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Hobberdy Dick
It is mid-seventeenth-century England. Hobberdy Dick, a hobgoblin whose charge it is to guard Widford Manor in the Cotswolds, watches unhappily as new tenants, a city merchant and his family, move in. What makes it even worse is the fact that they are Puritans. Hobberdy Dick knows that now the happy days of mumming and Maying, of Christmas dancing and fireside games are things of the past.
It seems a bleak outlook, until Dick sees hope for the future in Anne Seckar, the penniless cousin of the Culvers, and Joel, the merchant's eldest son, who loves the country and the old ways.
An eminent authority on folk lore, K. M. Briggs is a loving guide to the ancient ways, the secret folk life of the English countryside. Against the background of a terrain in which she is magnificently at home, she tells the fascinating story of unforgettable Hobberdy Dick and the people whose lives he both guards and governs.
It seems a bleak outlook, until Dick sees hope for the future in Anne Seckar, the penniless cousin of the Culvers, and Joel, the merchant's eldest son, who loves the country and the old ways.
An eminent authority on folk lore, K. M. Briggs is a loving guide to the ancient ways, the secret folk life of the English countryside. Against the background of a terrain in which she is magnificently at home, she tells the fascinating story of unforgettable Hobberdy Dick and the people whose lives he both guards and governs.
239 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
5 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Katharine M. Briggs
44 books114 followersEarly Life Katharine Briggs was born in Hampstead, London in 1898, and was the eldest of three sisters. The Briggs family, originally from Yorkshire, had built up a fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through coal mining and owned a large colliery in Normanton, West Yorkshire. With such enormous wealth, Katharine and her family were able to live in luxury with little need to work. Briggs's father Ernest was often unwell and divided his time between leafy Hampstead and the clear air of Scotland. He was a watercolourist and would often take his children with him when he went to paint the landscape. An imaginative storyteller, he loved to tell his children tales and legends; these would have a great impact on the young Katharine, becoming her passion in later life. When Briggs was 12 her father had Dalbeathie House built in Perthshire and the family moved permanently to Scotland; however, tragedy struck when he died two years later. Briggs and her two sisters, Winifred and Elspeth, developed a close bond with their mother, Mary, after this - all living together for almost fifty years. As Briggs and her sisters grew older their main passion was for amateur dramatics. They wrote and performed their own plays at their home and Briggs would pursue her interest in theatre throughout her education. After leaving school she attended Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, graduating with a BA in 1918 and an MA in 1926. She specialised in the study of traditional folk tales and 17th-century English history.
The Folklorist Briggs continued her studies largely as a hobby, while living with her sisters and mother in Burford, Oxfordshire. She collected together traditional stories from across the country and the wider world, but did not publish them yet. Together she and her sisters performed in plays with local amateur dramatics groups and Briggs wrote historical novels set during the Civil War (also unpublished). When the Second World War started Briggs joined the WAAF and later taught at a school for the children of Polish refugees. After the war Briggs threw herself into her folklore studies, completing her PhD on the use of folklore in 17th-century literature. In 1954, the first Katharine Briggs book was published, titled The Personnel of Fairyland, a guide to the folklore of Great Britain. This was followed by Hobberdy Dick (1955), a children's story about a hobgoblin in Puritan England. Though these books brought a small amount of interest, it was not until the 1960s and 1970s, following the deaths of her sisters and mother, that Briggs became a renowned folklorist. In 1963 she published another children's book, Kate Crackernuts, and became involved with the Folklore Society of the UK, later being elected as its president in 1967. Now a preeminent expert on fairy stories and folklore, she began to lecture across the country and by the 1970s she had been invited to give lectures in the United States and was regularly interviewed on television. In 1971 she published her masterpiece, the four-volume A Dictionary of Folk-Tales in the English Language. This work remains the definitive collection of British folk stories, becoming a vital resource for writers, academics and storytellers. Katharine Briggs died suddenly at the age of 82 on 15th October 1980. At the time of her death she had been working on a memoir of her childhood days in Scotland and Hampstead, where her love of folklore began.
