Im Schatten der Eule.

by B.B., Denys Watkins-Pitchford

A Classic in its field!

Genres: Fiction, Nature, Childrens, Adventure, Classics, Animals, Cozy

Pocket Book

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

See also Denys Watkins-Pitchford

Denys James Watkins-Pitchford MBE was a British naturalist, children's writer, and illustrator who wrote under the pseudonym "BB" and also used D.J. Watkins-Pitchford.

Denys Watkins-Pitchford was born in Lamport, Northamptonshire on the 25th July 1905. He was the second son of the Revd. Walter Watkins-Pitchford and his wife, Edith. His elder brother, Engel, died at the age of thirteen. Denys was himself considered to be delicate as a child, and because of this was educated at home, while his younger twin, Roger, was sent away to school. He spent a great deal of time on his own, wandering through the fields, and developed a love of the outdoors, which was to influence his writing. He had a great love of the outdoors and enjoyed hunting, fishing and drawing, all these things were to influence his writing greatly. At the age of fifteen, he left home and went to study at the Northampton School of Art. He won several prizes while there, but was irked by the dry, academic approach, and longed to be able to draw from life.

While at the Northampton School of Art, Denys won a travelling scholarship to Paris. He was later to say that he could not remember how long he had spent in Paris, but Quinn suggests (p. 50) that it was probably about three months. He worked at a studio in Montparnasse, and attended drawing classes. It is unknown exactly where he studied. In the autumn of 1924, he entered the Royal College of Art in London. In 1930 he became an assistant art master at Rugby School where he remained for seventeen years. While at Rugby School he was to begin contributing regularly to the Shooting Times and start his career as an author and illustrator. He wrote under the nom de plume of '"BB"', a name based on the size of lead shot he used to shoot geese, but he maintained the use of his real name as that of the illustrator in all his books. He later illustrated books by other writers, and sold his own paintings locally.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been described by a fair few reviewers as a book 'every boy should read' - as if girls are a separate species. This was my mother's favourite book as a child when first published towards the end of WWII. She recommended it to me and it's probably my favourite older child's book.

Set between the wars in England three boys run away and live in the extensive forest Brendan Chase for a year. It's nostalgic, both for a social period before the car completely took over: of horse and carts, dusty lanes, vicars with picnic basket and butterfly nets - but also a time when wildlife was more prolific and children were used to roaming.

BB describes the nitty gritty of hunting rabbits and birds and fishing to survive and the seasons with the forest with such beauty it's one for those books I return to each year.

Dated? Perhaps. These days an adult committee would re-write to tick all the boxes of non-exclusion: no hunting, one of the children as a girl and one of them would have a different social class.

Most children reading this will see it's intended message: the loss of nature and our intimacy with it, the freedom of youth and the shortness of childhood. That makes it sound worthy. It isn't. It's just a beautiful story.

[J.J. Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estoy leyendo estas novelas británicas al revés.

Si son seguidores de esta cuenta (o del contenido que genero) probablemente sepan que uno de los libros que más amo en la vida es El Señor de las Moscas. Supongo que es un libro súper "edgy" y de las pocas novelas clásicas (o clásicos contemporáneos, más bien) que alguien puede ser obligado a leer en la escuela y disfrutar enormemente. Para mí, lo que siempre he disfrutado de la obra maestra de Golding ha sido la negación de la idea del buen salvaje y en cambio, la afirmación de que la violencia y la agresión son naturales en el ser humano y que nuestras instituciones resultan una salvaguarda muy frágil para nuestros bajos instintos.

Golding escribió El Señor de las Moscas como una antítesis de una novela llamada "La Isla de Coral" donde tres muchachos terminan en una isla desierta y se las arreglan bastante bien. Tal novela es tan pasada que no vale mucho la pena mencionarla. Pero estoy divagando. El infame prolegómeno sólo era para mencionar que Brendon Chase, una novela muy posterior a La Isla de Coral, posee en aspectos algo de la moralidad subyacente a ésta, que Golding encontró tan chocante. Y que leer la antítesis a los dieciséis años para leer luego algo parecido al original al doble de esa edad es algo curioso.

