What do you think?
Rate this book
Green Knowe #2
Treasure of Green Knowe
Lucy Maria Boston's thrilling and classic time fantasy tales of Green Knowe, an ancient English manor house and its grounds whose setting was based on her own long-time home of The Manor at Hemingford Grey, have been entertaining readers of all ages for decades.
This book was renamed Treasure of Green Knowe for the American reading market. However, its original title when published by Faber and Faber in the UK, The Chimneys of Green Knowe, bears a much closer relationship to the whole series in its reference to the changes in the architecture of the house and how each resident or visitor experiences them, as well as the love, friendship, time, and loss all deeply embedded in the building itself.
There's a treasure, naturally, that's been missing for centuries, but for Tolly, Susan and Jacob, the three main protagonists of this instalment in the series, the discovery of what happened to that treasure, how it happened, and where the item in question might be in the present time, are all but incidental to the journey towards finding it.
This book was adapted into the film From Time To Time, released in 2009, which starred Dame Maggie Smith as "Granny" Oldknow, Alex Etel as Tolly, Eliza Hope Bennett as Susan, and Kwayedza Kureya as Jacob.
This book was renamed Treasure of Green Knowe for the American reading market. However, its original title when published by Faber and Faber in the UK, The Chimneys of Green Knowe, bears a much closer relationship to the whole series in its reference to the changes in the architecture of the house and how each resident or visitor experiences them, as well as the love, friendship, time, and loss all deeply embedded in the building itself.
There's a treasure, naturally, that's been missing for centuries, but for Tolly, Susan and Jacob, the three main protagonists of this instalment in the series, the discovery of what happened to that treasure, how it happened, and where the item in question might be in the present time, are all but incidental to the journey towards finding it.
This book was adapted into the film From Time To Time, released in 2009, which starred Dame Maggie Smith as "Granny" Oldknow, Alex Etel as Tolly, Eliza Hope Bennett as Susan, and Kwayedza Kureya as Jacob.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
14 people are currently reading
1254 people want to read
About the author
Lucy M. Boston
34 books110 followersLucy M. Boston (1892–1990), born Lucy Maria Wood, was an English novelist who wrote for children and adults, publishing her work entirely after the age of 60. She is best known for her "Green Knowe" series: six low fantasy children's novels published by Faber between 1954 and 1976. The setting is Green Knowe, an old country manor house based on Boston's Cambridgeshire home at Hemingford Grey. For the fourth book in the series, A Stranger at Green Knowe (1961), she won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.[1]
During her long life, she distinguished herself as a writer, mainly of children’s books, and as the creator of a magical garden. She was also an accomplished artist who had studied drawing and painting in Vienna, and a needlewoman who produced a series of patchworks.
During her long life, she distinguished herself as a writer, mainly of children’s books, and as the creator of a magical garden. She was also an accomplished artist who had studied drawing and painting in Vienna, and a needlewoman who produced a series of patchworks.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
January 3, 2019
The Children of Green Knowe is our favourite book of all time. I remember as a child feeling dissapointed by this one, and rereading for a second time as an adult I still struggled with parts. The Children of Green Knowe worked so well, the present day plot was just as interesting as the encounters and stories from the past and they were interwoven and complimented each other beautifully but the present day parts of this story seemed only an excuse for the historical stories by the fire. These in parts were really good, the character of Jacob and Susan were lovely, their friendship and games were wonderful. Parts of the book hadn't aged well, although from a well meaning viewpoint there was some language, descriptions and stereotypes that wouldn't be used today. There were several parts from an animal welfare and wildlifepoint of view wouldn't be used in a children's book today either, collecting eggs, pulling out feathers from live cockerels, catching lizards, I found myself skimming over some parts. Other parts were wonderful, the history of the house and it's inhabitants, historical details of that period in history, Susan's experiences of being born blind and the descriptions of her perception of the world around her was very enjoyable. I found this book had a really different feel about it. Tolly seemed different to me, his relationship with Mrs Oldknow, even the house. Most dissapointingly, the absence of Toby, Alexander and Linnet.
December 6, 2022
In the second instalment of Lucy M. Boston's Green Knowe novels, in her 1958 The Chimneys of Green Knowe (aka Treasure Of Green Knowe), Boston's featured story takes place in the springtime, around I believe Easter, and with Toseland (Tolly) returning to Green Knowe and to his great-grandmother Mrs. Oldknow full of excitement at being there once more and of course in particular with him also really eager to again speak and meet up with the ghostly children (and personal friends) Tolly encountered in The Children of Green Knowe (his English Renaissance ancestors Toby, Alexander and Linnet).
But because in The Chimneys of Green Knowe, the portrait of the three above mentioned children is missing from the wall (as it is at an exhibition and might according to Mrs. Oldknow even need to be sold in order for her to be able to afford necessary repairs to in particular Green Knowe's roof), and since it is precisely said picture of Toby, Alexander and Linnet which obviously evokes their presence at Green Knowe, its absence in The Chimneys of Green Knowe also and for Tolly very frustratingly means that Toby, Alexander and Linnet's ghostly selves are no longer inhabiting the house and the surrounding gardens (and that instead on the wall where the portrait used to hang, there now is a representation of the manor house as it was in the eighteenth century, an embroidery rendered by the then Mrs Oldknow, by Maria, using hair from the family and from the servants of that period, and with said embroidery piece and also Tolly's great-grandmother's, with the 20th century Mrs. Oldknow's own sewing, using 18th century Old Knowe fabrics, this linking Tolly in The Chimneys of Green Knowe to the 1700s, to the treasure hunting and to in particular blind Susan Oldknow and to her West Indies companion Jacob).
Now with the stories of 18th century Green Knowe Tolly's great-grandmother tells him in The Chimneys of Green Knowe about there being possible hidden treasure in the house (which if discovered could help Mrs. Oldknow's financial woes and might make her of course equally then not have to consider selling Toby, Alexander and Linnet's portrait) and about blind, miserable, denigrated and by much of the family generally despised due to her sightlessness Susan Oldknow, Tolly in The Chimneys of Green Knowe begins to actually experience these scenarios and events in person by slipping back in time and not like in The Children of Green Knowe meeting Susan, Jacob et al as ghosts in the present day (for Tolly does not just listen to his great-grandmother's stories in The Chimneys of Green Knowe, no, he in fact often actively participates in them, with 18th century Green Knowe not being basically just a portrait of the past in the present with The Chimneys of Green-Knows but a specific place and a time where both Tolly and the inhabitants of Green Knowe from the 1700s are all acting and participating).