Information taken from http://www.foliosociety.com/author/ka...
The Folklorist Briggs continued her studies largely as a hobby, while living with her sisters and mother in Burford, Oxfordshire. She collected together traditional stories from across the country and the wider world, but did not publish them yet. Together she and her sisters performed in plays with local amateur dramatics groups and Briggs wrote historical novels set during the Civil War (also unpublished). When the Second World War started Briggs joined the WAAF and later taught at a school for the children of Polish refugees. After the war Briggs threw herself into her folklore studies, completing her PhD on the use of folklore in 17th-century literature. In 1954, the first Katharine Briggs book was published, titled The Personnel of Fairyland, a guide to the folklore of Great Britain. This was followed by Hobberdy Dick (1955), a children's story about a hobgoblin in Puritan England. Though these books brought a small amount of interest, it was not until the 1960s and 1970s, following the deaths of her sisters and mother, that Briggs became a renowned folklorist. In 1963 she published another children's book, Kate Crackernuts, and became involved with the Folklore Society of the UK, later being elected as its president in 1967. Now a preeminent expert on fairy stories and folklore, she began to lecture across the country and by the 1970s she had been invited to give lectures in the United States and was regularly interviewed on television. In 1971 she published her masterpiece, the four-volume A Dictionary of Folk-Tales in the English Language. This work remains the definitive collection of British folk stories, becoming a vital resource for writers, academics and storytellers. Katharine Briggs died suddenly at the age of 82 on 15th October 1980. At the time of her death she had been working on a memoir of her childhood days in Scotland and Hampstead, where her love of folklore began.
Information taken from http://www.foliosociety.com/author/ka...
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 31, 2019
I had no idea what I was going to encounter from reading this historical-fantasy-folkloric tale set in mid seventeenth century Oxfordshire. Having dabbled in Briggs' work on fairies and anthropology, I knew that the research would be first rate but was pleasantly surprised by the storytelling itself. Set in a Cotswold Manor House and told from the perspective our 'tutelary' hero, Hobberdy Dick (a hobgoblin of a sort and a protector of the manor itself), the story gives us, at one point, a sweeping dale-sized overview of rural Oxfordshire at a time when a breach between the old ways and the new, Puritan ways were eschewing knowledge in its different forms. And, at another, a minute, carefully woven insight into pastimes, trades and ways which offer an insight into customs and folkways which light up the pages.
Part love story, part ode to the old tales and part creepy ghost story, Hobberdy Dick, felt as if Briggs had cast all her knowledge of fey and folk throughout the centuries into a cauldron, mixed them all with a procession of the human condition and poured it all out into a marvelous bowl of a time of England which has been lost to many.
Part love story, part ode to the old tales and part creepy ghost story, Hobberdy Dick, felt as if Briggs had cast all her knowledge of fey and folk throughout the centuries into a cauldron, mixed them all with a procession of the human condition and poured it all out into a marvelous bowl of a time of England which has been lost to many.
November 7, 2023
{I am posting unaltered my September 2004 Amazon review, which has been deleted, either with the page it belonged to, or because of its age: Amazon claims that it somehow violates "community standards," although it passed without question for something like twenty years. I would be grateful if someone spots a problem and lets me know. There is a later edition of the book, which you can look up on Amazon. I have not tried to update the included bibliographical notes, either.}
It's a surprise and a shame that this charming little book is apparently out of print in the U.S. I first encountered "Hobberdy Dick" in a library copy of the original, British, Eyre and Spottiswoode edition of 1955, having noticed it in the card catalogue (remember them?) while looking up Katharine M. Briggs' several academic works on English folklore in Tudor and Stuart literature ("The Anatomy of Puck," 1959; "Pale Hecate's Team," 1962; now out of print, although there were expensive "Selected Works" reprintings in 2002). I remembered it with pleasure, and wished that it were still available.