Brendon Chase grita a los cuatro vientos ser muy chapada a la antigua. Pero antigua en serio. Tres hermanos, para "dejar ser gobernados por mujeres" durante las vacaciones de Semana Santa que pasan en casa de su tía solterona, deciden escaparse a vivir al bosque. Y les va bien. Vivir de la tierra sin mayores complicaciones estilo McCandless salvo algunas que el autor pone por aquí y por allá con una mezcla de humor y aventura. Eso incluye vivir de la caza y la pesca. Hay tabaco y alcohol. y buen espíritu y gentileza. Los hermanos se hablan entre ellos de "dear old boy" o similares. Inocencia.

Debatir sobre qué sobrevive o qué vale la pena de la moralidad subyacente es un debate cansino y odioso en los tiempos que corren. Ponerse a pensar qué va a decir la gente de una novela donde tres muchachos británicos de familia acomodada se escapan a vivir deliberadamente en 1910 me amarga un poquito. Porque creo que si alguien le pone peros por eso se va a perder de una novela muy bonita (aunque de trama calculada, lenta y a veces melosa).

Yo me voy a quedar con dos cosas: y las dos tienen que ver con Denys Watkins-Pitchford, el autor. La primera es la melancolía con la que describe al mayor de los hermanos, Robin. Robin es un muchacho meditabundo e introvertido, embelesado por la belleza del mundo natural y un gran lector de Walden. Aquí es donde encontré algo de lo más interesante: este espíritu es neta y flagrantemente estadounidense y se entremezcla con los aspectos normales de una novela juvenil británica escrita al estilo victoriano-eduardiano. Si uno está acostumbrado a conocer de ambas culturas "outdoors" (en América Thoreau, John Muir, el primer Roosevelt, Yosemite, el Club Sierra y la Revista Outside. En Europa Kipling, Baden-Powell, el Bosque Nuevo, Milne, la revista Boy's Own y El Libro Peligroso para los Chicos) puede entretenerse y hasta maravillarse de cómo el autor las unió para hacer algo nuevo e interesante. Es un mash-up que nunca había visto.

Por otro lado tenemos algo que uno sólo va a entender si lee de la vida del autor. Watkins-Pitchford (o BB como es su pseudónimo) fue un ávido outdoorsman que creció como un niño enfermizo. Tanto como para ser aislado de otros niños y ser educado en casa. Su único escape en la vida era salir a la naturaleza en largos paseos solitarios. Amante de la caza, la pesca y el dibujo. Profesor de arte en una prestigiosa Escuela Pública (en el Reino Unido, "escuela pública" significa escuela de paga de élite como Eton o Hogwarts y "escuela estatal" lo que en cualquier otro lado significa escuela pública). Cuando escribió Brendon Chase, Watkins-Pitchford decidió llamar al protagonista, Robin, igual que su primogénito, otro niño enfermizo que moriría de un mal renal a los siete años. Aquí es cuando se me atora la garganta. Un aspecto clave a la hora de medir lo que leo es el "intento del autor". Cuando entiendo cómo un autor vierte sus añoranzas en palabras y las ejecuta con gracia es cuando aplaudo.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years (8 to be exact) I've wanted to read this book. Ever since reading "A Child Alone: The Memoirs of B.B" I've wanted to get my grubby paws on it. And the thing is - I must be Bookerella, because I have a Fairy Book Mother who made it appear at my door!!! She has performed this sort of magic many times and I hope when she reads this she feels proper good.

The book was all I knew it would be. The story every kid (well, every nature nutkin anyway) wants to live. Running away to live in the woods.

It's a kind of love story. A love for exploration, for nature in all its forms, for the opportunity to be a part of it - to find one's way in it. B.B. was in love with the thought, every word shows it.

"A wild moon hung in the sky, a moon in its last quarter, over whose pallid face flying clouds were
hurrying, hurrying, urgently, in flocks of wool.And across that fitful light, the whipping branches rocked and swayed, the numberless last leaves flew."

Beautiful. And there's his illustrations too. The perfect compliment.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve given this five stars, even though it probably wasn’t really a five star read, because it was just so unusual. Three boys decide to run away from home and to go and live in the woods. That’s it that’s the whole book. It thrilled my heart, and made me feel like a child again.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

From his very first stories for children, Denys James Watkins-Pitchford (or B.B.) has written about the natural world and resonate with his naturalist's passion for wildlife and the countryside. Published in 1944, Brendon Chase is no exception. The story tells of three brothers, from a wealthy family, who wish nothing more than to live in the forest (chase) on the edge of the family estate rather than be steered off to boarding school. As the Summer holidays comes to a close and their Aunt begins preparations for their trip to school, the two eldest boys busily prepare to hide in the forest and live off whatever nature puts in their path. Cue the beginning of a grand adventure that many of us can only dream of.