And Susan Oldknow, who as already mentioned above has been born without sight, she is with much painful but also meticulous textual detail shown by Lucy M. Boston in The Chimneys of Green Knowe as living a blighted and horrid life of extreme and constant emotional neglect and abuse in 18th century Britain (and being generally and terribly thought of as mostly just a burden due to her blindness), with an extremely vain, superficial and egotistical mother (Maria), a generally absent (although kind enough) father, a spoilt rotten brat of an older brother (Sefton) and an overly pious and often terribly holier than thou nasty grandmother who considers Susan to be God's judgement on Maria for being vain. Therefore, with Susan Oldknow thus in The Chimneys of Green Knowe constantly told both with words and also with silence that her blindness is a terrible blow to the family’s pride, and that for her mother Maria, Susan not being able to enter high society and to be married to a successful and wealthy husband due to her able to see is absolutely terrible and also makes Maria totally consider her daughter as despicable and as something to not talk about, as something to actively conceal, well, Susan is basically not allowed to do anything at all on her own in The Chimneys of Green Knowe and is basically pretty much a prisoner in her room until her father brings back a gift from his travels, a West Indies boy named Jacob, to keep her company.
But of course, while Susan and Jacob's (who is indeed a slave and has been been in fact purchased by Susan's father) friendship in The Chimneys of Green Knowe is depicted by Lucy M. Boston as sweet, authentic and with both Susan and Jacob seeing each other as equals and being described as being equals by the author (and in particular because both are denigrated and face prejudice, Jacob because he is dark skinned and from the West Indies and Susan due to her physical challenge of being blind), I do find some of Lucy M. Boston's vocabulary choices in The Chimneys of Green Knowe more than a bit uncomfortable. But yes indeed, I am also glad that how Susan and Jacob are approached in 18th century Green Knowe has not been rendered as anachronistically positive or with 20th century political correctness so to speak in The Chimneys of Green Knowe, as authenticity and accuracy is for me totally required, absolutely necessary in good historical fiction, and Boston certainly textually achieves this with regard to Susan and Jacob and that in the 18th century, neither would have been accepted (Susan because of her sightlessness and Jacob due to his ethnicity).
Finally, for a novel published in 1958, Lucy M. Boston certainly and definitely creates with The Chimneys of Green Knowe a pretty sophisticated commentary on prejudice and one that still rings true today with her characters of blind Susan and West Indian (slave) Jacob. For while unlike in the 18th century of The Chimneys of Green Knowe, people who are sightless are today of course no longer either poor and beggars, or rich and forced to be idle (like is the case for Susan Oldknow in The Chimneys of Green Knowe), even today, blindness and other physical challenges still carry very many unfortunate stigmas, with the afflicted, with the challenged often not being taken sufficiently seriously and unable to get decent jobs etc. And while Jacob appearing as an often denigrated and abused West Indies based slave might modern readers uncomfortable, this does totally make sense in The Chimneys of Green Knowe as England still allowed slavery in the 18th century and that I really do find Lucy M. Boston's lack of extreme political correctness refreshing, that she shows a clear distaste for slavery in The Chimneys of Green Knowe but without sacrificing historical authenticity and accuracy (that the slave trade was something that in the 1700s was pretty commonplace in England, and simply a reality and one that should also not be ignored).
Not as much fun, not as entertaining and also not as historically interesting for me personally as The Children of Green Knowe is The Chimneys of Green Knowe (and with a substratum of occasional preachiness that I appreciate as an adult but that my inner child kind of resents), but still a very rewarding and delightful reading experience worth four stars and warmly recommended.
But because in The Chimneys of Green Knowe, the portrait of the three above mentioned children is missing from the wall (as it is at an exhibition and might according to Mrs. Oldknow even need to be sold in order for her to be able to afford necessary repairs to in particular Green Knowe's roof), and since it is precisely said picture of Toby, Alexander and Linnet which obviously evokes their presence at Green Knowe, its absence in The Chimneys of Green Knowe also and for Tolly very frustratingly means that Toby, Alexander and Linnet's ghostly selves are no longer inhabiting the house and the surrounding gardens (and that instead on the wall where the portrait used to hang, there now is a representation of the manor house as it was in the eighteenth century, an embroidery rendered by the then Mrs Oldknow, by Maria, using hair from the family and from the servants of that period, and with said embroidery piece and also Tolly's great-grandmother's, with the 20th century Mrs. Oldknow's own sewing, using 18th century Old Knowe fabrics, this linking Tolly in The Chimneys of Green Knowe to the 1700s, to the treasure hunting and to in particular blind Susan Oldknow and to her West Indies companion Jacob).
Now with the stories of 18th century Green Knowe Tolly's great-grandmother tells him in The Chimneys of Green Knowe about there being possible hidden treasure in the house (which if discovered could help Mrs. Oldknow's financial woes and might make her of course equally then not have to consider selling Toby, Alexander and Linnet's portrait) and about blind, miserable, denigrated and by much of the family generally despised due to her sightlessness Susan Oldknow, Tolly in The Chimneys of Green Knowe begins to actually experience these scenarios and events in person by slipping back in time and not like in The Children of Green Knowe meeting Susan, Jacob et al as ghosts in the present day (for Tolly does not just listen to his great-grandmother's stories in The Chimneys of Green Knowe, no, he in fact often actively participates in them, with 18th century Green Knowe not being basically just a portrait of the past in the present with The Chimneys of Green-Knows but a specific place and a time where both Tolly and the inhabitants of Green Knowe from the 1700s are all acting and participating).
And Susan Oldknow, who as already mentioned above has been born without sight, she is with much painful but also meticulous textual detail shown by Lucy M. Boston in The Chimneys of Green Knowe as living a blighted and horrid life of extreme and constant emotional neglect and abuse in 18th century Britain (and being generally and terribly thought of as mostly just a burden due to her blindness), with an extremely vain, superficial and egotistical mother (Maria), a generally absent (although kind enough) father, a spoilt rotten brat of an older brother (Sefton) and an overly pious and often terribly holier than thou nasty grandmother who considers Susan to be God's judgement on Maria for being vain. Therefore, with Susan Oldknow thus in The Chimneys of Green Knowe constantly told both with words and also with silence that her blindness is a terrible blow to the family’s pride, and that for her mother Maria, Susan not being able to enter high society and to be married to a successful and wealthy husband due to her able to see is absolutely terrible and also makes Maria totally consider her daughter as despicable and as something to not talk about, as something to actively conceal, well, Susan is basically not allowed to do anything at all on her own in The Chimneys of Green Knowe and is basically pretty much a prisoner in her room until her father brings back a gift from his travels, a West Indies boy named Jacob, to keep her company.