Some years later I was fortunate enough to see and buy a copy of the 1972 Puffin edition (the Penguin Books children's imprint), complete with Scoular Anderson's evocative illustrations, when it was reprinted in 1976 -- coinciding with the publication Brigg's excellent "An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures." (This does seem to be in print, and is both easy to read and authoritative; in British editions, it is "A Dictionary of Fairies." Brigg's "The Fairies in Tradition and Literature" (1967) carries the story into the twentieth century, and likewise currently is in print.)
The Puffin paperback seems to have had a limited distribution (including unofficial imports) in the U.S., but there was a Harper (now HarperCollins) Greenwillow edition in the U.S. the following year, when the "Encyclopedia" was clearly a success. This edition often can be found in (or through) libraries. So far as the United States is concerned, that seems to be it. (I would be glad to learn otherwise.)
"Hobberdy Dick" has, so far as I know, always been marketed as for children, but in my experience adult readers of fantasy find it at least enjoyable, and certainly worth the time it takes to read it. The main complaint I heard from those to whom I recommended it in the 1970s was "too short." Briggs (1898-1980) was a distinguished as a folklorist and a literary historian; her learning gives the book a solid foundation, but the abundant detail enriches an engaging story without smothering it.
The main plot could have been a fairly conventional Romeo-and-Juliet re-tread, set in the aftermath of the English Civil War; *She* is from a dispossessed Cavalier family, *He* is the heir of a Parliament Man. But the story is seen largely through the eyes of the title character, a household spirit, or "hob." Hobberdy Dick is one of class of spirits who protect a place and its inhabitants, giving aid to the diligent and tormenting the slothful and slovenly until they mend their ways. (They are also known, among other names, as "lobs," and, more widely, at least until the term was trivialized, "brownies.") The more energetic hobs may intervene to aid the humans of whom they approve in larger ways; and Hobberdy Dick favors happy endings.
In 1652, Dick's home -- complete with its ghost, as well as the hob -- is taken over by disbelieving Puritans from London, who bought the estate when the last known (male) heir died. The new owner and his family start as caricatures, but are quickly fleshed out. (Well, not the additional ghost they inadvertently bring with them, to Hobberdy Dick's even greater annoyance; but the resourceful hob finds a use even for it.) Dick's basic loyalties are to the place, to the children, and to the impoverished young gentlewoman who is hired to attend the new mistress. But even an annoyed hob comes to see that the newcomers may have significant virtues to go with more objectionable qualities. Rigid scruples can be real scruples, even when property is at issue; a matter of some interest to a hob whose duties include guarding a buried hoard....
Hobberdy Dick himself has a wide acquaintance among other local spirits of the hearth and countryside, most of them benign, a few potentially dangerous, all brought to life from a variety of period books and modern folklore studies. These are solitary types; the "trooping fairies," the inhabitants of the fairy hills, are present, but kept off-stage. A witch makes a passing appearance, practicing real seventeenth-century magic (Briggs elsewhere published the text of the ritual), to the alarm and dismay of the local hobs and boggarts, and the rage of a genuinely impressive Church Grim. The calendar customs and immemorial (even in the 1650s) practices of the English countryside provide a chronological framework, with political events and other disasters like epidemics (a fair equation in the book's terms) a rumor in the distance.
There have been several British editions since the 1970s, including one, from Jane Nissen Books, with both the Anderson illustrations and a new introduction, in 2000; it received admiring reviews, and apparently is in print.
There is even an animated version, apparently in German (or at least described on German websites, where the detailed descriptions are a set of "spoilers"), so it has hardly dropped into obscurity.
But it does not seem to have been readily available in the U.S. for a good many years. All in all, a treasure that should not stay lost for American readers.
It's a surprise and a shame that this charming little book is apparently out of print in the U.S. I first encountered "Hobberdy Dick" in a library copy of the original, British, Eyre and Spottiswoode edition of 1955, having noticed it in the card catalogue (remember them?) while looking up Katharine M. Briggs' several academic works on English folklore in Tudor and Stuart literature ("The Anatomy of Puck," 1959; "Pale Hecate's Team," 1962; now out of print, although there were expensive "Selected Works" reprintings in 2002). I remembered it with pleasure, and wished that it were still available.
