The Fielding children have to go and stay with their Uncle Rudolph and Aunt Valentina as their father is sailing round the world and their mother has been hurt in an accident. The children and their relatives clash endlessly, and at last Uncle Rudolph allows them to live in a tumbledown old inn he owns: World’s End.
From the publisher: MONICA DICKENS, born in 1915, was brought up in London and was the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Her mother's German origins and her Catholicism gave her the detached eye of an outsider; at St Paul's Girls' School she was under occupied and rebellious. After drama school she was a debutante before working as a cook. One Pair of Hands (1939), her first book, described life in the kitchens of Kensington. It was the first of a group of semi autobiographies of which Mariana (1940), technically a novel, was one. 'My aim is to entertain rather than instruct,' she wrote. 'I want readers to recognise life in my books.' In 1951 Monica Dickens married a US naval officer, Roy Stratton, moved to America and adopted two daughters. An extremely popular writer, she involved herself in, and wrote about, good causes such as the Samaritans. After her husband died she lived in a cottage in rural Berkshire, dying there in 1992. http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/page...
Four children have an eccentric father who has gone off to sail around the world. When disaster strikes
The characters in this book are wonderful, they all have there own personalities and each bring something to the story. It was good to see a dyslexic character portrayed in a positive way. We loved the animal characters, this story focuses on the animals the children rescue and help. We loved the rescue of John and the adventures of Penny Come Quick. There was some very funny parts to this story and it made a wonderful read aloud.
Recommended for those who love animal stories, rescue stories, horses, making a home and outdoor play. This was definitely a feel good book, wonderful escapism and is the first in a series of 4!
Imagine the Boxcar Children with living but absent parents, and no rich grandfather in the offing. Instead of the unknown rich grandad, they have the all-too-well known Uncle Rupert and his unpleasant wife Valentina, who are the sort of people who do their duty. Trouble with that is, it leaves no room for kindness.
A house fire leaves Mum in the hospital and the children homeless, while Dad is far away sailing round the world in a boat he built himself. Why, is never discussed. After one too many run-ins with the rich relations, they are allowed to spend the summer in a rundown ex-inn left to Uncle Rubarb as payment for a delinquent debt. Soon, the house is filled with stray animals and happiness, in spite of little to eat and less to wear.
Highly unbelievable, of course, but an enjoyable read. It feels more like the 1940s than the publication date of 1970, even in a small English village, but suspend disbelief and just enjoy the tale of four children making their own way in a small world.
Take four kids who are on their own because Dad's sailing the world and Mom's in hospital. They're with Uncle Rudolph because their house burned down. (That's why Mom's in hospital.) Uncle Rudolph has gotten stuck with a ramshackle former inn at Wood's End, (so far out that it's called World's End), and he thinks it's a capital idea to let the four kids live there, alone, and out of his hair. That's the set-up, and it's a wonderful way to start a jolly holiday family adventure. If you have a reader who occasionally exhibits a taste for old-fashioned English countryside animal-loving-siblings rural adventures, this is the book for him/her.
The more jaded among you might suspect that this book will fall to the precious side of the ledger, but that was not my sense. This book was written in 1970, not at the turn of the past century, and while it follows the conventions of the form it is a bit sharper, edgier and zippier than those older examples.
The four children have distinct personalities. Sometimes they can be a bit dreamy and, well, childish. But for the most part they have an engaging can-do cooperative spirit that adds life and vitality to the enterprise. They have a generally vinegary view of adults, (Uncle Rudolph and Aunt Viv are not regarded kindly), but there is no mean or snarky streak in the narrative.
The animal zoo aspect of the story is handled well and is fun instead of overdone. The oldest girl's love of horses is exaggerated on purpose, and allows for some friction with the other kids. The overall feeling, though, is one of nurturing concern, and when that is combined with the children's mutual regard the positive and upbeat feel of the book is evident.
An added bonus is that the author occasionally adds a wry or fairly cutting observation to the narrative that, again, adds a bit of tartness that balances the tale.
So, this turned out to be a welcome surprise. It is a calm, imaginative and, in its own way, adventurous tale of spirited kids, with no agenda and no subtext beyond the pleasures of the tale as told. A very nice find.
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
This book was written by the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, and it shows. I must have read this when I was younger, because I had s feeling of deja vu reading it. It reminds me of the Boxcar Children series as well.
Pleasant story of a family of children with an ill and rather vague mother and an absent father, living in reduced circumstances in rural England in the 1970s. They all pull together to make ends meet and to adopt one needy animal after another. I probably would have adored this at age 10 or 12; a dream for the animal-crazy kid I was. Nothing really significant happens, but it's enjoyable, if a bit unrealistic. One kid is apparently dyslexic; this is the earliest kid-lit I've read that addresses that.
A story with lots of charm. A perfect story for those who like Blyton/horses/anything where children are fending for themselves happily. More could have been made of Michael's quite severe dyslexia, the reader probably won't understand fully why he writes and reads as he does and the teachers' reactions to it. Even today I think there's still a place for sweet stories like this.
I've been loaned the 'World's End' books by a friend and this is the first in the series. I really enjoyed it and am now working my way through the rest of the books. I love Monica Dickens' writing and don't know this series passed me by as a child. Improbable situation but funny, quirky writing and great characters.
A perfectly workable children's story of nature, animals and self-sufficiency. I'd have loved this as a child, though it very much falls under the category of re-read for nostalgia purposes than something that has lasting appeal, I think.
Take four kids who are on their own because Dad's sailing the world and Mom's in hospital. They're with Uncle Rudolph because their house burned down. (That's why Mom's in hospital.) Uncle Rudolph has gotten stuck with a ramshackle former inn at Wood's End, (so far out that it's called World's End), and he thinks it's a capital idea to let the four kids live there, alone, and out of his hair. That's the set-up, and it's a wonderful way to start a jolly holiday family adventure. If you have a reader who occasionally exhibits a taste for old-fashioned English countryside animal-loving-siblings rural adventures, this is the book for him/her.
The more jaded among you might suspect that this book will fall to the precious side of the ledger, but that was not my sense. This book was written in 1970, not at the turn of the past century, and while it follows the conventions of the form it is a bit sharper, edgier and zippier than those older examples.
The four children have distinct personalities. Sometimes they can be a bit dreamy and, well, childish. But for the most part they have an engaging can-do cooperative spirit that adds life and vitality to the enterprise. They have a generally vinegary view of adults, (Uncle Rudolph and Aunt Viv are not regarded kindly), but there is no mean or snarky streak in the narrative.
The animal zoo aspect of the story is handled well and is fun instead of overdone. The oldest girl's love of horses is exaggerated on purpose, and allows for some friction with the other kids. The overall feeling, though, is one of nurturing concern, and when that is combined with the children's mutual regard the positive and upbeat feel of the book is evident.
An added bonus is that the author occasionally adds a wry or fairly cutting observation to the narrative that, again, adds a bit of tartness that balances the tale.
So, this turned out to be a welcome surprise. It is a calm, imaginative and, in its own way, adventurous tale of spirited kids, with no agenda and no subtext beyond the pleasures of the tale as told. A very nice find.
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
Monica Dickens is the great granddaughter of Charles Dickens. No wonder she is such a wonderful author.
This story is about four siblings who must fend for themselves while their father is sailing around the world and their mother is in the hospital. Tom, Carrie, Em, and Michael do not have a home - it burned to the ground! And their stuffy aunt and uncle do not wish to care for them any longer.
One day they are on an outing to The House at World's End. A run down, shabby homestead and barn. The children love it and decide to move in and live on their own.
What a cute tale. Dickens has a way with words and setting. Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Reader for the review copy of this book. Each character was rich and vivid - and the animals, delightful. I feel this would be perfect as a read-out-loud bedtime story. It reads like a classic even though the original publication date was 1970.
There are many animals in this book, so many that I lost track of who they all were. We are also presented with a few sad scenes. Sensitive readers beware. All in all, I enjoyed it very much. The children do whatever they have to to stay together and care for their beloved animal friends.
This is the first book of four. The next are:
Summer at World's End World's End Winter Spring Comes to World's End
If you have an animal lover in your house, pick up this book.
I read this book as a child, from the library, and always remembered it and never found a print copy to buy no matter how hard I looked. and then one day I found it as an ebook at my library. it's always dicey to reread something you loved as a child, because there is always the possibility that it won't live up to your memory. this book didn't disappoint me, in fact I enjoyed it quite a bit. I am quite sure that when I read it as a child, I didn't understand a good amount of the extremely specific British references throughout the book, and I didn't have near enough appreciation for some of the animal moments. there were several bits that made me stop and think, wow, I totally pictured this scene wrong. the kids are all well developed personalities and their inner thoughts are true and real. I'm glad I found it again and extra glad to find there were more books about the Fielding kids.
Got a hold of the ebook series a while ago. Finally finished today after forgetting it for a couple weeks. Good read if you like animal / family stories. Not as amazing as when I read it when younger but is anything really. Still a nice read.
Feeling nostalgic - I recently recalled thoroughly enjoying the four 'World's End' books as a pre-teen when they first came out so decided to order the set from Amazon (2012 reprints) to read in the dark evenings. Currently halfway through the set, doing about five chapters per night and really enjoying revisiting the world that Monica so deftly created for us to flesh out in our own imaginations. Obviously the simple plots and scenarios now seem a lot less plausible than when first encountered with us young readers all dearly wishing to join the kids and the animals in their bohemian life at World's End. Though set in the late 60s/early 70s the country life described is socially more akin to the sort of simpler times Enid Blyton's young folk inhabited. However, this very simplicity and the rather spare physical descriptions throughout gave the books considerable appeal to young imaginations - we are given a few points but can join the dots in our own mind's eye as we see fit. My old visions of Carrie, Tom, Em, Michael, the enigmatic Lester and Mr Mossman all came back to me - recognisable from folk I knew from either real life or TV at the time. Mr Mossman was fleshed out by reference to a jolly helpful neighbour, Lester was imagined as a schooldays friend of mine (now sadly passed) and Carrie is forever mixed up with Dora from the 'Follyfoot' TV series - also based on Monica Dickens work - in my mind's eye.