What the boys learn whilst in hiding in the chase over the Summer months and beyond is more than I think I have learned in a lifetime and if I had been a young child reading this then I would have found it more magical and beguiling than any high fantasy novel. It is a beautiful adventure made richer by B.B.s own excellent drawings.

Beautifully written with a host of characters right out of a high-Dickens novel, Brendon Chase is an absolute marvel. Whilst I am lucky to have lived a life close to that of the boys growing up, with regards to their play with and exploration of the natural world, I wonder what the children of today might make of it. I would hope it open them to the wonders of a world that is never too far away - no matter how urban their setting.

[Josie Jaffrey]

Such a wonderful adventure book, which I loved as a child. Some of it is very dated now, of course, but the writing is gorgeous and compelling.

[Pete F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I discovered a book called Brendon Chase, written by an author who used the pseudonym, B.B, real name Denys Watkins-Pitchford. B.B. had a deep love and knowledge of nature and forest lore. But, and this may seem like a contradiction nowadays, he was also a hunter. He shot animals but not for pleasure or so-called sport, but for food and pelts. This love and knowledge of nature and hunting comes out in this novel. Written ostensibly for children, it is one of those timeless classics, like The Wind in the Willows and Swallows and Amazons, that adults can enjoy.

The book was published in 1944 but the action was set in an unspecified time, before the war, probably in the 1920s. Three brothers of school age run away from their humdrum life split between their aunt and boarding school, to live as outlaws in a large forest called Brendon Chase, a few miles away, while their parents are away in India. Initially relying on some stores of food they brought from the house and a gun with which to shoot animals for food, they eventually run out of their stores of food and have to survive entirely on the harvest of the forest.

They become hunter-gatherers. They live by fishing, shooting and trapping rabbits and birds and even an escaped pig, foraging and gathering honey from wild bees. They learn to butcher, skin and preserve meat. They learn to make clothes out of skins. They come to love the forest on which they depend. But they know it can't last forever and that eventually they will have to return to civilisation and face the music. They spend about eight months in the forest.

The adults in the story play a minor role and mostly of a comic nature, especially the bumbling policeman who loses his trousers while taking a dip in a pond. But the boys become friends with a woodsman, a charcoal burner known as Smokoe, who lives in a shack in the forest, who grows and hunts all his own food. Apart from Smokoe and a sympathetic doctor, the adults represent boring civilisation, almost totally divorced from nature, and the boys represent the wild. Unlike the boys in Lord of the Flies, they do not revert to savagery but are very responsible, and mostly kill only to feed and clothe themselves.

This is a marvellous novel about wildlife and humans living a wild life in nature, but written as it was in the 1940s, many modern readers will dislike the scenes in which birds' nests are raided for eggs, or when butterflies are hunted or an animal is skinned. But in that respect it is a book of its time before the age of animal rights and environmentalism. Reading books from another age can often challenge our more enlightened attitudes, for example on racial stereotypes, although in this book there are barely any references to race, the main challenges being on the hunting issue. For all this, it is an enjoyable book and I loved the artwork, produced by the author himself, and for this reason, it is a book to keep on one's shelf long after one has read it.

[furorefelix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Als Kind habe ich alles gelesen, was ich Zuhause im Bücherregal oder aber in der Stadtbibliothek gefunden habe. Über die Jahre gab es immer ein Buch, an das ich denken musste, welches ich damals geliebt habe. Ich konnte es aber weder finden, noch mich an den Titel erinnern. Was ich noch wusste: Ein Mädchen haut von ihrer Tante ab und lebt in einem Baumstamm in einem Wald. Mehr wusste ich nicht mehr. Ich hab auf TikTok gefragt, ja sogar ChatGPT gefragt, was das für ein Buch ist und irgendwie kannte das niemand. Ich hab bestimmt 6-7 Jahre rumgegrübelt und hatte keinen Plan.

Vor zwei Monaten hatte ich dann Besuch von meinem Vater und durch Zufall kam ich auf das Buch und meinte, dass ich einfach nicht rauskriege, was es war.
Turns out: Er wusste direkt welches Buch ich meine. Es waren nämlich 3 Brüder und nicht eine Mädchen, die in den Baum flüchteten. Es war nämlich das Buch aus seiner Kindheit, was ich damals bei uns Zuhause gefunden und gelesen habe. In weniger als einer Minute hab ich dann auch den Titel herausgefunden:
Im Schatten der Eule von B.B.

Jetzt habe ich das Buch nach sicherlich über 10 Jahren endlich wieder gelesen. Mein Vater schickte es mir per Post zu. Habe es die letzten 3 Tage durchgelesen und bin ganz glücksehlig.

Erzählerisch ganz toll. Tolles Setting!! an manchen Stellen bisschen schlecht gealtert, aber hey es ist von 1982, zumindest die deutsche Übersetzung.


4,7/5

[Mireille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leuk boek voor jongens op de basisschool vanaf 10 jaar. Drie jongens besluiten aan kostschool en hun tante te ontsnappen en een jaar lang in een bos te overleven d.m.v. de jacht en visserij. De voorliefde voor natuur komt in dit verhaal duidelijk naar voren. Blijkbaar is er in de jaren 1980 een tv-serie van gemaakt. Doet enigszins denken aan Tonke Dragt en Pippi Langkous.

[Willo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite children's book. I still remember the joy of discovering it in my local library. I read it aloud to each of my four children as they grew up, no book has given me more pleasure.

[Little Miss Netty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story and the descriptions of nature were a delight, but knocked one star off for the dated references to women, thankfully there were only a few.

[Hannah Conner · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first the narrative seemed rather unbelievable because the boys were too lucky in their woodland adventures. But as the book went on things assumed better proportions. A very enjoyable read. The boys were said to be 15, 13, and 12, though, and the eldest seemed younger than a 15 year old. I think the characters were written more like 13, 12, and 10 year olds.

[marleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars because of nostalgia

[Jodie O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

3boys run away from home to be Robin Hood and his merrymen. Hunt, survive on land and meet Joe before returning.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently discovered the wonderful publisher Jane Nissen Books when hunting for reprints of hard-to-find children's books (notably books by Cynthia Hartnett). Nissen has also reprinted a couple of Penelope Lively's best works, _The House at Norham Gardens_ and _The Voyage of QV66_ (two of my favourites). I chose _Brendon Chase_ having read _The Little Grey Men_ and its sequel _Down the Bright Stream_ last year(both reprinted by Oxford).

_Brendon Chase_ tells the story of three brothers who run away from an elderly aunt during the holidays (their guardian while parents are in India) and live in the woods for 3 seasons, hunting rabbits with snares and shooting game with a rifle they'd taken with them. Although the book was originally published in 1944, it's clear that it's set in pre-war times (1929, I read somewhere). When I read this book last week I was reminded of my father and his generation, in a time when a boy's proper study outside school was nature and survival (back when a boy scout earned a Poultry Badge -- now they've got one in Agribusiness).

I have read very little on the life and writing career of B.B. (Denys Watkins-Pitchford) but will keep my eyes open for them in the future. There's a certain Englishness in his love for the natural world that reminds me of writers like Ivor Gurney, Izaak Walton, and maybe even Thomas Traherne (this may just be my imagination).

[Marianne Brouwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wat een prachtig avonturenboek is dit.
De setting van het verhaal is een ongerept stuk loofbos, Brendon Chase in Engeland,
waar 3 broers in overleven,nadat ze zijn weggelopen bij hun weinig sympathieke tante.
De natuurbeschrijvingen zijn zo gedetailleerd en mooi dat ik echt een paar dagen op vakantie ben geweest. Je kan merken dat de schrijver heel veel affiniteit met de natuur heeft. De interactie tussen de broers maakt het verhaal levendig en het contrast van de gekozen vrijheid van de broers en de betuttelende en bemoeizuchtige personages uit het dorp maakt het verhaal amusant. Er loopt nog een heel authentiek persoon in het bos, Smoko Joe, die hun grote vriend wordt en de jongens helpt de winter door te komen. Naast het boek heb ik ook 6 uur naar de televisieserie gekeken op you-tube en dat was ook hartstikke leuk. Het bijzondere is dat het boek al in 1945 is geschreven en nu voor het eerst is vertaald in het Nederlands. Die vertaling is m.i. erg goed gelukt!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is probably one of my all-time favourites. I've re-read it many times and still enjoy losing myself in the world of runway boys escaping from their guardian maiden aunt and evading capture for months whilst living in the heart of an old hollowed out oak in the middle of Brendon Chase. It appealed to the adventurous nature of the the 11 year old me when I first read it and hasn't really lost any of its charm. It's obviously dated but in some ways that adds to its character as it places it firmly in a place and time that has long since passed.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was never a dull moment. Even in the last few pages when I was waiting for the time that the boys would give themselves up, there was always an exciting event.

This will definitely be a favourite.

[Kharis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite!

[Rafael Martín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious return to pure nature and innocence. A fresh breathing to realize that at the bottom we are just tamed children.

[Christine Mathieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the TV series more than the book.

[Kristin]

My 8 year old son read it and liked it

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three boys become fed up of living with their fussy, over-controlling aunt while their parents are overseas, so at the close of the Easter Holidays, "just when the meadows and woods were most alluring", they escape to live a self-sufficient life in nearby woodland. First published in 1944, the events are meant to take place forty years' previously - a 1904 setting does make it a little more believable that three schoolboys would be able to survive living rough for so long without being found.

I can see why this book would have been so popular when it was first published, although now I suspect that its greatest fans will be nostalgic adults looking fondly back on a childhood favourite. I found the first few pages a little too 'flowery' in tone, although once we got into the account of the boys' escape from the Dower House and of how they set up camp in Brendon Chase, it became much more interesting. Squeamish readers should note that woodland self-sufficiency involves a lot of shooting, fishing and trapping, so if you don't like hearing about animals being killed, this is definitely not the book for you! But there are no gory details, and the boys use everything they kill for food or clothing, so personally, it doesn't bother me.

Neither did I have any issue with the absence of main female characters, and I don't think this would have bothered me as a child either. But I did really dislike the tone that BB uses towards the fringe female characters, for example: "[Women] aren't made like us, old man; they just can't keep a secret poor dears." Could you be any more patronising, BB?

The pace picks up in the latter half, cramming several dramatic or funny episodes into relatively few pages, but the ending feels rushed and perfunctory. I don't know whether BB was writing to a strict time or page limit, but there is a definite feel of "Oh help, I need to finish the story NOW. Err, ok, 'so they all lived happily ever after, The End'" about it!

The scraperboard illustrations are classic BB and it's well worth getting hold of a copy of this book just to enjoy the artwork. But overall, not one of my favourite BB titles - I think I'll stick to alternating between 'The Forest of Boland Light Railway' and his travel books in future.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three brothers, staying with their aunt over school holidays, get fed up with her strict rules and decide to run away to the eponymous woods. With the help of an old hermit also living in Brendon Chase, they manage spectacularly well and stay on for several months.
Think My Side of the Mountain (the boys' part of the story) meets the country-living characters in Jeeves & Wooster (as an example, there's a particularly funny scene in which the local constable goes for a swim and the boys hide his clothing in the vicar's car while the vicar, all unwitting, chases butterflies with his net).

[Lincoln Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodness, how times have changed! This boyhood adventure would be over in hours today, tracked down by helicopter-mounted heat sealing cameras. It's a take I recall reading as a child and as a classic, thought it worthy of a read once again.

It was.

A tale of murder and survival, near capture and evasion from cover to cover, all based from the comfort of a hollow oak tree.

Loved it.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is written beautifully and the descriptions are amazing. There isn't much to the story other than a lot of animals being killed and skinned! It is certainly of its time, in content and technique, so I would say it will more likely appeal to nostalgic adults rather than modern kids. I love classic children's lit but I didn't really love this one.

[Houlahan houlahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this a few times over the years. One of my favourite childhood books. I love the sense of adventure you get from the boys who go off to the woods to for the best part of a year. You get a sense of the reverance for the wild life the author clearly held. The idea of beautiful, untouched wilderness captures the imagination vividly.
Truly magical.

[Grant Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. Narrative could've been tightened a little, but overall a very good book.

[Becky Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three runaway brothers live like Robin Hood and his merry men, deep in the forest. A classic story of survival and adventure from the author of The Little Grey Men

[Ginna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful. Great adventure, wonderful nature writing-- I didn't want it to end!