Some years later I was fortunate enough to see and buy a copy of the 1972 Puffin edition (the Penguin Books children's imprint), complete with Scoular Anderson's evocative illustrations, when it was reprinted in 1976 -- coinciding with the publication Brigg's excellent "An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures." (This does seem to be in print, and is both easy to read and authoritative; in British editions, it is "A Dictionary of Fairies." Brigg's "The Fairies in Tradition and Literature" (1967) carries the story into the twentieth century, and likewise currently is in print.)
The Puffin paperback seems to have had a limited distribution (including unofficial imports) in the U.S., but there was a Harper (now HarperCollins) Greenwillow edition in the U.S. the following year, when the "Encyclopedia" was clearly a success. This edition often can be found in (or through) libraries. So far as the United States is concerned, that seems to be it. (I would be glad to learn otherwise.)
"Hobberdy Dick" has, so far as I know, always been marketed as for children, but in my experience adult readers of fantasy find it at least enjoyable, and certainly worth the time it takes to read it. The main complaint I heard from those to whom I recommended it in the 1970s was "too short." Briggs (1898-1980) was a distinguished as a folklorist and a literary historian; her learning gives the book a solid foundation, but the abundant detail enriches an engaging story without smothering it.
The main plot could have been a fairly conventional Romeo-and-Juliet re-tread, set in the aftermath of the English Civil War; *She* is from a dispossessed Cavalier family, *He* is the heir of a Parliament Man. But the story is seen largely through the eyes of the title character, a household spirit, or "hob." Hobberdy Dick is one of class of spirits who protect a place and its inhabitants, giving aid to the diligent and tormenting the slothful and slovenly until they mend their ways. (They are also known, among other names, as "lobs," and, more widely, at least until the term was trivialized, "brownies.") The more energetic hobs may intervene to aid the humans of whom they approve in larger ways; and Hobberdy Dick favors happy endings.
In 1652, Dick's home -- complete with its ghost, as well as the hob -- is taken over by disbelieving Puritans from London, who bought the estate when the last known (male) heir died. The new owner and his family start as caricatures, but are quickly fleshed out. (Well, not the additional ghost they inadvertently bring with them, to Hobberdy Dick's even greater annoyance; but the resourceful hob finds a use even for it.) Dick's basic loyalties are to the place, to the children, and to the impoverished young gentlewoman who is hired to attend the new mistress. But even an annoyed hob comes to see that the newcomers may have significant virtues to go with more objectionable qualities. Rigid scruples can be real scruples, even when property is at issue; a matter of some interest to a hob whose duties include guarding a buried hoard....
Hobberdy Dick himself has a wide acquaintance among other local spirits of the hearth and countryside, most of them benign, a few potentially dangerous, all brought to life from a variety of period books and modern folklore studies. These are solitary types; the "trooping fairies," the inhabitants of the fairy hills, are present, but kept off-stage. A witch makes a passing appearance, practicing real seventeenth-century magic (Briggs elsewhere published the text of the ritual), to the alarm and dismay of the local hobs and boggarts, and the rage of a genuinely impressive Church Grim. The calendar customs and immemorial (even in the 1650s) practices of the English countryside provide a chronological framework, with political events and other disasters like epidemics (a fair equation in the book's terms) a rumor in the distance.
There have been several British editions since the 1970s, including one, from Jane Nissen Books, with both the Anderson illustrations and a new introduction, in 2000; it received admiring reviews, and apparently is in print.
There is even an animated version, apparently in German (or at least described on German websites, where the detailed descriptions are a set of "spoilers"), so it has hardly dropped into obscurity.
But it does not seem to have been readily available in the U.S. for a good many years. All in all, a treasure that should not stay lost for American readers.
