 9, 2016
I had this book from the library dozens of times as a child, and for many years all my family members knew that if they ever saw a copy in a charity or second-hand book shop, they were to buy it immediately. And then, once again, thank heavens for GGB.
An excellent story, beautifully told, about families and friendships, and triumphs and disasters. And hawks.
An excellent story, beautifully told, about families and friendships, and triumphs and disasters. And hawks.
December 7, 2010
Somehow not as entertaining as the first couple of Marlow books. Falcon stuff was all a bit tedious and the plot wandered off somewhere else that wasn't as interesting as the falcon stuff anyway.
November 20, 2022
Copies of these are rare and shockingly expensive, but this seemed a pivotal book in the series and I’m glad I eventually tracked one down for under [insert prohibitive cost here].
At this point in the Antonia Forest oeuvre, I tend to think that her books defy classification. I have no idea what this book is: a holiday story, sure - but unlike any I’ve ever read, unlike even Noel Streatfeild war books. (Of course, this isn’t a war book.) It puts the Marlows on vacation in the country and then promptly embroils them in day-to-day life, from animal care to tragedy. It’s never prosaic, though. In a bizarre way it seems to be removed from the world of school, and Rowan leaving only reinforces that…
The Girls Gone By copy I’ve got has an introduction by Forest where she describes a haphazard-sounding writing process, and something about this book feels haphazard, too. And yet it works extraordinarily well. Maybe because life is haphazard - maybe because Forest is such a good writer that she can elevate anything - maybe because her characters leap off the page and something about their essential British stiff-upper-lip approach prevents them from descending into melodrama, or worse, farce.
I feel like I’ve been reading a history of the Marlows: of course they exist in some far corner of Britain.
At this point in the Antonia Forest oeuvre, I tend to think that her books defy classification. I have no idea what this book is: a holiday story, sure - but unlike any I’ve ever read, unlike even Noel Streatfeild war books. (Of course, this isn’t a war book.) It puts the Marlows on vacation in the country and then promptly embroils them in day-to-day life, from animal care to tragedy. It’s never prosaic, though. In a bizarre way it seems to be removed from the world of school, and Rowan leaving only reinforces that…
The Girls Gone By copy I’ve got has an introduction by Forest where she describes a haphazard-sounding writing process, and something about this book feels haphazard, too. And yet it works extraordinarily well. Maybe because life is haphazard - maybe because Forest is such a good writer that she can elevate anything - maybe because her characters leap off the page and something about their essential British stiff-upper-lip approach prevents them from descending into melodrama, or worse, farce.
I feel like I’ve been reading a history of the Marlows: of course they exist in some far corner of Britain.
June 19, 2024
esimesel lugemisel (raamatukogus lugemissaalis ühe päevaga) hindasin seda raamatut veidi madalamalt kui sarja teisi osi, aga nüüd tekkis võimalus ta rahulikult kiirustamata läbi töötada ja ei, väga hea ju ikkagi. jah, see lõputu pistrikujutt hakkab kohati närvidele käima, aga see on pool raamatu pointi, et närvidele käib ta ka suuremale osale Marlowde perest.
päris... jõhkralt ja samas kuidagi möödaminnes tuuakse sisse see nõbu Joni surm, mis kogu pere ellu suure muutuse toob (päritakse perekonna iidne maavaldus koos nõo võlgadega, keegi - alguses arvatakse, et isa, aga lõpuks hoopis Rowan - peab oma senised eluplaanid põhjalikult ümber tegema ja farmeriks hakkama, Londoni-preilidest saavad vaesevõitu maatüdrukud ja noh, nende pistrikega peavad 15-aastane poiss ja 13-aastane tüdruk järsku üsna omapäi toime tulema). samas toimub hubaseid inglise laste koolivaheajaasju - osaletakse kohaliku linnakese laulu-, etlemis-, spordi- ja ratsutamisvõistlustel näiteks. ja nagu ikka, ei laabu kõik alati kõigi jaoks hästi ja õiglaselt. Nicola kannatab kaksikõe Lawrie kapriiside tõttu, Peter ja Patrick on suure osa ajast tülis, nii Ginty kui Anni kallal norivad õed õige halastamatult... ja, noh, see Rowani juhtum ka ikkagi.
päris... jõhkralt ja samas kuidagi möödaminnes tuuakse sisse see nõbu Joni surm, mis kogu pere ellu suure muutuse toob (päritakse perekonna iidne maavaldus koos nõo võlgadega, keegi - alguses arvatakse, et isa, aga lõpuks hoopis Rowan - peab oma senised eluplaanid põhjalikult ümber tegema ja farmeriks hakkama, Londoni-preilidest saavad vaesevõitu maatüdrukud ja noh, nende pistrikega peavad 15-aastane poiss ja 13-aastane tüdruk järsku üsna omapäi toime tulema). samas toimub hubaseid inglise laste koolivaheajaasju - osaletakse kohaliku linnakese laulu-, etlemis-, spordi- ja ratsutamisvõistlustel näiteks. ja nagu ikka, ei laabu kõik alati kõigi jaoks hästi ja õiglaselt. Nicola kannatab kaksikõe Lawrie kapriiside tõttu, Peter ja Patrick on suure osa ajast tülis, nii Ginty kui Anni kallal norivad õed õige halastamatult... ja, noh, see Rowani juhtum ka ikkagi.
