Echo Valley

by Elinor Lyon, Mary Dinsdale (Illustrator)

A mystery set in Wales, an emerald necklace hidden for the sweetheart of a man who was killed at sea. Music threads through the plot, and old Welsh songs are the key to the unraveling of the secret by Jenny and Rowena.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Elinor Bruce Lyon was an English children’s author whose quietly influential novels combined adventure with emotional intelligence and a strong sense of place. Drawing on her Scottish heritage and wartime experiences, she wrote stories often set on remote coasts in Scotland and Wales, where landscapes shaped character as much as plot. Her books are especially noted for their balanced portrayal of gender, featuring resourceful girls, thoughtful boys, and shared leadership grounded in empathy, justice, and independence. Educated in England and briefly serving as a radar operator during the Second World War, Lyon later devoted herself to writing, producing more than twenty children’s novels between the late 1940s and the mid 1970s. Among her best known works are the Ian and Sovra series, inspired by the Highlands and admired for their realism, moral depth, and understated tension. Though she largely escaped critical attention during her lifetime, her work earned the praise of writers such as Walter de la Mare and has since been rediscovered through reprints and international translations. Today, Lyon is regarded as a distinctive voice in postwar British children’s literature, valued for blending adventure with psychological insight and humane values.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jenny Ash and Rowena Meredith, two young girls living near the small Welsh village of Llangower, are caught up in a mystery involving a lost emerald necklace, and a tragically thwarted love affair from many year before, in this engaging story from Elinor Lyon. When the two girls discover a dusty old painting in the attic of Pensarn House, the grim mansion where Jenny lives with her caretaker mother, they set about restoring it, discovering an odd series of musical notations along its borders that turn out to be an important clue in solving the mystery. As they slowly become acquainted with the neighbor, old Miss Russell - Anne Russell, who once taught school in the village, and who was engaged to Rowena's great-uncle David Meredith, before he was lost at sea - they learn that her story is connected to the mystery as well...

This second novel I have read from Elinor Lyon, a mid-twentieth-century English children's writer whose work seems today to be mostly out-of-print - the first was Sea Treasure - reminded me a bit of the work of Ruth M. Arthur, which (from me) is high praise indeed. Echo Valley is aptly named, not just because music plays an integral role in the story, but because echoes of the past also crop up throughout the book. It is this quality that reminded me of Arthur, and which gave the story a certain poignancy that was missing from Sea Treasure . Even the artwork here, done by Mary Dinsdale, reminded me a bit of the illustrations by Margery Gill, to be found in almost every Arthur title. All in all, this was a solidly engaging book, with an engaging cast - I particularly liked wild young David, with his good heart, and stern Miss Russell, with her unexpected kindness - an interesting setting, and a few moments of real emotional power. More than enough to convince me to give Elinor Lyon another try!

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

According the the front of the book and one of the inside front pages, this is one of the “Merit Mystery” books.

The other three Elinor Lyon books I’ve read all took place primarily in the Scottish Highlands. This story takes place in Wales. My favorite of the four books is the first one I read: Run Away Home, but I’ve enjoyed all of them.

I wasn’t grabbed by the mystery which was rather weak, but it great fun nevertheless. The mentions of the Welsh and English folk songs I found very interesting. The Welsh setting and the characters both are very appealing.

I really didn’t like the way the dog was treated though.

This is a comfort book, as are all the Elinor Lyon books I’ve read. It’s interesting how young people of thirteen are depicted: resourceful, independent-minded, and adventurous, yet naïve about some matters compared to modern thirteen year olds. This book was published in 1965, later than the other three books, which I believe were all published in the1950s, but these young people are shown more as children than adolescents.

I really did enjoy this and I’ll keep Elinor Lyon’s other books in mind for my constantly growing to-read shelf.

Oh, and I don't want to neglect mentioning that Elinor Lyon's illustrations in this and her other books add immeasurably to the joy of reading them. I think that my favorite illustration in this book might be the one where Rowena is shown at the piano.

[CLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rowena and Jenny find a painting in the attic of the house that once belonged to Rowena's family, and follow musical clues to solve an old mystery and bring happiness to an old woman who believed she was abandoned by her fiance before he sailed to his death.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am glad to have read this book. It's not quite in the same vein as Green Grow the Rushes but an excellent one non the less. Rowena is shown to be slightly more human and Jenny a little tougher than the first book. Their friendship still runs strong throughout the book. And what's not to love about missing emeralds!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent sequel to Green Grow the Rushes. Another fine Welsh tale.