June 12, 2022
Hobberdy Dick by Katharine M. Briggs was a complete surprise to me. I decided to order it when I was checking out books listed in the back of another book I was reading. (I can't remember what book I was reading). Hobberdy was written originally in 1955 and is a combination historical fiction (being set during the time of Cromwell in England) and fantasy (Hobberdy is a hobgoblin who is one of many who looked after the estates in Britain. Think of house elves in Harry Potter in that they are bound to families and estates until freed).
Hobberdy Dick lived in and guarded Welford Manor for over 200 years. The Culvers are forced to leave and the manor is abandoned for a long time until a Puritan family, the Widdisons take over. Hobberdy has been guarding the estate, he keeps the house clean and helps the staff with their chores. Of course they don't see Hobberdy. The country folk know of the hobs from their folk tales and some of the staff can sense his presence.
Over the course of the story, Hobberdy comes to love one of the maids, Anne, who is a relative of the original Culvers. He also is taken by Martha, the Widdison's daughter, and also their son, Joel. Hobberdy is central to so many of the events that take place, some mundane, some quite terrifying and some sad. It's a fascinating story and it just gets better and better as it develops. The language takes a bit of grasping at the very beginning but it is easy to get into the flow of it. Hobberdy and his fellow goblins are wonderful characters. Anne is lovely and so is Joel and young Martha. Mrs. Dimbleby, the grandmother of the Widdisons is genteel and sympathetic.
It's just a wonderful story that will draw you in and grab your emotions. As I say it was a lovely surprise and just perfect. Briggs was a folklorist and published a number of books on fairys and witchcraft (Mother Darke is quite scary... yeah, quite). You can see her expertise in this subject matter throughout the book. Try it, it's definitely worth it. (5.0 stars)
Hobberdy Dick lived in and guarded Welford Manor for over 200 years. The Culvers are forced to leave and the manor is abandoned for a long time until a Puritan family, the Widdisons take over. Hobberdy has been guarding the estate, he keeps the house clean and helps the staff with their chores. Of course they don't see Hobberdy. The country folk know of the hobs from their folk tales and some of the staff can sense his presence.
Over the course of the story, Hobberdy comes to love one of the maids, Anne, who is a relative of the original Culvers. He also is taken by Martha, the Widdison's daughter, and also their son, Joel. Hobberdy is central to so many of the events that take place, some mundane, some quite terrifying and some sad. It's a fascinating story and it just gets better and better as it develops. The language takes a bit of grasping at the very beginning but it is easy to get into the flow of it. Hobberdy and his fellow goblins are wonderful characters. Anne is lovely and so is Joel and young Martha. Mrs. Dimbleby, the grandmother of the Widdisons is genteel and sympathetic.
It's just a wonderful story that will draw you in and grab your emotions. As I say it was a lovely surprise and just perfect. Briggs was a folklorist and published a number of books on fairys and witchcraft (Mother Darke is quite scary... yeah, quite). You can see her expertise in this subject matter throughout the book. Try it, it's definitely worth it. (5.0 stars)
February 22, 2014
Katherine Briggs is (was? not sure) an expert on British folklore; anything she has written, both fiction and NF, is fascinating. Hobberdy Dick, a wee man or hobgoblin; together with some friends, saves the day....
Similar to William Mayne's 'Hob' stories.
Similar to William Mayne's 'Hob' stories.
March 25, 2018
Hobberdy Dick is the hobgoblin who protects Widford Manor and has for countless years. The house has changed hands and no longer belongs to the original family, and Dick isn't too keen on the new owners. He does take a liking to the older son, though, and also a young maidservant, who, it so happens, is the only living relative to the original inhabitant and therefore the rightful heir to the riches buried in the old stable...
I started this one without high expectations, to be honest - I assumed it would be another children's book from the '50s that hasn't aged well - but I was very happily surprised. You can't help but love Dick and his well-meaning antics, and the young protagonists are very easy to root for. I also loved the keeping up of old traditions and beliefs, as lovingly told by the author as they are respected by the manor's working folk. Definitely recommended.