But of course, while Susan and Jacob's (who is indeed a slave and has been been in fact purchased by Susan's father) friendship in The Chimneys of Green Knowe is depicted by Lucy M. Boston as sweet, authentic and with both Susan and Jacob seeing each other as equals and being described as being equals by the author (and in particular because both are denigrated and face prejudice, Jacob because he is dark skinned and from the West Indies and Susan due to her physical challenge of being blind), I do find some of Lucy M. Boston's vocabulary choices in The Chimneys of Green Knowe more than a bit uncomfortable. But yes indeed, I am also glad that how Susan and Jacob are approached in 18th century Green Knowe has not been rendered as anachronistically positive or with 20th century political correctness so to speak in The Chimneys of Green Knowe, as authenticity and accuracy is for me totally required, absolutely necessary in good historical fiction, and Boston certainly textually achieves this with regard to Susan and Jacob and that in the 18th century, neither would have been accepted (Susan because of her sightlessness and Jacob due to his ethnicity).
Finally, for a novel published in 1958, Lucy M. Boston certainly and definitely creates with The Chimneys of Green Knowe a pretty sophisticated commentary on prejudice and one that still rings true today with her characters of blind Susan and West Indian (slave) Jacob. For while unlike in the 18th century of The Chimneys of Green Knowe, people who are sightless are today of course no longer either poor and beggars, or rich and forced to be idle (like is the case for Susan Oldknow in The Chimneys of Green Knowe), even today, blindness and other physical challenges still carry very many unfortunate stigmas, with the afflicted, with the challenged often not being taken sufficiently seriously and unable to get decent jobs etc. And while Jacob appearing as an often denigrated and abused West Indies based slave might modern readers uncomfortable, this does totally make sense in The Chimneys of Green Knowe as England still allowed slavery in the 18th century and that I really do find Lucy M. Boston's lack of extreme political correctness refreshing, that she shows a clear distaste for slavery in The Chimneys of Green Knowe but without sacrificing historical authenticity and accuracy (that the slave trade was something that in the 1700s was pretty commonplace in England, and simply a reality and one that should also not be ignored).
Not as much fun, not as entertaining and also not as historically interesting for me personally as The Children of Green Knowe is The Chimneys of Green Knowe (and with a substratum of occasional preachiness that I appreciate as an adult but that my inner child kind of resents), but still a very rewarding and delightful reading experience worth four stars and warmly recommended.
March 30, 2022
I found this book to be a treasure in itself! I so enjoyed the first Green Knowe book but loved this second book in the series. There are two storylines-one with Tolly and his great-grandmother Mrs. Oldknow and a second with Susan Oldknow and Jacob who lived in the late 18th century. Tolly comes to stay at Green Knowe for the Easter holiday, a time when the daffodils are blooming and cherry trees are in full blossom, delighted to reunite with his dog Orlando. His quest for lost treasure leads him on all sorts of adventures. Susan was a blind little girl and how she comes to "see" the world around her is a beautiful story. This is a magical story and it kept me delighted and engrossed
March 15, 2012
I enjoyed this Green Knowe book even more than the first one. Tolly is back again, spending his spring vacation with his great grandmother at Green Knowe out in the country but is somewhat upset to find that the portrait painting of the three ancestor children who he "met" as ghosts on his Christmas visit seem to have disappeared along with the portrait that his great grandmother lent to an art exhibit. He is further alarmed when she says that money is tight because the place must have repairs (it is an official heritage site and the law requires it be kept up properly)and she might sell it.
Great Grandmother Oldknow is such a treasure! I would love to have her for my own great grandma and I wouldn't mind being Tolly's mom (or sister).
L.M. Boston's descriptions of the house and grounds and especially of the animals and plants and the natural world make me want to step into the book and move in with Great Grandmother Oldknow and Tolly. Exquisite descriptions!!
Great Grandmother Oldknow gives Tolly an idea of a way to make the needed repairs on the property while saving the children's portraits. Tolly spent his evenings sitting with her as she worked on family quilts and she told him the story of one of their ancestors and his family and a lost treasure that Tolly decided to recover for her.
The story is intersperses with Tolly's own activities at Green Knowe and he actually becomes part of the story as he gets involved with events that happened long ago! The story is told of ancestors who lived around 150 years after the children did. Captain Oldknow is a sweet, kind, intelligent and fair man who is a sea captain and has to be away from Green Knowe for long periods of time. I can't even begin to imagine why he married his flighty social butterfly wife who is madly in love- with herself. Their elder child is a worthless son named Sefton who is full of himself, cruel, dishonest, and a "dandy". Their second child is sweet Susan who is born blind.
With the Captain away, poor Susan is at the mercy of a mother who is ashamed of her but who lets her come visit her room for a few minutes every night. She holds the child on her lap and lets her feel her face and jewelry. Maria openly makes hurtful remarks that she can't really dress Susan up and show her off because she is blind and complains that they can't marry her off and will be stuck with her for life. The woman who watches over her is way to protective to the point of smothering Susan. She will not allow the child to walk around unless someone holds her hand and ties her to a chair to keep her from touching anything. Susan is not allowed to have any normal experiences at all. The Captain's mother who is Susan's grandmother is a mean old religious fanatic who is cruel to the child and calls her "it".
All of this changes when the captain gets sick of it on a visit home. He hires a young man Jonathan to read to Susan and when the Captain visits an island where there has been an uprising of slaves, he is astonished when a young black boy begs him to buy him to save him from something worse. At first the captain resists. He hates slavery. In the end, he saves the sweet and charming little boy named Jacob and takes him home to be a companion to Susan.
You can probably imagine the racist uproar when he brings a "black skinned heathen", as the Captain's hateful mother refers to the child, home to live with them. Maria and Sefton are less than amused but Jonathan likes the boy and enjoys working with both children. Soon he is teaching them both to read which was an idea Jacob came up with. While Jacob can work with a slate, he had the clever idea that Susan could use bread dough to shape letters!
Sefton played cruel tricks on the boy such as having clothes made suitable for a hurdy gurdy man instead of what the Captain ordered and by forcing him to go up the chimney to find a bird Sefton lied and said he had shot. Susan and Jacob very quietly paid Sefton back by hiding one of anything he had two of (cuff links, slippers, etc) and in other ways.