Probably not great literature but what a marvelous journey down memory lane!
PS - Tom would now be 67 and Carrie not far behind him!
I have read a few of Monica Dickens autobiographical works such as My Turn to Make the Tea but apart from watching the Follyfoot series on the telly during the 1970s I haven't tried any of her fiction. I realised that this book had been on my Kindle app for over 3 years and I decided that I was in the mood to catch up on a children's book that I hadn't read before.
I quickly got engrossed in the story and was intrigued to find out just how many animals the children would manage to gather together at World's End. In fact I was so engrossed that the book had ended before I realised it and I felt the end was rather abrupt. But I will certainly be looking out for the other books in this series.
I have no idea when I started this book. It has been in the "Currently Reading" collection on my Kindle for ages and I suddenly decided I was going to finish it before beginning anything else. I've picked the start of the year as a random date, but I know it was earlier than that, probably last year (2017) some time.
This is still a fun and enjoyable read, although adult me isn't as sanguine about the children living on their own or when the money is (or isn't) coming from as child me was when I read this many years ago.
This first part of the book was great. I loved the kids' independence, the old inn, and their industriousness. I didn't care as much for the second half. The animals became a bit much. The Dad was such a loser--he has no sense of responsibility and has no problem letting his 16 year old support the family while he does whatever he wants. So incredibly selfish.
How charming the world can be when it gives you books like this, books which sprawl out in front of you like yourself on a too-hot day and demand the world to stop until you have finished them. I have taken too long to get to this series so you should not. Monica Dickens is a joy and this was a lovely, eccentric, vivid thing.
It begins with a displaced family due to circumstances (a phrase, I feel, which characterises some of the best of children's literature). Their mother is in hospital due to the circumstances and their father is sailing the world for reasons it's not best to get into. It's just one of those things. The children end up living with their nearest relatives for a while before providence presents them with a dilapidated house in the country. The relatives are cool with them going off to live in this house in themselves. It's just one of those things. But it works. It really does. We all just have to be cool with it.
We know Dickens can write horses (I think often of her description of the herd coming in at Follyfoot) but here she proves that she can write people as well. She is soft and loving and sunlight all the way through this. People fight, they argue, they make up, they love each other, they're a family who will fight for each other until the end of time. Especially against a system which doesn't actively understand or sympathise with people like them. It's just about people, this, really, and how you can love them in all their different ways.
Books like this require you to be cool with a lot and kind of accept that this is all part of the process and I've found some of them to really not work for me with that (The Children Who Lived in a Barn springs immediately to mind) but this one just did. I think it's because the agencies of the children differ here (And also that they're not surrounded by a village of up the revolution types). They're accepted as capable individuals who just happen to be young people. Even when the system comes calling for them, you know that they will fight it and that they will win because that's how they roll. You know that when one of them wants a pony desperately, she will get because that's how they roll. The confidence here makes it work. The belief in the characters makes it sing.
A book for sunlit afternoons, for realising the world and all its potential before you.
Unos niños viven en una posada abandonada rodeados de animales. Aunque puede parecer algo idílico de pequeño, tipo Pipi Calzaslargas, se habla del trasfondo que es bastante terrible (padre les abandona porque quiere navegar, madre se parte la columna en un incendio en el que pierden la casa, familia a la que no le importa lo que les pase, y, en general, poca comida y bastante insalubridad. Y al final, la situación no cambia, porque qué más da, si los niños son felices porque tienen animales, aunque estén desnutridos, roben y no sepan leer...
I have just read all four of the World 's End books. They are gentle pony books similar to those I used to read as a child. Four children go to live in an old house, owned by their Uncle Rudolph. They collect needy animals, including four horses and eventually make a name for themselves in the neighbourhood as somewhere old or injured animals might safely be left. Think I have been reconnecting with my past!
Anyone who enjoys the Vanderbeekers, E. Nesbit's Bastables, the Penderwicks, or the Melendy family quartet should give this series a try! I loved the slice of life feel and all the chaos that ensued with a group of children and a whole menagerie of animals. I look forward to reading more in the series!
Hace poco me propuse empezar a leer. Este libro ha sido perfecto para ello. No es una historia super profunda que te cambia la vida, pero no necesita serlo. Es entrañable, divertido y entretenido. Y sobretodo, fácil de leer. Describe muy bien a los personajes y las escenas, lo que te mete muy bien en la historia como si estuvieses viendo una película en tu mente. Me han encantado los personajes, su relación con los animales y las aventuras que viven. Echare de menos saber más sobre la casa del Fin del Mundo.