I started this one without high expectations, to be honest - I assumed it would be another children's book from the '50s that hasn't aged well - but I was very happily surprised. You can't help but love Dick and his well-meaning antics, and the young protagonists are very easy to root for. I also loved the keeping up of old traditions and beliefs, as lovingly told by the author as they are respected by the manor's working folk. Definitely recommended.
February 28, 2023
Hobberdy Dick is an ancient hobgoblin, charged with the protection of an old English family and their estate. He is dismayed to learn that a new family is coming to his manor, a family with Puritan roots, but he is determined to fix things up to his satisfaction as only a hobgoblin can do.
Hobberdy Dick is filled with all the old creatures of magic and all the old stories of long-ago England. The stories may be familiar to the English, but they were all new to me, an American.
It's a story that deserved to be rediscovered.
Hobberdy Dick is filled with all the old creatures of magic and all the old stories of long-ago England. The stories may be familiar to the English, but they were all new to me, an American.
It's a story that deserved to be rediscovered.
July 9, 2014
I read it and loved it as a child, and re-read it again a few years ago. It's magical and wonderful. Hobberdy Dick was the inspiration for JK Rowling's house elves; and just like Dobby's poignant story, Hobberdy Dick's tale made me sad and happy as well.
January 13, 2019
This is a good book, full of K M Briggs’s amazing scholarship but also a smart little story set in the Cromwellian protectorate, with teasers in odd vocabulary and some gentle twists in the tale. I may write more when friends have finished their own exploration of the story, but enough to say it is a gem.
March 7, 2021
A beautifully written charming story about a house hob and the family he lives with and protects. A great exploration by one who knows of the fairy world and its interaction with ‘our’ world. Every house should have (and maybe does) an HD. Quick lovely read for these dark times.
April 2, 2022
Oh, how I loved this book.
Read
January 4, 2024Still a joy after all these years!
May 28, 2025
Back in the early 90s, I found a cartoon show called "Hobberdy Dick" in a favourite kid's channel. Of course, back then it was really difficult to follow a program, it goes without saying they might at any point change the shows they aired, and you would never get to the ending, which was exactly what happened, but I never forgot about it.
A couple of years ago, I started to try keywords in google until I found it was a book, and I could get it, which I finally did a month ago. And finally I got some closure on this 17th century English folktale I really liked. It might look as it is just a kid's book, but it is not. And it is certainly one I hope to be able to read to my children in due time.
A couple of years ago, I started to try keywords in google until I found it was a book, and I could get it, which I finally did a month ago. And finally I got some closure on this 17th century English folktale I really liked. It might look as it is just a kid's book, but it is not. And it is certainly one I hope to be able to read to my children in due time.
January 28, 2018
I would have been around 13 when I first read this. What a fabulous evocative read, with every season made memorable in a way that has reverberated through my life. I like to make a point of reading it again each year around Halloween (it is after all, about goblins & bogles, ghosts and other creatures of English folklore) but it’s Christmas (pagan wassailing) & Easter (egg rolling on Easter Sunday when the sun dances) and midsummer with its febrile fecundity and warm velvety nights which make this read so enchanting. The plot itself is delightful, ending in the physical & spiritual release of the dear little hobgoblin of the book’s title. The ending never fails to make me cry, in a good way 😊
April 18, 2015
A masterwork of fantasy fiction - so good it makes the distinction meaningless. Hobberdy Dick is a hobgoblin and was an inspiration for Dobey in the Harry Potter series. This tale is set in 1700s and is beautifully written, and often scary in parts. Ah, but there is romance too. Read it.
January 26, 2025
Hopefully full review to come, but the short and sweet of it is: this was great. The comparison to Tolkien on my copy’s jacket is somewhat inappropriate in my opinion (it’s not a journey, but a season in the life of a place), but the lore and the language of it are wonderful, and you feel yourself sinking into 1600’s English country life joyously and effortlessly.
January 30, 2024
A classic, and embedded in the landscape of my childhood
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews