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Torminster Saga #3
The Blue Hills
Back to beloved cathedral town of Torminster in the early years of this century.
One golden afternoon, Henrietta Ferranti, along with her family and friends, sets out for young Hugh Anthony's birthday party, and he's going to celebrate with the people he loves best, young and old alike. The day begins with a wish and ends with a revelation after a magical mystery tour. A procession of landaus and victorias, plus one motor car, are bound for the Blue Hills and Hugh's picnic. Whatever the reason, each of the horses and ponies carrying them mysteriously lost on its way to the Blue Hills.
As each of the partygoers ventures into an enchanted forest where legend becomes reality and their wildest dreams come true, and by the time the travelers meet again over tea and iced birthday cake, they have had such adventures. Adventures such that none of them is the same person. They are wiser, nicer and much happier. The innocent birthday picnic becomes the adventure of a lifetime and no one will ever be the same again.
One golden afternoon, Henrietta Ferranti, along with her family and friends, sets out for young Hugh Anthony's birthday party, and he's going to celebrate with the people he loves best, young and old alike. The day begins with a wish and ends with a revelation after a magical mystery tour. A procession of landaus and victorias, plus one motor car, are bound for the Blue Hills and Hugh's picnic. Whatever the reason, each of the horses and ponies carrying them mysteriously lost on its way to the Blue Hills.
As each of the partygoers ventures into an enchanted forest where legend becomes reality and their wildest dreams come true, and by the time the travelers meet again over tea and iced birthday cake, they have had such adventures. Adventures such that none of them is the same person. They are wiser, nicer and much happier. The innocent birthday picnic becomes the adventure of a lifetime and no one will ever be the same again.
157 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1942
4 people are currently reading
606 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Goudge
65 books898 followersElizabeth Goudge was an English author of novels, short stories and children's books.
Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on 24 April 1900 in Wells, Somerset, in Tower House close by the cathedral in an area known as The Liberty, Her father, the Reverend Henry Leighton Goudge, taught in the cathedral school. Her mother was Miss Ida Collenette from the Channel Isles. Elizabeth was an only child. The family moved to Ely for a Canonry as Principal of the theological college. Later, when her father was made Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, they moved to Christ Church, Oxford.
She went to boarding school during WWI and later to Arts College, presumably at Reading College. She made a small living as teacher, and continued to live with her parents. During this time, she wrote a few plays, and was encouraged to write novels by a publisher. As her writing career took off, she began to travel to other nations. Unfortunately, she suffered from depression for much of her life. She had great empathy for people and a talent for finding the comic side of things, displayed to great effect in her writing.
Goudge's first book, The Fairies' Baby and Other Stories (1919), was a failure and it was several years before she authored Island Magic (1934), which is based on Channel Island stories, many of which she had learned from her mother, who was from Guernsey. After the death of her father, Goudge and her mother went to Devon, and eventually wound up living there in a small cottage. There, she wrote prolifically and was happy.
After the death of her mother, and at the wishes of Goudge's family who wished her to live closer to them, she found a companion who moved with her to Rose Cottage in Reading. She lived out her life there, and had many dogs in her life. Goudge loved dogs, and much preferred their company to that of humans. She continued to write until shortly before her death, when ill health, successive falls, and cataracts hindered her ability to write. She was much loved.
Goudge was awarded the Carnegie Medal for The Little White Horse (1946), the book which J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter stories, has said was her favorite as a child. The television mini-series Moonacre was based on The Little White Horse. Her Green Dolphin Country (1944) was made into a film (under its American title, Green Dolphin Street) which won the Academy Award for Special Effects in 1948.
A Diary of Prayer (1966) was one of Goudge's last works. She spent her last years in her cottage on Peppard Common, just outside Henley-on-Thames, where a blue plaque was unveiled in 2008.
Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on 24 April 1900 in Wells, Somerset, in Tower House close by the cathedral in an area known as The Liberty, Her father, the Reverend Henry Leighton Goudge, taught in the cathedral school. Her mother was Miss Ida Collenette from the Channel Isles. Elizabeth was an only child. The family moved to Ely for a Canonry as Principal of the theological college. Later, when her father was made Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, they moved to Christ Church, Oxford.
She went to boarding school during WWI and later to Arts College, presumably at Reading College. She made a small living as teacher, and continued to live with her parents. During this time, she wrote a few plays, and was encouraged to write novels by a publisher. As her writing career took off, she began to travel to other nations. Unfortunately, she suffered from depression for much of her life. She had great empathy for people and a talent for finding the comic side of things, displayed to great effect in her writing.
Goudge's first book, The Fairies' Baby and Other Stories (1919), was a failure and it was several years before she authored Island Magic (1934), which is based on Channel Island stories, many of which she had learned from her mother, who was from Guernsey. After the death of her father, Goudge and her mother went to Devon, and eventually wound up living there in a small cottage. There, she wrote prolifically and was happy.
After the death of her mother, and at the wishes of Goudge's family who wished her to live closer to them, she found a companion who moved with her to Rose Cottage in Reading. She lived out her life there, and had many dogs in her life. Goudge loved dogs, and much preferred their company to that of humans. She continued to write until shortly before her death, when ill health, successive falls, and cataracts hindered her ability to write. She was much loved.
Goudge was awarded the Carnegie Medal for The Little White Horse (1946), the book which J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter stories, has said was her favorite as a child. The television mini-series Moonacre was based on The Little White Horse. Her Green Dolphin Country (1944) was made into a film (under its American title, Green Dolphin Street) which won the Academy Award for Special Effects in 1948.
A Diary of Prayer (1966) was one of Goudge's last works. She spent her last years in her cottage on Peppard Common, just outside Henley-on-Thames, where a blue plaque was unveiled in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
May 14, 2025
Every time I think Goudge can't outdo herself with children's literature. Every time she proves me blissfully wrong!
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"No Paradise? Have you no eyes, no nose, no ears? Have you not seen flowers growing, heard birds singing, smelt wet earth? Have you no heart to feel the beauty of these things? Where do you keep your heart, my dear sir? In a paper bag? Good Heavens! Dear me! Did you not realise that these things are green shoots pushing through winter earth, shouting out aloud the promise of the joy to come? And how they shout! No deafness, not even yours, my dear sir, is an excuse for not hearing. They shout so loud about it that one might almost say they are the joy to come. Paradise is already present in these things, my dear sir, even as March daffodils dancing in the wind are present in the green shoots of February..." (171)
"And then gratitude took the place of her shame and her sobs subsided. She might not have made her pretty clothes, but they were on her, covering her nakedness. She might not have bought the lovely things in the house, but they were about her, giving her joy. She might not have built her house, but its roof was over her, giving her shelter, and her gratitude to the giver of her warmth and her shelter and her joy came breaking over her like a great bright wave of eagerness, making her jump up to her feet and run to the door and out into the passage that she might find him and fling her arms round his neck and kiss him and say thank you." (213)
-----
"No Paradise? Have you no eyes, no nose, no ears? Have you not seen flowers growing, heard birds singing, smelt wet earth? Have you no heart to feel the beauty of these things? Where do you keep your heart, my dear sir? In a paper bag? Good Heavens! Dear me! Did you not realise that these things are green shoots pushing through winter earth, shouting out aloud the promise of the joy to come? And how they shout! No deafness, not even yours, my dear sir, is an excuse for not hearing. They shout so loud about it that one might almost say they are the joy to come. Paradise is already present in these things, my dear sir, even as March daffodils dancing in the wind are present in the green shoots of February..." (171)
"And then gratitude took the place of her shame and her sobs subsided. She might not have made her pretty clothes, but they were on her, covering her nakedness. She might not have bought the lovely things in the house, but they were about her, giving her joy. She might not have built her house, but its roof was over her, giving her shelter, and her gratitude to the giver of her warmth and her shelter and her joy came breaking over her like a great bright wave of eagerness, making her jump up to her feet and run to the door and out into the passage that she might find him and fling her arms round his neck and kiss him and say thank you." (213)
October 25, 2023
3.5 stars
This book goes by two names: the one above and The Blue Hills. It is the third in the Torminster saga which began with A City of Bells and features one of my all-time favorite literary characters, Henrietta. She had a small role in the first book, but featured prominently in the second, The Sister of the Angels, which though very different than the first is wonderful in its own way as well.
I am not quite sure what it is about Henrietta which appeals to me so much, but I think it is that she is so loving herself. It was enjoyable to return to Torminster and visit with all the familiar folk from the previous two books. It is a good wrap-up to the series, though a bit on the mystical side. I think I liked the other two books better, but I am still glad I read this.
This book goes by two names: the one above and The Blue Hills. It is the third in the Torminster saga which began with A City of Bells and features one of my all-time favorite literary characters, Henrietta. She had a small role in the first book, but featured prominently in the second, The Sister of the Angels, which though very different than the first is wonderful in its own way as well.
I am not quite sure what it is about Henrietta which appeals to me so much, but I think it is that she is so loving herself. It was enjoyable to return to Torminster and visit with all the familiar folk from the previous two books. It is a good wrap-up to the series, though a bit on the mystical side. I think I liked the other two books better, but I am still glad I read this.
February 15, 2008
This is a re-reading of one of the Torminster trilogy about Henrietta & Hugh Anthony who live with their grandparents in the cathedral close. Most of the events take place on a single summer day when a large party leaves to go on a picnic to celebrate Hugh Anthony's birthday. I love the way Elizabeth Goudge comfortably entwines the spiritual & down-to-earth aspects of life. Grandfather lectures the stranger who claims there is no paradise, or heaven, but Henrietta gets her dream house, too, rich in satisfying domestic detail, from ornaments in the drawing room to dishes in the kitchen, clothes & accessories & a red-wicker laundry basket in the bathroom to put them in when she wants to change. This dreaming day is one when nearly all the invited guests have adventures, explore secret places & find out about themselves & others. It may be my favorite of the three. The others are Sister of the Angels & City of Bells.
June 17, 2025
Absolutely delightful!
In the spirit of George MacDonald!
If you liked The Little White Horse or Anne of Green Gables or any fairy tale, really, you won't be disappointed!
"…for what is a poet but a recorder of visions from another world? To all poets, whether they record with paint and ink, or hammer and chisel, or paintbrush and canvas, I take off my hat, for their recorded visions are vessels into which can flow the wine of another country for the thirsty to drink. But for the poets, my dear sir, we would all perish of thirst."
~ the Old Gentleman
In the spirit of George MacDonald!
If you liked The Little White Horse or Anne of Green Gables or any fairy tale, really, you won't be disappointed!
"…for what is a poet but a recorder of visions from another world? To all poets, whether they record with paint and ink, or hammer and chisel, or paintbrush and canvas, I take off my hat, for their recorded visions are vessels into which can flow the wine of another country for the thirsty to drink. But for the poets, my dear sir, we would all perish of thirst."
~ the Old Gentleman
November 1, 2018
It wouldn't do for me not to read at least one Elizabeth Goudge book this year. This was a short but delightful read, just the spoonful of beauty, charm, and whimsy that I needed. It's a book about the very young and the very old, and having a good and humble heart. I enjoy how the story infuses real life with a fairy-tale feel, reminding us that the presence of virtue and paradise in this world show the reality of Heaven.
As always with Goudge's novels, Henrietta's House tells a layered story where the plot and many of the characters have a double or sometimes triple meaning and function. For example, Henrietta is herself, a sweet little girl in the early 1900s, but she also takes on the role of the little girls in fairy tales in this "modern-day, real-life" fairy tale. Most of the action takes place in one day--young Hugh Anthony's birthday--but it's a day full of surprises and mystery where hearts are changed and wishes come true.
As always with Goudge's novels, Henrietta's House tells a layered story where the plot and many of the characters have a double or sometimes triple meaning and function. For example, Henrietta is herself, a sweet little girl in the early 1900s, but she also takes on the role of the little girls in fairy tales in this "modern-day, real-life" fairy tale. Most of the action takes place in one day--young Hugh Anthony's birthday--but it's a day full of surprises and mystery where hearts are changed and wishes come true.
August 18, 2018
A delightful, more juvenile read, almost a fairy tale (indeed, it does end with the words "happily ever after"). Loving family, eccentric characters (including a modern equivalent of an evil wizard), woodland adventures, underground escapades and mystery and philosophical reflections sprinkled throughout, with of course, a most happy ending.
One little gem I found in the pages was a list of (likely Goudge's) top 20 books for a young person to read:
"Henrietta took books from the shelves with a certainty that quite surprised the Old Gentleman. The Water Babies and Alice in Wonderland, Undine and The Pilgrim's Progress, Jackanapes and Little Women, The Fairchild Family and A Flat Iron for a Farthing, The Back of the North Wind and The Princess and Curdie went into the basket with startling rapidity, followed by Uncle Remus, Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, The Swiss Family Robinson, Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book, his Red One and his Green One, Mary's Meadow, Lob-lie-by-the-Fire, The Wind in the Willows and The Cocky-Olly Bird.
Isn't that enough?' gasped the Old Gentleman.
'Yes, I think that's all,' said Henrietta, counting them.
'You seem to know exactly what is required,' said the Old Gentleman with much respect.
'Yes,' said Henrietta. 'My father and I have often talked it over. We decided that if a person of my age had a library of twenty books those are just the twenty the person would want.'
One little gem I found in the pages was a list of (likely Goudge's) top 20 books for a young person to read:
"Henrietta took books from the shelves with a certainty that quite surprised the Old Gentleman. The Water Babies and Alice in Wonderland, Undine and The Pilgrim's Progress, Jackanapes and Little Women, The Fairchild Family and A Flat Iron for a Farthing, The Back of the North Wind and The Princess and Curdie went into the basket with startling rapidity, followed by Uncle Remus, Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, The Swiss Family Robinson, Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book, his Red One and his Green One, Mary's Meadow, Lob-lie-by-the-Fire, The Wind in the Willows and The Cocky-Olly Bird.
Isn't that enough?' gasped the Old Gentleman.
'Yes, I think that's all,' said Henrietta, counting them.
'You seem to know exactly what is required,' said the Old Gentleman with much respect.
'Yes,' said Henrietta. 'My father and I have often talked it over. We decided that if a person of my age had a library of twenty books those are just the twenty the person would want.'
February 1, 2021
I read Goudge's The Little White Horse as a child, which is a novel full of magic and charm. I didn't know about Henrietta's House until recently, but I was very curious to see if it shared anything with The Little White Horse. Goudge, born in 1900, was the daughter of a vicar, and lived in the town of Wells in her childhood. Henrietta's House, published in 1942, is, in some ways, a revisiting of her childhood: Henrietta is adopted by an elderly vicar, and lives with him and his wife. She is a happy child, but she dreams of having a house of her own, which she can fill with her favourite people, and decorate as she wishes. Due to a number of coincidences and magic, her wish is granted. In Goudge fashion, this book is full of charming eccentrics, surprises and coincidences, intelligent dogs, and many mouth-watering descriptions of food. The countryside is beautiful and everyone means well, even bandits of old. There is also a strong sense of the religious: much of the tension of this narrative is centred around the idea of pride coming before a fall, and that happiness can only be found by being humble before god. This is a theme in The Little White Horse too. Overall, I was very fond of this book, but at times it was either too religious for my tastes, or pushed beyond whimsy and became simply twee.
October 19, 2010
I loved this book! I had no idea of what it would be like, as it was another one off my shelves. It is a magical tale of two children and a number of adults - adventures and the way they change. It is thoughtful, gently humorous, and very satisfying. Maybe it is a children's book - but it is one I'll keep and reread.
January 21, 2025
This one is not as nuanced and deep as City of Bells or even Sister of the Angels, but it is very charming and warm. Centered around Henrietta's dream house, it speaks to her need, and the need in all of us, for stability and permanence as well as a place where one feels safe and loved. The other main theme is growth through hardship, particularly shown in the humbling of the arrogant dean when he has an frightening adventure with Hugh Anthony. But all of the characters are changed on the fateful day when they are lost looking for the picnic spot Hugh Anthony has chosen for his birthday. Secondary themes woven throughout are the tension between modern and old-fashioned (especially demonstrated by the car Jocelyn and Felicity have purchased) and the similarity between "real" life and fairy tales. Again, although this last book in the Torminster trilogy is not as thought-provoking as its predecessors, it is an enjoyable conclusion. I appreciated spending more time with the characters, especially grandfather and the Old Man. Goudge had an amazing gift for creating endearing elderly male characters. And, as usual, I long to be in her settings. The descriptions of the forest are indeed like a fairy tale.
Memorable quotes:
8 It is very difficult to do right in this world...she was always coming up against a state of affairs in which whatever she did was bound to be wrong.
9 The choice, as so often, was between two evils...one of those lightning decisions that are typical of the really great.
10 ...narrow beautiful streets where tall houses leaned across to talk to each other.
15 ...a bookseller's serene and owlish expression, due to absorbing the wisdom of books day in and day out until at least he could not help being wise as an owl himself, and the happy but rather surprised eyes of the prince in the fairy tale who has married the princess, and finds that "happily ever after" is not just a pretty phrase but a state of existence that one can really enjoy.
19 The very old and the very young have something in common that makes it right that they should be left alone together. Dawn and sunset see stars shining in a blue sky.
20 The books on the shelves, now that they were no longer on show for customers to look at, seemed to sigh a little and lean back comfortable like people settling themselves in their armchairs after the day's work is over.
26 "By the grace of God the most surprising good does suddenly spring up in the middle of naughtiness."
42...deep within him the laughing imp who lives in all of us to mock our insincerities woke up suddenly, and crowed with amusement, and dug the Dean in the ribs.
48 ...though it is supposed to be best to be ordinary, and one is happier that way, un-ordinary people like Mrs. Jameson are interesting and give variety to life.
59 "Grandfather says everyone's dreams come true in the end."
72 ...away to the shimmering distance, with that perfect slab of blue on the horizon where the sea lay like the doorstep of heaven itself.
75 Being high up in the hills does make people forget...for the world of men drops away below like a stone thrown down into a pond, and the things that belong to the world of men...drop away with it.
83 "Happy the man who lives long enough to acknowledge his ignorance.
92 "Have you not seen flowers growing, heard birds singing, smelt wet earth? Have you no heart to feel these things?...shouting out aloud the promise of the joy to come?...They shout so loud...one might almost say they are the joy to come. Paradise is already present in these things."
93 "...don't you dare disparage fairy tales...relating miraculous happenings as though they were the normal events of every day, is a humble acknowledgment that this universe is a box packed full of mysteries of which we understand nothing at all."
"Fairyland and Paradise, they're the same place, and always with us."
Grandfather always made a distinction between the person and the person's deplorable views...and they felt the love even while writhing beneath the anger.
94 There is no power in the world like the power in a man's mind.
104 "...when a man loses his pride he often finds his heart."
124 "Then it's not my house," said Henrietta sadly. "Things don't belong to you if you don't pay for them."
"Duffer!" said her father. "Did you pay for the sunshine, or the starlight, or this sweet and habitable earth?...it's all yours...free gift from God."
125 There is always magic in an orchard.
129 Like all fairy tale people, and fairy tales themselves, he was trustworthy...you can always trust...the fairy tale itself to make everybody happy on the last page. The good qualities of fairy folk, weighed in the balance against their bad ones, tip the scales every time.
130 "...for what is a poet but a recorder of visions of another world?"
131 "...the fairy world is my favorite among the many worlds of mystery."
132 ...I...quench my thirst for Paradise at those vessels that human hands have made."
156 ...people with fairy blood always have something elusive about them.
Memorable quotes:
8 It is very difficult to do right in this world...she was always coming up against a state of affairs in which whatever she did was bound to be wrong.
9 The choice, as so often, was between two evils...one of those lightning decisions that are typical of the really great.
10 ...narrow beautiful streets where tall houses leaned across to talk to each other.
15 ...a bookseller's serene and owlish expression, due to absorbing the wisdom of books day in and day out until at least he could not help being wise as an owl himself, and the happy but rather surprised eyes of the prince in the fairy tale who has married the princess, and finds that "happily ever after" is not just a pretty phrase but a state of existence that one can really enjoy.
19 The very old and the very young have something in common that makes it right that they should be left alone together. Dawn and sunset see stars shining in a blue sky.
20 The books on the shelves, now that they were no longer on show for customers to look at, seemed to sigh a little and lean back comfortable like people settling themselves in their armchairs after the day's work is over.
26 "By the grace of God the most surprising good does suddenly spring up in the middle of naughtiness."
42...deep within him the laughing imp who lives in all of us to mock our insincerities woke up suddenly, and crowed with amusement, and dug the Dean in the ribs.
48 ...though it is supposed to be best to be ordinary, and one is happier that way, un-ordinary people like Mrs. Jameson are interesting and give variety to life.
59 "Grandfather says everyone's dreams come true in the end."
72 ...away to the shimmering distance, with that perfect slab of blue on the horizon where the sea lay like the doorstep of heaven itself.
75 Being high up in the hills does make people forget...for the world of men drops away below like a stone thrown down into a pond, and the things that belong to the world of men...drop away with it.
83 "Happy the man who lives long enough to acknowledge his ignorance.
92 "Have you not seen flowers growing, heard birds singing, smelt wet earth? Have you no heart to feel these things?...shouting out aloud the promise of the joy to come?...They shout so loud...one might almost say they are the joy to come. Paradise is already present in these things."
93 "...don't you dare disparage fairy tales...relating miraculous happenings as though they were the normal events of every day, is a humble acknowledgment that this universe is a box packed full of mysteries of which we understand nothing at all."
"Fairyland and Paradise, they're the same place, and always with us."
Grandfather always made a distinction between the person and the person's deplorable views...and they felt the love even while writhing beneath the anger.
94 There is no power in the world like the power in a man's mind.
104 "...when a man loses his pride he often finds his heart."
124 "Then it's not my house," said Henrietta sadly. "Things don't belong to you if you don't pay for them."
"Duffer!" said her father. "Did you pay for the sunshine, or the starlight, or this sweet and habitable earth?...it's all yours...free gift from God."
125 There is always magic in an orchard.
129 Like all fairy tale people, and fairy tales themselves, he was trustworthy...you can always trust...the fairy tale itself to make everybody happy on the last page. The good qualities of fairy folk, weighed in the balance against their bad ones, tip the scales every time.
130 "...for what is a poet but a recorder of visions of another world?"
131 "...the fairy world is my favorite among the many worlds of mystery."
132 ...I...quench my thirst for Paradise at those vessels that human hands have made."
156 ...people with fairy blood always have something elusive about them.
May 11, 2022
One of my favorite books ever! Henrietta's House, by Elizabeth Goudge, is so whimsical and is about a family/friends picnic that turns into a fantastical adventure full of charm and coziness. I love the settings of woods, old houses, gardens, flowers, and tea parties. This is a book to read and enjoy over and over again.
February 3, 2020
I just finished rereading The Blue Hills, a delightful novel by Elizabeth Goudge. Published in the UK as Henrietta’s House, it is a sequel to
A City of Bells
, which I reviewed here. But where A City of Bells is aimed at adults (although it does include two children in its ensemble cast), The Blue Hills is more of a fairytale that will appeal equally to children and adults.
Hugh Anthony is home from his first term at Eton, and he has chosen to celebrate his birthday by picnicking with the people he loves best: his adopted sister Henrietta; his grandparents; his aunt and uncle, Jocelyn and Felicity; and the Dean and several other elderly residents of the Cathedral Close. So a procession of open carriages and governess carts — and one newfangled motorcar — sets out for Foxglove Comb, high in the Blue Hills above Torminster.
But most of the travelers never arrive. Instead, they become separated and lost in the wood. In the way of all the best fairytales, getting lost is merely the prequel to their adventures — and some of those adventures are exciting indeed. Separate threads of the book follow Henrietta; Hugh Anthony and the Dean; Grandfather; and Jocelyn and Felicity, with occasional sidetracks to check in on the other characters.
Goudge’s insight and the beauty of her descriptive writing are joined here by the sense of wonder and delight displayed in The Little White Horse and several of Goudge’s other children’s books. Yet this remains a book for all ages. Goudge’s observations on the human spirit are no less cogent for being couched in the language of fairytales, where giants keep their hearts in paper bags, birthday wishes come true, and adventure brings each one closer to their better self.
If you haven’t read A City of Bells, I recommend reading it first. (I reviewed it here.) You can certainly read The Blue Hills as a standalone, but the experience is richer if you have met and come to love the characters before.
Notes on availability: Sadly, Henrietta’s House/The Blue Hills is out of print in both the UK and North America as of this writing (and everywhere else, as far as I can tell.) Over the years, it has been republished a few times in small runs by small presses. The British firm Hodder and Stoughton, which originally published much of Goudge’s work, has recently been reissuing many of her adult books in paperback, including A City of Bells. It is to be hoped that they will reissue Henrietta’s House as well.
Hugh Anthony is home from his first term at Eton, and he has chosen to celebrate his birthday by picnicking with the people he loves best: his adopted sister Henrietta; his grandparents; his aunt and uncle, Jocelyn and Felicity; and the Dean and several other elderly residents of the Cathedral Close. So a procession of open carriages and governess carts — and one newfangled motorcar — sets out for Foxglove Comb, high in the Blue Hills above Torminster.
But most of the travelers never arrive. Instead, they become separated and lost in the wood. In the way of all the best fairytales, getting lost is merely the prequel to their adventures — and some of those adventures are exciting indeed. Separate threads of the book follow Henrietta; Hugh Anthony and the Dean; Grandfather; and Jocelyn and Felicity, with occasional sidetracks to check in on the other characters.
Goudge’s insight and the beauty of her descriptive writing are joined here by the sense of wonder and delight displayed in The Little White Horse and several of Goudge’s other children’s books. Yet this remains a book for all ages. Goudge’s observations on the human spirit are no less cogent for being couched in the language of fairytales, where giants keep their hearts in paper bags, birthday wishes come true, and adventure brings each one closer to their better self.
If you haven’t read A City of Bells, I recommend reading it first. (I reviewed it here.) You can certainly read The Blue Hills as a standalone, but the experience is richer if you have met and come to love the characters before.
Notes on availability: Sadly, Henrietta’s House/The Blue Hills is out of print in both the UK and North America as of this writing (and everywhere else, as far as I can tell.) Over the years, it has been republished a few times in small runs by small presses. The British firm Hodder and Stoughton, which originally published much of Goudge’s work, has recently been reissuing many of her adult books in paperback, including A City of Bells. It is to be hoped that they will reissue Henrietta’s House as well.
May 2, 2018
After reading the first sentence in this book--"Once upon a time there was a railway station waiting for a train"--I knew this was going to be a delightful story. Just the unique way Miss Goudge words a simple opening scene brings the reader into a world of whimsy--a wondrous weaving of reality with fine rainbow threads of fantasy. My favorite characters in the book, Grandfather, the Old Man, and Henrietta, all exhibit a child-like vision which endears them to me and keeps the story worthy of thoughtful sighs.
January 31, 2023
This is one of the Torminster series, featuring all the same characters whilst they go on a picnic for Hugh Anthony's birthday. There are beautiful descriptors as usual with this author so that you can easily imagine yourself there. She also adds a touch of humour.
However I found it very of its time and the magical realism elements not very exciting. There were themes from scripture running through, especially good v evil, though I didnt enjoy this as much as book 1, even the same characters I enjoyed annoyed me in this. A slow paced plot which didnt keep me entertained throughout.
However I found it very of its time and the magical realism elements not very exciting. There were themes from scripture running through, especially good v evil, though I didnt enjoy this as much as book 1, even the same characters I enjoyed annoyed me in this. A slow paced plot which didnt keep me entertained throughout.
March 31, 2008
one of the most sweetest and joyous reads i have ever read. this is a dream book for me!
May 18, 2012
unadulterated joy!
September 4, 2019
Gets better with every read, 4.5 stars really, and one of my favorites to revisit as the seasons shift from summer to autumn
May 12, 2017
I read this many years ago but now it is being reissued. At that time I thought it was quite sweet but not very exciting. Henrietta is going to have a birthday picnic but her friends and family all get lost on the way along country lanes. They all have minor adventures and meet, for example, a stray puppy, a man with a heart made of wax bundled up in the coat-tail pocket of his dress coat (yes it was a long time ago) and a cave system just waiting to be explored, which the owner of the property has not done, supposedly because he waited many years to see if someone would turn up to explore with him.
I got The Last Battle by CS Lewis at the same time, and thought it a far better adventure. With more interesting characters and yes, a conflict. I suppose it depends on what you want from your books as a young person.
I got The Last Battle by CS Lewis at the same time, and thought it a far better adventure. With more interesting characters and yes, a conflict. I suppose it depends on what you want from your books as a young person.
November 27, 2020
"A MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
"Today is Hugh Anthony's birthday party, and he's celebrating with the people he loves best, young and old alike. The day begins with a wish and ends with a revelation as each of the partygoers ventures into an enchanted forest where legend becomes reality and their wildest dreams come true. An innocent birthday picnic becomes the adventure of a lifetime and no one will ever be the same again.
"ELIZABETH GOUDGE creates a wonderland in this thoroughly captivating fantasy for the young-at-heart, from eight to eighty."
~~back cover
Normally I like the author's works very much but I was a bit disappointed in this one. It started out wonderfully but then disintegrated into very heavy weather -- turgid description and thinly disguised preaching. A sham, really, since she's such a very good writer.
"Today is Hugh Anthony's birthday party, and he's celebrating with the people he loves best, young and old alike. The day begins with a wish and ends with a revelation as each of the partygoers ventures into an enchanted forest where legend becomes reality and their wildest dreams come true. An innocent birthday picnic becomes the adventure of a lifetime and no one will ever be the same again.
"ELIZABETH GOUDGE creates a wonderland in this thoroughly captivating fantasy for the young-at-heart, from eight to eighty."
~~back cover
Normally I like the author's works very much but I was a bit disappointed in this one. It started out wonderfully but then disintegrated into very heavy weather -- turgid description and thinly disguised preaching. A sham, really, since she's such a very good writer.
April 3, 2015
Like another Goudge title, Linnets and Valerians, this book has stuck with me although I last read it about 30 years ago. I remember descriptions, the sense of place, even 'see' faces as described (the illustrations in my tattered 1972 British paperback are nice, but the words really brought the faces and settings to life).
It's magical in a way that is neither dark or supernatural. It could be nowhere else than Edwardian England, but the history, famous places, or institutions are never mentioned, this is a quiet backwater. It reminded me somewhat of A Midsummer's Night's Dream -- but the dream is on a warm summer afternoon, with that golden haze and the sense of time slowing down for a while.
A book that could be enjoyed -- loved -- at any age.
It's magical in a way that is neither dark or supernatural. It could be nowhere else than Edwardian England, but the history, famous places, or institutions are never mentioned, this is a quiet backwater. It reminded me somewhat of A Midsummer's Night's Dream -- but the dream is on a warm summer afternoon, with that golden haze and the sense of time slowing down for a while.
A book that could be enjoyed -- loved -- at any age.
February 18, 2025
This wasn’t really for me. It was a book club read suggested by an older gentleman. I love good children’s writing, and I had high hopes because I thought from the beginning it was going to be something like ‘Anne of Green Gables’, but it really wasn’t. I love slightly magical stories, I recently re-read ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ and thought it was just as wonderful as I did when I was twelve. This though I found quite twee and the story just didn’t make that much sense. There were sweet and funny parts, but for me it just didn’t have enough real story, and it was a bit too bland.
December 10, 2021
1942. Third in the Torminster series. It's strange. The first one was definitely aimed at adult readers. It included depression and a rumor of suicide. But the second and this third one read like children's books. Nothing bad happens to anyone, only things slightly unpleasant. Some of the people get lost in the woods and don't know how to get out. That's about the worst of it. It was pleasant reading though.
June 25, 2016
I never really cared enough about the characters for the resolution to mean much. Must we have both an "Old Man" and an "Old Gentleman," both nameless? Seems overly convoluted, though plenty of lovely writing and worthwhile themes.
April 12, 2023
Charming old fashioned story with some very gentle magical realism thrown in. The kind of book that calms you down and makes the world a good place again. Traditional "magic of the woods" theme as in Little White Horse and books by Lewis, Wynne Jones, and Pratchett when writing for children.
Want to read
July 30, 2020Came accross this in BBC4 podcast (Amanda Craig's book that she would never let out of her sight)... look at scope of Goudge's writing!
July 11, 2024
After reading the first in the Torminster series, A City of Bells, I wanted to get hold of this sequel. Sourcing it turned out to be easier than I expected. There was a free Internet Archive copy which I borrowed a couple of times.
Henrietta's House re-introduces several main characters from A City of Bells in this yarn that's saturated with magical realism, then blended with High Church cathedral lore, and a pinch of pagan mysticism in a true Goudgian cocktail.
Young Hugh Anthony has requested an excursion to Foxglove Combe for a picnic on his birthday. So several archaic, mostly horse-drawn vehicles trundle off from Torminster, and most of them are eerily seduced off course to a strange gatehouse where there are statues of a cowardly, craven child and a mocking imp. (We learn that they represent the cringing human soul in the face of the mockery of Providence.)
From there, several separate adventures await each carriage load.
Twelve-year-old Hugh Anthony and the pompous old Dean are an unlikely pair, united by their mutual satisfaction at belonging to the Ruling Class and Dominant Sex. These two suffer a few scary come-downs in a network of underground caves.
Meanwhile, Henrietta and eccentric old Mrs Jameson stumble upon Henrietta's dream house, furnished exactly as she imagined it. Henrietta's plot thread includes her fondness of the domestic lifestyle, pairing magic together with housework in her eyes. There turns out to be a natural explanation for the existence of Henrietta's dream abode, but it still has a hint of the paranormal.
Grandfather and Bates befriend a bitter old man at the weird gatehouse who indulges in the black arts, making voodoo dolls which he pricks with pins.
Amusingly, only Grandmother's party avoids being magically misdirected, because she's so chock full of common-sense and bossiness, no supernatural sleight of hand could possibly get the better of her.
Jocelyn and Felicity come to grief in their spiffy new motor car. It's state of the art for them, but strikes the modern reader as an antique rattletrap. They crank it up at the front to start, and even wear full motor outfits similar to Toad's in The Wind in the Willows. And when Jocelyn steers it through the main street, he's terrified of running somebody over. Since drivers' licences were a thing of the future, it was a valid fear. Of course while Jocelyn and Felicity show off their pride and joy, the oldies deplore the noise, smell and speed. Grandfather hates to offend the young couple but secretly laments that peace and quiet will soon be a thing of the past.
It's worth noting that even though they are now married, Felicity still works as a stage performer in the city. That's commendably liberal for the early twentieth century, but I guess she's the major bread-winner. It seems Jocelyn's bookshop is still more of a passion project, so perhaps sadly times haven't changed much in some ways. He's said to have a wise and owlish look as a result of reading his merchandise all day. Hopefully the same thing applies to today's book bloggers.
This is a strangely compelling read, like many of Goudge's stories.
It's also worth mentioning Henrietta's Top Twenty books she'd recommend for fellow kids. I'm always up for ticking off yet another new reading list. Some of these I'd never heard of, but they were evidently popular in their era.
1) The Water Babies
2) Alice in Wonderland
3) Undine
4) The Pilgrim's Progress
5) Jackanapes
6) Little Women
7) The Fairchild Family
8) A Flat Iron for a Farthing
9) The Back of the North Wind
10) The Princess and the Curdie
11) Uncle Remus
12) Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
13) The Swiss Family Robinson
14) Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book
15) Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book
16) Andrew Lang's Green Fairy Book
17) Mary's Meadow
18) Lob-Lie-By-The-Fire
19) Treasure Island
20) The Cocky-Olly Bird
Henrietta's House re-introduces several main characters from A City of Bells in this yarn that's saturated with magical realism, then blended with High Church cathedral lore, and a pinch of pagan mysticism in a true Goudgian cocktail.
Young Hugh Anthony has requested an excursion to Foxglove Combe for a picnic on his birthday. So several archaic, mostly horse-drawn vehicles trundle off from Torminster, and most of them are eerily seduced off course to a strange gatehouse where there are statues of a cowardly, craven child and a mocking imp. (We learn that they represent the cringing human soul in the face of the mockery of Providence.)
From there, several separate adventures await each carriage load.
Twelve-year-old Hugh Anthony and the pompous old Dean are an unlikely pair, united by their mutual satisfaction at belonging to the Ruling Class and Dominant Sex. These two suffer a few scary come-downs in a network of underground caves.
Meanwhile, Henrietta and eccentric old Mrs Jameson stumble upon Henrietta's dream house, furnished exactly as she imagined it. Henrietta's plot thread includes her fondness of the domestic lifestyle, pairing magic together with housework in her eyes. There turns out to be a natural explanation for the existence of Henrietta's dream abode, but it still has a hint of the paranormal.
Grandfather and Bates befriend a bitter old man at the weird gatehouse who indulges in the black arts, making voodoo dolls which he pricks with pins.
Amusingly, only Grandmother's party avoids being magically misdirected, because she's so chock full of common-sense and bossiness, no supernatural sleight of hand could possibly get the better of her.
Jocelyn and Felicity come to grief in their spiffy new motor car. It's state of the art for them, but strikes the modern reader as an antique rattletrap. They crank it up at the front to start, and even wear full motor outfits similar to Toad's in The Wind in the Willows. And when Jocelyn steers it through the main street, he's terrified of running somebody over. Since drivers' licences were a thing of the future, it was a valid fear. Of course while Jocelyn and Felicity show off their pride and joy, the oldies deplore the noise, smell and speed. Grandfather hates to offend the young couple but secretly laments that peace and quiet will soon be a thing of the past.
It's worth noting that even though they are now married, Felicity still works as a stage performer in the city. That's commendably liberal for the early twentieth century, but I guess she's the major bread-winner. It seems Jocelyn's bookshop is still more of a passion project, so perhaps sadly times haven't changed much in some ways. He's said to have a wise and owlish look as a result of reading his merchandise all day. Hopefully the same thing applies to today's book bloggers.
This is a strangely compelling read, like many of Goudge's stories.
It's also worth mentioning Henrietta's Top Twenty books she'd recommend for fellow kids. I'm always up for ticking off yet another new reading list. Some of these I'd never heard of, but they were evidently popular in their era.
1) The Water Babies
2) Alice in Wonderland
3) Undine
4) The Pilgrim's Progress
5) Jackanapes
6) Little Women
7) The Fairchild Family
8) A Flat Iron for a Farthing
9) The Back of the North Wind
10) The Princess and the Curdie
11) Uncle Remus
12) Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
13) The Swiss Family Robinson
14) Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book
15) Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book
16) Andrew Lang's Green Fairy Book
17) Mary's Meadow
18) Lob-Lie-By-The-Fire
19) Treasure Island
20) The Cocky-Olly Bird
February 16, 2022
It was difficult to come up with a star rating for this book. If I were only evaluating its artistic/literary merit, it would be a solid five stars. If I were only evaluating its morality/worldview/theology, I would give it three stars. So I’m sort of averaging them to give it four.
There’s so much to love about this book. Elizabeth Goudge, author of The Little White Horse, here offers another novel for young readers. It is exquisitely written; the lovely prose, the lush sense of atmosphere, the gentle humor, the believable characters, the sense of wonder… it is a beautiful and joyous experience reading this book. There are some great themes, too: the importance of love, especially love between the aged and the young; and the importance of finding humility by learning to laugh at oneself.
But—for me, there’s a fly in the ointment.
(Spoilers ahead.)
At the beginning of the book, Henrietta, the main character, sees a dog at the train station where she’s waiting to meet her adopted brother. The dog has chewed off his label, so no one knows who owns him, and the railroad is waiting for someone to come claim him. Henrietta feels sorry for the little dog, and she knows that her adopted brother is dying to have a dog for his upcoming birthday, so she steals the dog and gives him to her brother as a birthday present. Later, she feels terribly ashamed of her actions, and the narrator even says, “she gave up her soul for lost.”
But instead of repenting and confessing and finding forgiveness, Henrietta simply keeps her guilt and shame buried inside her until the end of the book, when she finds out that the little dog she took was actually her own dog. Her father had bought him as a present for her and was sending the dog by train to the vet. So then there is a discussion among some of the characters about whether or not her action should be considered stealing. After arguments offered on both sides of the question, her grandfather (a clergyman) ends this discussion by saying, “And certainly sins committed for love are half-way to becoming virtues, and so, Henrietta, we’ll say no more about it.”
Coming from a Christian author, this is disappointing to me. Nowhere does the Bible teach that “sins committed for love are half-way to becoming virtues.” On the contrary, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that real love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” Stealing “for love” isn’t actually loving; and it isn’t halfway to anywhere, it’s just wrong—because stealing is wrong. It bothered me that this issue was handled the way it was, especially in a book for children. That’s not a “moral lesson” that I want my children learning.
I will still be reading other books by Elizabeth Goudge, and my daughter and I absolutely love The Little White Horse, but this one is staying on my shelf as a book that I personally enjoyed but wouldn’t particularly recommend for kids.
There’s so much to love about this book. Elizabeth Goudge, author of The Little White Horse, here offers another novel for young readers. It is exquisitely written; the lovely prose, the lush sense of atmosphere, the gentle humor, the believable characters, the sense of wonder… it is a beautiful and joyous experience reading this book. There are some great themes, too: the importance of love, especially love between the aged and the young; and the importance of finding humility by learning to laugh at oneself.
But—for me, there’s a fly in the ointment.
(Spoilers ahead.)
At the beginning of the book, Henrietta, the main character, sees a dog at the train station where she’s waiting to meet her adopted brother. The dog has chewed off his label, so no one knows who owns him, and the railroad is waiting for someone to come claim him. Henrietta feels sorry for the little dog, and she knows that her adopted brother is dying to have a dog for his upcoming birthday, so she steals the dog and gives him to her brother as a birthday present. Later, she feels terribly ashamed of her actions, and the narrator even says, “she gave up her soul for lost.”
But instead of repenting and confessing and finding forgiveness, Henrietta simply keeps her guilt and shame buried inside her until the end of the book, when she finds out that the little dog she took was actually her own dog. Her father had bought him as a present for her and was sending the dog by train to the vet. So then there is a discussion among some of the characters about whether or not her action should be considered stealing. After arguments offered on both sides of the question, her grandfather (a clergyman) ends this discussion by saying, “And certainly sins committed for love are half-way to becoming virtues, and so, Henrietta, we’ll say no more about it.”
Coming from a Christian author, this is disappointing to me. Nowhere does the Bible teach that “sins committed for love are half-way to becoming virtues.” On the contrary, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that real love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” Stealing “for love” isn’t actually loving; and it isn’t halfway to anywhere, it’s just wrong—because stealing is wrong. It bothered me that this issue was handled the way it was, especially in a book for children. That’s not a “moral lesson” that I want my children learning.
I will still be reading other books by Elizabeth Goudge, and my daughter and I absolutely love The Little White Horse, but this one is staying on my shelf as a book that I personally enjoyed but wouldn’t particularly recommend for kids.
August 13, 2024
Summer holidays when I was seven or eight lasted for ever and involved days of sheer hallucinatory boredom. In an age before ever-present parenting, Center Parcs and organised fun, I daydreamed for hours, staring fixedly at the swirly designs on the stair carpet. When my mind was numb with daydreaming, I would browse in a state of fevered boredom through my big sister’s small collection of Puffin children’s books.
The front cover of a book called “Henrietta’s House” was always a special favourite of mine. The little girl in the white frock with the large hat reminded me of a very old photo of my grandma as a child. And the picture of the vintage motor car interested me enough to wonder if the book was worth reading. I tried several times but never got beyond the first few pages and usually returned to sitting on the stairs, daydreaming.
Strangely, though, those first few pages of “Henrietta’s House” seemed to have lodged themselves in my memory as a curiously recurring image. Decades later I would be standing waiting for a train on an empty station platform, and I’d suddenly find myself thinking about the sleepy country station at the start of “Henrietta’s House”. I’d be looking round for the bookstall, the dozing porter and the puppy in the travel basket with a lost label.
And now, finally, half a century later (uh), I’ve finally got beyond those opening pages of “Henrietta’s House”. In a way I’m pleased (and not entirely surprised) that I gave up on the book as a child, because - as is the way with so many classic children’s books - I don’t believe it’s really for children at all.
As an eight year old I think I would have been disappointed (as Hugh Anthony in the book would probably also have been) with the fact that trains and motor cars didn’t feature in the story as much as the front cover and opening pages suggested. I wouldn’t have been very impressed with Henrietta’s house turning out to be more dreamlike than real. And I certainly wouldn’t have appreciated the gentle irony with which Elizabeth Goudge impishly describes the childish eccentricities of Hugh Anthony and Henrietta.
“Henrietta’s House” is, I’m convinced, a novel for grown-ups. I read it in a wave of fond amusement, nostalgia and (I admit) very mild, sublimated ecstasy. It’s an ambiguous story full of allusions and metaphors about the search for the heart’s desire - a birthday tea party, a puppy in a travel basket, the reunion with long lost family. Yes, I confess, finding Henrietta’s House after all these years had me quite moist eyed …
Postscript: I’ve realised that the railway station described in “Henrietta’s House” was probably the station at Wells in Somerset where Elizabeth Goudge’s father was a Canon at the Cathedral. Infact, in a delightfully Goudgean (?) touch, the tiny Cathedral City rather confusingly had three different railway stations built at different times and connecting with each other very oddly. Sadly none survived the brutal axe of Dr Beeching’s “rationalisation” of the railways in the 1960s - which is rather ironic given the sadness of the old folk in “Henrietta’s House” about the passing of time and the loss of things old and familiar …
The front cover of a book called “Henrietta’s House” was always a special favourite of mine. The little girl in the white frock with the large hat reminded me of a very old photo of my grandma as a child. And the picture of the vintage motor car interested me enough to wonder if the book was worth reading. I tried several times but never got beyond the first few pages and usually returned to sitting on the stairs, daydreaming.
Strangely, though, those first few pages of “Henrietta’s House” seemed to have lodged themselves in my memory as a curiously recurring image. Decades later I would be standing waiting for a train on an empty station platform, and I’d suddenly find myself thinking about the sleepy country station at the start of “Henrietta’s House”. I’d be looking round for the bookstall, the dozing porter and the puppy in the travel basket with a lost label.
And now, finally, half a century later (uh), I’ve finally got beyond those opening pages of “Henrietta’s House”. In a way I’m pleased (and not entirely surprised) that I gave up on the book as a child, because - as is the way with so many classic children’s books - I don’t believe it’s really for children at all.
As an eight year old I think I would have been disappointed (as Hugh Anthony in the book would probably also have been) with the fact that trains and motor cars didn’t feature in the story as much as the front cover and opening pages suggested. I wouldn’t have been very impressed with Henrietta’s house turning out to be more dreamlike than real. And I certainly wouldn’t have appreciated the gentle irony with which Elizabeth Goudge impishly describes the childish eccentricities of Hugh Anthony and Henrietta.
“Henrietta’s House” is, I’m convinced, a novel for grown-ups. I read it in a wave of fond amusement, nostalgia and (I admit) very mild, sublimated ecstasy. It’s an ambiguous story full of allusions and metaphors about the search for the heart’s desire - a birthday tea party, a puppy in a travel basket, the reunion with long lost family. Yes, I confess, finding Henrietta’s House after all these years had me quite moist eyed …
Postscript: I’ve realised that the railway station described in “Henrietta’s House” was probably the station at Wells in Somerset where Elizabeth Goudge’s father was a Canon at the Cathedral. Infact, in a delightfully Goudgean (?) touch, the tiny Cathedral City rather confusingly had three different railway stations built at different times and connecting with each other very oddly. Sadly none survived the brutal axe of Dr Beeching’s “rationalisation” of the railways in the 1960s - which is rather ironic given the sadness of the old folk in “Henrietta’s House” about the passing of time and the loss of things old and familiar …
April 14, 2025
Another Elizabeth Goudge book I had never heard of, but this one is better (or at least more consistent) than The Middle Window, thank goodness- the descriptions work a lot better and the protagonist is a lot more sympathetic. I didn't immediately recognise Henrietta but did remember the character of Hugh Anthony, and was surprised to discover that this was a sequel to A City of Bells that I had no idea existed. I'm afraid it really isn't as good as "City of Bells", though, which has a lot of darkness and genuine feeling (and yes, a sense of magic amidst the ordinary) in it; this is very much an Edwardian fairy tale and little more than an addendum to the original book that makes use of the same characters.
Henrietta, Hugh Anthony and their very elderly clerical neighbours from the Cathedral Close all go out for a picnic, get variously lost, and have allegorical adventures. The story centres around a legend (not mentioned in the previous book) about the origins of the Cathedral, and they meet characters who are reincarnations or otherwise represent the Robber King and Saint Hugh from the story, and discover a mountain that is supposedly the literal model for the various different parts of the great church building. But the whole thing takes place in the space of an afternoon, so there isn't really a lot of space for any convincing character development - which is to say that the development that does take place is too rushed to be convincing - and the adventures are more than a little improbable when all rushed together in so short a space of time.
The prose is beautifully written, and I thought at the beginning of the book that it was going to be better than it eventually turned out to be, but the main plot just doesn't really satisfy me. Linnets and Valerians has its problems, but it's a more interesting book overall. This one reminds me of one of E. Nesbit's short stories (which are very good), only stretched out to book length by adding extra characters.
Also, I have absolutely no idea who came up with the Mills & Boon cover and blurb for this US edition - showing a sultry and amazingly 1960s-looking blonde female being fondled by a romantic hero, and claiming that Henrietta "met a man" who "would bring to her love's joy and life's great magic" - but it is utterly misleading: Henrietta is a ten-year-old child in pigtails and a sailor hat who meets a hundred-year-old man, and this is very much not "a novel of love" as the strapline advertises. Or at least not in the way the publishers obviously assumed!
Henrietta, Hugh Anthony and their very elderly clerical neighbours from the Cathedral Close all go out for a picnic, get variously lost, and have allegorical adventures. The story centres around a legend (not mentioned in the previous book) about the origins of the Cathedral, and they meet characters who are reincarnations or otherwise represent the Robber King and Saint Hugh from the story, and discover a mountain that is supposedly the literal model for the various different parts of the great church building. But the whole thing takes place in the space of an afternoon, so there isn't really a lot of space for any convincing character development - which is to say that the development that does take place is too rushed to be convincing - and the adventures are more than a little improbable when all rushed together in so short a space of time.
The prose is beautifully written, and I thought at the beginning of the book that it was going to be better than it eventually turned out to be, but the main plot just doesn't really satisfy me. Linnets and Valerians has its problems, but it's a more interesting book overall. This one reminds me of one of E. Nesbit's short stories (which are very good), only stretched out to book length by adding extra characters.
Also, I have absolutely no idea who came up with the Mills & Boon cover and blurb for this US edition - showing a sultry and amazingly 1960s-looking blonde female being fondled by a romantic hero, and claiming that Henrietta "met a man" who "would bring to her love's joy and life's great magic" - but it is utterly misleading: Henrietta is a ten-year-old child in pigtails and a sailor hat who meets a hundred-year-old man, and this is very much not "a novel of love" as the strapline advertises. Or at least not in the way the publishers obviously assumed!
October 4, 2022
When I searched for books related to Wells Cathedral in England, this author showed up. Officially a children's chapter book, published in 1942 but set closer to 1900 (and clearly a book of its time), "The Blue Hills" is a mix between Cathedral personnel and descriptions and a fairy tale. Henrietta, the central character, is thrilled that her brother is coming home from boarding school to the Cathedral Close where they live with their grandparents. On Hugh Anthony's birthday the grandparents, Dean, Canon, a missionary spouse, cousin and wife, and drivers, along with assorted dogs and horses, set out for a picnic in the nearby woods. Everyone is encouraged to state their own wish for the day and in magical ways they all come true.
Favorite lines, said by the Grandfather talking to another grownup: "And don't you dare to disparage fairy tales. A fairy tale, dear sir, in relating miraculous happenings as though they were the normal events of every day, is a humble acknowledgment of the fact that this universe is a box packed full of mysteries of which we understand absolutely nothing at all; heaven alone knows what'll pop out of it next; a singing bird, the Theory of Evolution, gooseberry pie. . . . Fairyland and Paradise, they're the same place, and always with us" (93).
Favorite lines, said by the Grandfather talking to another grownup: "And don't you dare to disparage fairy tales. A fairy tale, dear sir, in relating miraculous happenings as though they were the normal events of every day, is a humble acknowledgment of the fact that this universe is a box packed full of mysteries of which we understand absolutely nothing at all; heaven alone knows what'll pop out of it next; a singing bird, the Theory of Evolution, gooseberry pie. . . . Fairyland and Paradise, they're the same place, and always with us" (93).
December 19, 2022
Another lovely Goudge fairytale--not quite as good as The Little White Horse, but still very good. And it was wonderful to revisit the characters of Torminster once more. I wasn't ready to leave them behind when I finished A City of Bells, and this brought such a satisfying conclusion to that book that I didn't even know I needed. (DEFINITELY read A City of Bells first; there would be huge spoilers in this book if you read Henrietta's House on its own). It is a sequel to A City of Bells, taking place about a year (or a school-year) after when A City of Bells finishes, but written for a younger audience than ACoB and the rest of the "Cathedral Trilogy", although that in no way takes away from its enjoyability. It's the same setting, the same lovable characters (right down to the animals!), but a new story about them all, told partially from Henrietta's viewpoint and still partially from the usual omniscient narrator Goudge uses. I wish Goudge had been able to continue on writing these and made a longer series about Henrietta's life as she grows up, and the whole Fordyce clan.
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