Soon Tolly has met the ghost Susan back in her own time and Jacob as well and manages to be a hero then and in his own time. This is a very exciting story which I have enjoyed as an adult as much as any child would. I recommend it to all!
Great Grandmother Oldknow is such a treasure! I would love to have her for my own great grandma and I wouldn't mind being Tolly's mom (or sister).
L.M. Boston's descriptions of the house and grounds and especially of the animals and plants and the natural world make me want to step into the book and move in with Great Grandmother Oldknow and Tolly. Exquisite descriptions!!
Great Grandmother Oldknow gives Tolly an idea of a way to make the needed repairs on the property while saving the children's portraits. Tolly spent his evenings sitting with her as she worked on family quilts and she told him the story of one of their ancestors and his family and a lost treasure that Tolly decided to recover for her.
The story is intersperses with Tolly's own activities at Green Knowe and he actually becomes part of the story as he gets involved with events that happened long ago! The story is told of ancestors who lived around 150 years after the children did. Captain Oldknow is a sweet, kind, intelligent and fair man who is a sea captain and has to be away from Green Knowe for long periods of time. I can't even begin to imagine why he married his flighty social butterfly wife who is madly in love- with herself. Their elder child is a worthless son named Sefton who is full of himself, cruel, dishonest, and a "dandy". Their second child is sweet Susan who is born blind.
With the Captain away, poor Susan is at the mercy of a mother who is ashamed of her but who lets her come visit her room for a few minutes every night. She holds the child on her lap and lets her feel her face and jewelry. Maria openly makes hurtful remarks that she can't really dress Susan up and show her off because she is blind and complains that they can't marry her off and will be stuck with her for life. The woman who watches over her is way to protective to the point of smothering Susan. She will not allow the child to walk around unless someone holds her hand and ties her to a chair to keep her from touching anything. Susan is not allowed to have any normal experiences at all. The Captain's mother who is Susan's grandmother is a mean old religious fanatic who is cruel to the child and calls her "it".
All of this changes when the captain gets sick of it on a visit home. He hires a young man Jonathan to read to Susan and when the Captain visits an island where there has been an uprising of slaves, he is astonished when a young black boy begs him to buy him to save him from something worse. At first the captain resists. He hates slavery. In the end, he saves the sweet and charming little boy named Jacob and takes him home to be a companion to Susan.
You can probably imagine the racist uproar when he brings a "black skinned heathen", as the Captain's hateful mother refers to the child, home to live with them. Maria and Sefton are less than amused but Jonathan likes the boy and enjoys working with both children. Soon he is teaching them both to read which was an idea Jacob came up with. While Jacob can work with a slate, he had the clever idea that Susan could use bread dough to shape letters!
Sefton played cruel tricks on the boy such as having clothes made suitable for a hurdy gurdy man instead of what the Captain ordered and by forcing him to go up the chimney to find a bird Sefton lied and said he had shot. Susan and Jacob very quietly paid Sefton back by hiding one of anything he had two of (cuff links, slippers, etc) and in other ways.
Soon Tolly has met the ghost Susan back in her own time and Jacob as well and manages to be a hero then and in his own time. This is a very exciting story which I have enjoyed as an adult as much as any child would. I recommend it to all!
December 30, 2016
I am rereading this beloved series. I find that when I read childhood favorites as an adult, the really good books are never silly or immature. They have a long-lasting ability to draw me in and capture the wonder I had when first reading them as a child. The house and people in this series are dear friends and their stories are timeless. I loved the line Tolly said at the end: Why do people only invent things that go faster and faster, instead of finding some way way to keep it at now? The quintessential question. If only we had the answer. Perhaps it is by reading old favorites that we can achieve this - just a little.
February 1, 2019
Tolly spends his summer holiday at Green Knowe with his great-grandmother, befriends more of the house's ghosts and learns their stories.
I just love this series. So perfectly magic-in-the-everyday-ical. And I love that Charlie is enjoying it, too.
I just love this series. So perfectly magic-in-the-everyday-ical. And I love that Charlie is enjoying it, too.
December 18, 2024
The second of Tolly's adventures at his great-grandmother's house of Green Knowe. Children from the past are there again but not really in the form of ghosts. Tolly finds out about Susan and Jacob and Susan's family from his great-grandmother's stories and various artefacts he finds. And a fascinating history it turns out to be, though not one that would be published in today's environment of holier-than-thou wokedom.
The story is divided between Tolly's time, the 1950s, and the time of Susan and Jacob, the early nineteenth century. In our time Jacob's story is hard to take without wanting to shout against the injustice and cruelty he faces, for Jacob was a slave in Barbados when Captain Oldknow, Susan's father, bought him and set him free - on condition that he would be Susan's personal servant when the captain came home. Very little is said of Jacob's history. Was he born free in Africa or born a slave on a Caribbean plantation? Did he have any memory or longing for his parents? Did he have any siblings in his own life? Did he retain any memory of his own culture and language? What did he feel in his heart about being brought to a cool, wet and windy England to serve a family of complete strangers? There is an element in the text, not spoken in so many words, that suggests he should have been humbly grateful for the food, shelter and clothing he has to work hard to receive.
Susan's story is hard in a different way. She was born blind in an upper class world in which incurable infirmity, particularly among women, meant a future of demeaning spinsterhood shut away from balls, parties and the pursuit of a wealthy husband. Susan is lively and adventurous by nature, and his held back by a mother who sees her as a liability and a nanny who can only give her protection rather than love. Thankfully her father is different, which brings in the factor that rescues the story from racism.
For Susan, Jacob is just a boy. She is probably aware that he is a servant in the eyes of her family but, at ten years old, he becomes a friend very quickly. That he is black and thereby different and inferior would have had no meaning to her. Susan is blind. Skin colour does not exist. If she were to be told Jacob is black how would she know she isn't too? And what is black or white when you have never seen a colour or a human being in your life? Jacob is nice and kind and friendly. He plays with her, encourages her independence and looks after her. If Susan's older brother Sefton wants to call him a monkey and laughs at him, then Susan is as hurt as Jacob. The author could have made more of Susan's lack of a racial perspective - though perhaps not in 1958.
The story is part supernatural, part historical, and part treasure hunt. The treasure hunt is the least effective being as it is an old, tired device in British children's fiction, especially when it involves the rescue of the family's country estate and crumbling mansion. Will the treasure be found? Well, it would be a pretty dismal ending if the kids had to be told they had failed and the family home would be demolished after all. The historical side shines out, despite the presence of slavery. But that is not all, there are some lovely descriptive pieces of Tolly's wanderings around the gardens of Green Knowe, as when he pushes through the bamboo hedge and willow thickets:
"He heard a startling rushing noise close behind him, and two swans passed low overhead, the sound of their flight, once they had gone by, continuing far up the river, and in the water underneath them their reflections flew upside down. After that the world began to tick, faint tuts and chucks and little flutters, and cracklings as the birds woke up, talked in their sleep, stretched their wings, scratched their ears, and shifted their position. And all the insects did the same. Even the leaves had a look of waking up, lifting themselves a little toward the sky as it got bluer. The thrush was singing quietly now from the knob on the point of the gable, and a robin close to Tolly's ear was just trying under his breath to see if he was in voice."
All in all a wonderful little book and well worth reading.
The story is divided between Tolly's time, the 1950s, and the time of Susan and Jacob, the early nineteenth century. In our time Jacob's story is hard to take without wanting to shout against the injustice and cruelty he faces, for Jacob was a slave in Barbados when Captain Oldknow, Susan's father, bought him and set him free - on condition that he would be Susan's personal servant when the captain came home. Very little is said of Jacob's history. Was he born free in Africa or born a slave on a Caribbean plantation? Did he have any memory or longing for his parents? Did he have any siblings in his own life? Did he retain any memory of his own culture and language? What did he feel in his heart about being brought to a cool, wet and windy England to serve a family of complete strangers? There is an element in the text, not spoken in so many words, that suggests he should have been humbly grateful for the food, shelter and clothing he has to work hard to receive.
Susan's story is hard in a different way. She was born blind in an upper class world in which incurable infirmity, particularly among women, meant a future of demeaning spinsterhood shut away from balls, parties and the pursuit of a wealthy husband. Susan is lively and adventurous by nature, and his held back by a mother who sees her as a liability and a nanny who can only give her protection rather than love. Thankfully her father is different, which brings in the factor that rescues the story from racism.
For Susan, Jacob is just a boy. She is probably aware that he is a servant in the eyes of her family but, at ten years old, he becomes a friend very quickly. That he is black and thereby different and inferior would have had no meaning to her. Susan is blind. Skin colour does not exist. If she were to be told Jacob is black how would she know she isn't too? And what is black or white when you have never seen a colour or a human being in your life? Jacob is nice and kind and friendly. He plays with her, encourages her independence and looks after her. If Susan's older brother Sefton wants to call him a monkey and laughs at him, then Susan is as hurt as Jacob. The author could have made more of Susan's lack of a racial perspective - though perhaps not in 1958.
The story is part supernatural, part historical, and part treasure hunt. The treasure hunt is the least effective being as it is an old, tired device in British children's fiction, especially when it involves the rescue of the family's country estate and crumbling mansion. Will the treasure be found? Well, it would be a pretty dismal ending if the kids had to be told they had failed and the family home would be demolished after all. The historical side shines out, despite the presence of slavery. But that is not all, there are some lovely descriptive pieces of Tolly's wanderings around the gardens of Green Knowe, as when he pushes through the bamboo hedge and willow thickets:
"He heard a startling rushing noise close behind him, and two swans passed low overhead, the sound of their flight, once they had gone by, continuing far up the river, and in the water underneath them their reflections flew upside down. After that the world began to tick, faint tuts and chucks and little flutters, and cracklings as the birds woke up, talked in their sleep, stretched their wings, scratched their ears, and shifted their position. And all the insects did the same. Even the leaves had a look of waking up, lifting themselves a little toward the sky as it got bluer. The thrush was singing quietly now from the knob on the point of the gable, and a robin close to Tolly's ear was just trying under his breath to see if he was in voice."
All in all a wonderful little book and well worth reading.
December 21, 2022
Tolly returns to Green Knowe for the Easter holidays, but his beloved companions of the 16th century -- Alexander, Toby and Linnet -- have gone. The painting of these children, now ghosts or "others", is on display as part of an exhibition, and they can't visit the house when it's not there. On top of this, Tolly's great-grandmother worries that she will have to sell the painting, because her house is in desperate need of repair. Tolly is devastated, but all is not hopeless: he sets out on a quest to find the lost treasures of late 18th century Green Knowe, and in doing so, meets other children who once loved this house.
The children Tolly learns about are Susan and Jacob: Susan is a blind girl, born in the later 18th century, and Jacob is her companion, a young Black boy, who was brought back to England by Susan's father. I was a little worried about how a book written in 1958 would handle themes of race and disability, but Boston gives a very positive portrayal, within the constraints of the language of her time, and an accurate depiction of the 18th century. She explores Susan's world -- its limitations and its possibilities -- and demonstrates Susan's need for independence and autonomy. Boston's descriptions of the beauty of Green Knowe are given depth by Susan's experience of the place. Susan's father is a sea captain, and he meets 9-year-old Jacob in Barbados, and purchases him with the intention of bringing him back to England where he can grow up to be a free man. Within this context, it's hard to know whether Jacob will ever be entirely free or have the autonomy he deserves, but Boston's depiction of him as an intelligent, quick-witted and free-spirited boy, who helps Susan to explore the countryside and become independent, is compelling and respectful, and this works as both a children's story of its time, and a timeless edition to children's literature. The most unfortunate element are the drawings, in which Jacob is very much a caricature.
Overall, The Chimneys of Green Knowe is a good example of how, if authors approach subjects with openness and respect, their work can stand the test of time, even if it has dated features. This the opposite of Elizabeth Goudge's 1964 Linnets and Valerians, which is heedless of the autonomy of Black or disabled people. This is a lovely book, which I'd recommend.
The children Tolly learns about are Susan and Jacob: Susan is a blind girl, born in the later 18th century, and Jacob is her companion, a young Black boy, who was brought back to England by Susan's father. I was a little worried about how a book written in 1958 would handle themes of race and disability, but Boston gives a very positive portrayal, within the constraints of the language of her time, and an accurate depiction of the 18th century. She explores Susan's world -- its limitations and its possibilities -- and demonstrates Susan's need for independence and autonomy. Boston's descriptions of the beauty of Green Knowe are given depth by Susan's experience of the place. Susan's father is a sea captain, and he meets 9-year-old Jacob in Barbados, and purchases him with the intention of bringing him back to England where he can grow up to be a free man. Within this context, it's hard to know whether Jacob will ever be entirely free or have the autonomy he deserves, but Boston's depiction of him as an intelligent, quick-witted and free-spirited boy, who helps Susan to explore the countryside and become independent, is compelling and respectful, and this works as both a children's story of its time, and a timeless edition to children's literature. The most unfortunate element are the drawings, in which Jacob is very much a caricature.
Overall, The Chimneys of Green Knowe is a good example of how, if authors approach subjects with openness and respect, their work can stand the test of time, even if it has dated features. This the opposite of Elizabeth Goudge's 1964 Linnets and Valerians, which is heedless of the autonomy of Black or disabled people. This is a lovely book, which I'd recommend.
Read
March 17, 2024Lucy Boston’s writing is wonderful, and I love the relationship between the child Tolly and the childlike Mrs Oldknow, Tolly’s great grandmother, who both share a deeply rooted love for their ancestral home and the ghosts who people it. If anyone thinks history is a stagnant, dull thing, put this book in their hands. History is closer to us than we think, and I love that Tolly and his great-grandmother move freely in the mysterious realm of time and space that we modern people so often think of in merely scientific terms.
I especially loved the arch of Susan’s story in this novel. She is a blind young girl and there are characters who clearly treat her as less than or needing to be coddled and characters who delight in seeing her enter fully into the world around her. Susan’s father, Captain Oldknow, is a refreshingly devoted father to her. Along with Tolly, I also had many new thoughts about what being blind would be like and how one could still experience the world in all its beauty and variety.
I was surprised by a plot line involving the good-hearted Captain Oldknow who purchases a slave boy on a voyage to Barbados and brings him back to Green Knowe as a companion for Susan. The boy’s name is Jacob and he is a wonderfully vivid character. The horror of slavery in Barbados is portrayed clearly and yet is sensitively written for a young reader. Those who treat Jacob with cruelty back in England are decisively in the wrong, Susan’s odious older brother being one of these. I think readers today would not be happy with the end of Jacob’s story, though during his time and possibly during Boston’s time too, it would be considered a happy ending. The bond between Susan and Jacob is one of the best parts of the book.
I especially loved the arch of Susan’s story in this novel. She is a blind young girl and there are characters who clearly treat her as less than or needing to be coddled and characters who delight in seeing her enter fully into the world around her. Susan’s father, Captain Oldknow, is a refreshingly devoted father to her. Along with Tolly, I also had many new thoughts about what being blind would be like and how one could still experience the world in all its beauty and variety.
I was surprised by a plot line involving the good-hearted Captain Oldknow who purchases a slave boy on a voyage to Barbados and brings him back to Green Knowe as a companion for Susan. The boy’s name is Jacob and he is a wonderfully vivid character. The horror of slavery in Barbados is portrayed clearly and yet is sensitively written for a young reader. Those who treat Jacob with cruelty back in England are decisively in the wrong, Susan’s odious older brother being one of these. I think readers today would not be happy with the end of Jacob’s story, though during his time and possibly during Boston’s time too, it would be considered a happy ending. The bond between Susan and Jacob is one of the best parts of the book.
May 27, 2013
It was not until I began to read Treasure at Green Knowe, the second volume in L.M. Boston’s charming Green Knowe series, that I realized just how much I had missed Tolly; his great-grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow; and the spectral Toby, Linnet and Alexander, who died of bubonic plague 300 years before Tolly was born. I absolutely loved Children Of Green Knowe, a delight for adults as well as children, and none of the magic has disappeared in this volume, which originally appeared in 1958 under the title The Chimneys Of Green Knowe.
My only disappointment is that, while Tolly and the kind, understanding Mrs. Oldknow are back, Linnet, Toby and Alexander are missing — literally! Tolly has returned to Green Knowe for the Easter break, just a few months after his first visit the previous Christmas. Mrs. Oldknow has dispatched their portrait to a museum exhibition, and the ghosts have gone with the painting. However, Boston makes up for that loss by introducing two new characters: blind Susan Oldknow and Jacob, a slave boy from Barbados who was redeemed by Susan’s kind-hearted and upright father, Captain Oldknow, and who serves as Susan’s helper and companion. The pair lived at the very end of the 18th century, and they’re both about Tolly’s age. In the course of the book, these new ghosts befriend Tolly, and they help him search for a treasure that was lost during their day. Poor Mrs. Oldknow feared that she would have to sell the portrait of Alexander, Linnet and Toby to keep the roof from literally caving in, and, this being a beautiful fable, there’s never any doubt that Susan and Jacob will come through just in time.
With romances and children’s books, the end comes as no surprise; the enjoyment comes not from a surprise at the destination but in the journey. You won’t regret taking the journey delineated by Treasure at Green Knowe.
My only disappointment is that, while Tolly and the kind, understanding Mrs. Oldknow are back, Linnet, Toby and Alexander are missing — literally! Tolly has returned to Green Knowe for the Easter break, just a few months after his first visit the previous Christmas. Mrs. Oldknow has dispatched their portrait to a museum exhibition, and the ghosts have gone with the painting. However, Boston makes up for that loss by introducing two new characters: blind Susan Oldknow and Jacob, a slave boy from Barbados who was redeemed by Susan’s kind-hearted and upright father, Captain Oldknow, and who serves as Susan’s helper and companion. The pair lived at the very end of the 18th century, and they’re both about Tolly’s age. In the course of the book, these new ghosts befriend Tolly, and they help him search for a treasure that was lost during their day. Poor Mrs. Oldknow feared that she would have to sell the portrait of Alexander, Linnet and Toby to keep the roof from literally caving in, and, this being a beautiful fable, there’s never any doubt that Susan and Jacob will come through just in time.
With romances and children’s books, the end comes as no surprise; the enjoyment comes not from a surprise at the destination but in the journey. You won’t regret taking the journey delineated by Treasure at Green Knowe.
December 19, 2018
A historical and environmental conservationist whose focus is so often on a sense of place and the feeling we get in these spaces, Boston's second book, for me, is, ironically, one that may be stuck in the time in which it is written. Chimneys sees Tolly's second visit to Green Knowe riddled with a mystery involving the hunt for some missing jewels that are required to keep the site afloat due to maintenance costs.
As with The Children of Green Knowe, Tolly is enveloped in both present and past and Mrs. Oldknow is his guide, both historically and, perhaps, spiritually. Rather than the ghostly presences of Alexander, Toby and Linnet, this time, Toby's time-slip companions are Susan and Jacob. Susan, who is blind, lives at Green Knowe during the reign of George the 3rd and is cared for and supported by Jacob, a black child brought back by her father from the West Indies.
For me, I felt as if Boston's politics had changed from being a custodian of time and place to one with a more humanitarian message in wanting to challenge racial stereotypes of the time. Jacob is central to the text and, first published in 1958, would have made for a rare character: a black page in the start of the 19th century brought to life in the middle of the twentieth. He is also strong, defiant when needed to be and someone who does more good for Susan than anyone else.
What Boston does in challenging stereotypes around his character is possibly brave and important for its time but now it reads as clumsy and awkward, as does her representation of travelers who come across as part Romany and part Irish tinker.
I was also sad to see that Tolly's presence was more as a tool for supporting Mrs. Oldknow in recounting Jacob and Susan's story rather than seeing Tolly 'grow' and learn from the house.
As with The Children of Green Knowe, Tolly is enveloped in both present and past and Mrs. Oldknow is his guide, both historically and, perhaps, spiritually. Rather than the ghostly presences of Alexander, Toby and Linnet, this time, Toby's time-slip companions are Susan and Jacob. Susan, who is blind, lives at Green Knowe during the reign of George the 3rd and is cared for and supported by Jacob, a black child brought back by her father from the West Indies.
For me, I felt as if Boston's politics had changed from being a custodian of time and place to one with a more humanitarian message in wanting to challenge racial stereotypes of the time. Jacob is central to the text and, first published in 1958, would have made for a rare character: a black page in the start of the 19th century brought to life in the middle of the twentieth. He is also strong, defiant when needed to be and someone who does more good for Susan than anyone else.
What Boston does in challenging stereotypes around his character is possibly brave and important for its time but now it reads as clumsy and awkward, as does her representation of travelers who come across as part Romany and part Irish tinker.
I was also sad to see that Tolly's presence was more as a tool for supporting Mrs. Oldknow in recounting Jacob and Susan's story rather than seeing Tolly 'grow' and learn from the house.
July 19, 2020
And so on to my second visit to Green Knowe and I have to admit that this book was not as an easy or enjoyable read as the first. There are several reasons I can think for this - from the fact that the it was more set in the past around a defined group of characters and less in the current times. The story was more brutal and oppressive (even for a children's story) where by the main two characters were victimised and abused - now I appreciate that this was not only reflective of what happened in the time the story was set and sadly to a lesser degree reflected the time in which it was written but still I found it difficult reading especially since this was presented as a children's story/
I think also and this may seem strange but part of the charm was the house itself - and here it feels like it too was suffering - both in how it was presented and its physical state - which I felt was partly due to help develop the plot.
Either way I am glad I read this book - as now am the wiser for it - one of my favourites I do not think so/
I think also and this may seem strange but part of the charm was the house itself - and here it feels like it too was suffering - both in how it was presented and its physical state - which I felt was partly due to help develop the plot.
Either way I am glad I read this book - as now am the wiser for it - one of my favourites I do not think so/
May 20, 2022
This one is interchangeably titled The Treasure of Green Knowe and The Chimneys of Green Knowe, just for clarification. (And both titles fit so I have no preference!) I love this book even more than the first one in the series. The idea of family connections going both forward and backward through time and allowing for interactions with each other is priceless and something that I have always longed for and it is presented perfectly in this novel. I am especially appreciative of the fact that the two adults in this boy's home life believe in these visitations and interactions. It is always refreshing to me when the adults are not portrayed as disbelieving ninnies. I never got any further in the series than the first two novels but I am going to finish the series this year. It is absolutely delightful.
January 7, 2016
Three and a half stars. At first I thought I wouldn't like this volume as much as the first, but I did. Each installment seems to be so different from the others; in this one, Tolly and Great-Grandma are the same but the 17th century painting is gone, replaced by an 18th century one. Of course it comes with its own ghosts and encounters. This time Tolly gets to play a larger part in the life of the past. For some strange reason I was strongly reminded of an American "ghost" story, The Ghost of Opalina
However there are a few oddnesses, which is probably why Boston is careful not to be too specific about the years the "past" takes place in. Somewhere a date in the late 1700s is mentioned, though, so when I read about the gypsy woman having a cageful of betcherrigahs (budgerigars), I thought "oops!" Because the very first budgerigar was not taken to England until about 1840 by John Gould, and captive breeding didn't really get started till 10 years later. There were a couple of things of that kind which pulled me up short and made me think, "No, that's wrong." I know that the blind have much sharper senses than those who can see (and perhaps, our visual input overrides some of the other senses)...but could Susan seriously have smelled the horses arriving--from inside the house?
Who IS Great-Granny, anyway? Not too many women of that age can run around climbing trees and squeezing into underground hideouts. Is she real, or part of the mystery? Again, the ending seemed a bit rushed, but hey, better that than to have it rattle on and become tiresome.
And having inadvertently started Vol 3 before this one, after reading Vol 2 I am wondering . I guess I'll find the answer when I read it all.
However there are a few oddnesses, which is probably why Boston is careful not to be too specific about the years the "past" takes place in. Somewhere a date in the late 1700s is mentioned, though, so when I read about the gypsy woman having a cageful of betcherrigahs (budgerigars), I thought "oops!" Because the very first budgerigar was not taken to England until about 1840 by John Gould, and captive breeding didn't really get started till 10 years later. There were a couple of things of that kind which pulled me up short and made me think, "No, that's wrong." I know that the blind have much sharper senses than those who can see (and perhaps, our visual input overrides some of the other senses)...but could Susan seriously have smelled the horses arriving--from inside the house?
Who IS Great-Granny, anyway? Not too many women of that age can run around climbing trees and squeezing into underground hideouts. Is she real, or part of the mystery? Again, the ending seemed a bit rushed, but hey, better that than to have it rattle on and become tiresome.
And having inadvertently started Vol 3 before this one, after reading Vol 2 I am wondering . I guess I'll find the answer when I read it all.
December 19, 2025
Audiobook. Tolly is back visiting at Greene Knowe, and he and his great-grandmother explore more family stories as she mends old patchwork quilts. The family stories seem less fresh and more contrived than in The Children of Green Knowe, but there is still much to enjoy. As the narrator, Simon Vance creates the atmosphere of Green Knowe and cozy evenings of storytelling by the fire.
November 11, 2015
I love the stories that Granny tells to Tolly about the old house and the family.