May 17, 2020
I read the Marlow school books, term by term labelled on the spines as numbers one to four, many years ago. So real and believable and beautifully written: very superior versions of girls' school stories. One of the lovely things about the books was the sense of time passing and events happening between terms... and so they had, in the Marlow holiday books, which I didn't find out about until much later. It's a delight to catch up with them now (this is where they move to Trennels, this is where they meet Patrick, this is where The Sprog comes from), even as the senior Marlows perpetrate some extremely questionable parenting (how Peter escapes a well-deserved lecture on gun safety remains a mystery).
December 13, 2018
see jahikulliteema oli küll üsna tüütu mu jaoks, aga seda raamatut tasus lugeda selleks, et sarja järgmistest tagantjärele paremini aru saada (või noh, paistab, et õiges järjekorras lugemine oleks olnud hea plaan). üsna rahuldustpakkuv oli otsi kokku ajada ja aru saada, miks ja kuidas perekond maale kolis, kuidas ühest vanematest õdedest talupidaja sai, ühtteist Patricku taustast ja tema sõprusest Nicolaga ja suhetest Peteriga... Mulle ikkagi meeldivad koolilood rohkem kui kodu-lood ses sarjas, sellest ka leigevõitu hinnang, aga Marlow-raamatute põhilised voorused olid ikkagi kõik olemas. aa, boonusena on see mu seniloetutest esimene raamat, kus ka pereisa kohal viibib ja isegi mingite sõnavõttudega esineb ja üldse loo kulgemisele mingit mõju avaldab. oli meeldiv kohtuda.
July 24, 2023
Love this series
August 31, 2025
Where my childhood obsession with falcons began!
November 22, 2018
A series that I missed as a child but which I'm catching up with now. It is nominally a children's book but the excellent writing and character interaction mean that it is still a very engaging story for an adult to read. I enjoyed it hugely and am keen to carry on with the story of the Marlow family.
June 21, 2020
Not quite as compelling as some of the Marlow books; the tension of a local festival not being quite the machinations and politicking we enjoy in the school books. However, this one has some welcome exposure to other Marlows rather than almost exclusively focussing on the (admittedly attractive) Nicola. The entire family are portrayed as jolly nice and for the most part sensible and fun to be around with realistic familial relationships, equal parts teasing and supportive. And the whole idea of spending a hot summer running and riding around the south downs, swimming in the sea, playing with pet falcons sounds, as Antonia Forest would put it, heavenly.
Miss Forest herself actually admitted that this was a pony book (at the time she wrote it, a very popular genre), repackaged as a book about falconry. To the modern audience both animals and hobbies seem hopelessly out of touch, and yet, how informative to learn about 'stooping to the lure' and 'making a hawk' and so on. Falconry has a long history and still holds appeal perhaps more than gymkhanas and cleaning tack. Nonetheless, the Marlows in this book do seem (albeit for a book set in the 1940s) ridiculously privileged. Inheriting the indebted family estate (complete with housekeepers to make three meals a day) and poor daddy will have to sell the London home to keep things going, etc etc.
Considering this is a kids’ book, it is surprisingly readable as an adult. Loses a star for being a bit dated (not that that can be helped, but its focus on the upper classes today seems out-of-touch). I am however entirely hooked into the Marlow world and can't wait to find out what happens next.
Miss Forest herself actually admitted that this was a pony book (at the time she wrote it, a very popular genre), repackaged as a book about falconry. To the modern audience both animals and hobbies seem hopelessly out of touch, and yet, how informative to learn about 'stooping to the lure' and 'making a hawk' and so on. Falconry has a long history and still holds appeal perhaps more than gymkhanas and cleaning tack. Nonetheless, the Marlows in this book do seem (albeit for a book set in the 1940s) ridiculously privileged. Inheriting the indebted family estate (complete with housekeepers to make three meals a day) and poor daddy will have to sell the London home to keep things going, etc etc.
Considering this is a kids’ book, it is surprisingly readable as an adult. Loses a star for being a bit dated (not that that can be helped, but its focus on the upper classes today seems out-of-touch). I am however entirely hooked into the Marlow world and can't wait to find out what happens next.
April 1, 2008
Dated but very good.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews