Jill, Lone Guide

by Ethel Talbot, Alice Bush (Illustrator)

When Jill set out to find a new home her only companion was Diddums, for Jill would not be parted from her beloved cat. And, strange to say, Diddums, her Mascat as Jill called him, had an astonishing part to play in the lone guide's strugles and welfare.

118 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

A prolific English children's author, known primarily for her girls' school stories, Ethel Mary Talbot was born in 1880, in Sutton Coldfield. She was the daughter of Hugh Talbot, and his wife, Margaret Ellen Turrell, committed members of the Plymouth Brethren, and had at least eight sisters and one brother. The family moved frequently, and little is known of Talbot's early years, or her education. As an adult, she settled in Edinburgh, where she shared a house with her friend and fellow school story author E.M. de Foubert, from 1914 to 1916. Talbot remained in Edinburgh until the 1930s, at which point she moved to London. During WWII she moved to Hayward's Heath, where she died in 1944.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had vaguely heard of Lone Guides while I was a Guide, but never knew of any; they lived too far from a Company to attend meetings. Jill lives in England and while she is sixteen, this book is in many ways identical to the social history books we now read, about girls who needed to earn a living and encountered various areas of society.

Jill keeps house for her brother, but he has got promotion so he can be married. Jill needs to clear the space and find her own life, and sets off to a relative but that lady dies suddenly, leaving Jill without a home. She falls in with friendly young people she can help, and looks for 'a situation' meaning a job in housework. Most homeowners are 'already suited' (you will know the jargon if you have read Monica Dickens's 'One Pair of Hands') but she finds a place in need of a maid. A variety of difficulties ensue. Most of them involve hard work. Jill has a black cat, a boy cat variously described as he or she, depending on who is talking, as many people called cats she. The cat seems expected to live on milk and nobody comments on whether it's a good mouser, so maybe it wasn't polite to mention pests in the kitchen.

The book is nicely done to show us a quiet girl becoming self reliant and Jill already has resources as she has gained various Guide badges like needlework, while she cheers herself up by thinking of other Guides. A troop of Sea Guides in the city (a frequent theme for this author) gets a mention.

I enjoyed the read. This is an unbiased review.

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Utterly bonkers. I mean for a start she’s not actually a guide - there is no pack near her so she follows the rules and wants to be one without actually being one. And then there’s the string of insane coincidences though the story. But it was a fun hour of reading!

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Jill, who through perseverance and good will manages to bring luck and happiness to all around her. Basically it's a book with the message that everything will come right if you have the right attitude to life. It was a quick read but still enjoyable, slightly later dated than I usually like for books like these, so that's probably why I didn't go the full five stars.