Home on Spring break, Tolly explores the old house and looks for treasure.
We meat cousin Susan and her friend Jacob.
The narration by Simon Vance is mesmerizing. I cannot wait to start the next one.
Home on Spring break, Tolly explores the old house and looks for treasure.
We meat cousin Susan and her friend Jacob.
The narration by Simon Vance is mesmerizing. I cannot wait to start the next one.
October 25, 2017
Love this series of children's books, which are full of mystery and magic. The house at Green Knowe touches bother the present and the past as the backdrop of the adventures of Tolly, a young boy who comes to live there between school terms.
July 29, 2021
I really wanted to love this book. I enjoyed the first one and I really liked the movie based off this book in particular. However there were several times that I lost interest and after a while I was picking it up just to get it finished. Isn't that sad? I hate when reading becomes a chore.
I liked Susan and Johnathan, the time travel and history aspects but overall, this just wasn't enjoyable. I felt that the part where they found the jewels, which should have been a high point and perhaps expanded on a bit more, wasn't given it's due. For the most part the story focused on retelling the past, but I would have liked to see more communication between Tolly and the ghosts like there was in book 1.
Overall it's not a bad book. It's just not for me.
I liked Susan and Johnathan, the time travel and history aspects but overall, this just wasn't enjoyable. I felt that the part where they found the jewels, which should have been a high point and perhaps expanded on a bit more, wasn't given it's due. For the most part the story focused on retelling the past, but I would have liked to see more communication between Tolly and the ghosts like there was in book 1.
Overall it's not a bad book. It's just not for me.
August 27, 2018
This is a nice very light children's adventure story. Not much happens as far as action goes, but Tolly is visiting his grandmother on holiday and learns about Green Knowe, the house he is staying at, through stories and exploring. I enjoyed listening to this lots.
December 28, 2011
Extremly well written and compelling. However, not nearly as wonderful or wonder full as the first. Is that because we know what to expect? Perhaps. The first story was exquisite in its simplicity and wrapped in a sure and flawless prose. This second novel has more mystery and new characters both good and evil. L. M. Boston is a truly gifted writer. Enjoy.
Read
March 30, 2017I guess I must have read this at some point, since I remember the part about the blind girl her stupid brother and his horrible friend forcing the slave boy to climb the chimney. I don't remember the rest with Tolly and his grandmother and the treasure, though, and I don't feel interested enough to reread it.
December 18, 2009
I'm not saying this is my favorite because I think I like the first one best but I have always been fascinated by the embroidery done with hair in this book!
June 3, 2017
The present-day stuff was predictable and kind of boring, but the stories from the past were wonderful.
July 21, 2020
For being written in 1954 and having a young Black boy as one of the central characters and writing about an even more systemically racist period (tw for slavery and one or two borderline slurs and multiple racist attitudes), the author does a really good job pointing out blatant evils of the slave trade and the racist attitudes of many towards people of color while still keeping it on a child appropriate level. there's period typical transliteration of Jacob's speech which is a style that feels problematic to read today, but by and large this holds up to a re-read in a way a lot of the books of my childhood did not, and the overall Vibe of it is still just as cosy as I remember.
I would only make ONE edit and it is, of course, that Susan doesn't marry Jonathan (who only barely turns up in the story anyway) and she and Jacob just stay best friends living together in the Knowe ruins for the rest of their lives, happily single.
I would only make ONE edit and it is, of course, that Susan doesn't marry Jonathan (who only barely turns up in the story anyway) and she and Jacob just stay best friends living together in the Knowe ruins for the rest of their lives, happily single.
January 16, 2024
A couple of things to note before reading:
Includes stories of a family history in the late 1700s, with a depiction of racism in England at the end of the legal slave trade there. Any slurs and negative descriptions are spoken by clearly villianous characters and the hero characters are anti-slavery, anti-racism. Except in the case of gypsies or Travelers as I believe they're referred to now. The depiction of those peoples is a negative stereotypical representation and should be acknowledged as incomplete and biased.
Otherwise, the delightful ghost encounters and even crossing between historical time periods is a sweet read.
Includes stories of a family history in the late 1700s, with a depiction of racism in England at the end of the legal slave trade there. Any slurs and negative descriptions are spoken by clearly villianous characters and the hero characters are anti-slavery, anti-racism. Except in the case of gypsies or Travelers as I believe they're referred to now. The depiction of those peoples is a negative stereotypical representation and should be acknowledged as incomplete and biased.
Otherwise, the delightful ghost encounters and even crossing between historical time periods is a sweet read.
August 13, 2024
Elements of this book are pure magic. I particularly enjoyed the house and seemingly endless secret passages and hiding spaces that thrilled me as an adult and would have captivated me if I'd read it as a child. However, and it's a big however, it has really not aged well at all. While the intention is well meaning and an attempt to challenge racism, by todays standards, it is still shocking in both in it's language and general treatment of anyone who isn't white.
I'm also annoyed i don't know who started the fires!? Or did I miss something?
I'm also annoyed i don't know who started the fires!? Or did I miss something?
June 8, 2023
A great sequel to the first Children of Green Knowe book.
I read this in preparation for our visit to The Manor at Hemmingford Grey, the family owned former home of Lucy M. Boston and the very house that the books are based on.
Lucy Boston's writing style is unlike any modern children's books and is just fantastically exciting even as an adult. A great read and looking forward to continuing the series.
I read this in preparation for our visit to The Manor at Hemmingford Grey, the family owned former home of Lucy M. Boston and the very house that the books are based on.
Lucy Boston's writing style is unlike any modern children's books and is just fantastically exciting even as an adult. A great read and looking forward to continuing the series.
October 3, 2024
I enjoyed this, but nowhere near as much as the first book, I'd forgotten how much this one had dated and how much it kind of dragged on.
As a child, this was my least favourite Green Knowe story, and as an adult, it remains so.
I love Tolly and his adventures, though, and his wonderful grandmother.
As a child, this was my least favourite Green Knowe story, and as an adult, it remains so.
I love Tolly and his adventures, though, and his wonderful grandmother.
October 22, 2022
The story was okay but this is very much a racist book from another time.
November 26, 2022
Charming in a classic really old book that is definitely not PC sort of way. Not sure if it was worth my time... if anything makes it worth reading it would be Susan and Jacob's friendship.
A couple uses of the "gd" word.
I didn't realize until after I read it that it was the second in the series, oops.
A couple uses of the "gd" word.
I didn't realize until after I read it that it was the second in the series, oops.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews