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Parson's Nine
In black cloth with gilt lettering on spine. 339 pp.
- GenresFiction
319 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1932
35 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Noel Streatfeild
164 books612 followersMary Noel Streatfeild, known as Noel Streatfeild, was an author best known and loved for her children's books, including Ballet Shoes and Circus Shoes. She also wrote romances under the pseudonym
Susan Scarlett
.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 22, 2018
A childhood devotee of Streatfeild's (Skating Shoes and The Children on the Top Floor being two of my favorites), I was astonished and delighted when Jo Walton made the discovery (and generously shared it on Twitter) that Streatfeild had written a number of adult novels (long out of print) which were now available on Kindle! I immediate bought this one and Shepherdess of Sheep, and plunged right into this one. Is it perfect? No. Can you see the traces of her future children's books here? TOTALLY. Much as, reading The Children on the Top Floor aloud to my children made me realize that much of the book is from the POV of the adults, knowing that Streatfeild would one day write Skating Shoes made me hyper-aware that a good chunk of this book is narrated by the children. But the children grow up, and you follow them, the nine of them (children of a parson, hence the title!), and WWI hits them hard. It's a very interesting book, that seems to be partially based on her own childhood. It's not flawless, but it's in a lot better shape than I expected, and really makes me wonder why it's been out of print so long. It's no A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but there's still room for it on the shelf!
August 6, 2021
Noel Streatfeild was one of my favourite authors during my childhood, so I couldn't resist picking up this early work on Kindle. This is her second novel, published in 1932, and draws heavily on her vicarage childhood, which also inspired her trilogy of fictionalised memoirs, starting with A Vicarage Family: A Biography of Myself.
Parson's Nine is a family saga starting in the early years of the 20th century and going through to the 1920s. It's slightly similar in feel to some of D.E. Stevenson's books, such as Amberwell. However, it doesn't have the same element of romance and overall warmth. And there is a more sustained note of bitterness than in Stevenson (an author I really enjoy), especially after the family becomes caught up in the First World War. The relentless misery of the war and its aftermath dominate the second half of the book, with some very dark sections.
Showing the way forward to Streatfeild's children's fiction, much of the story is set during the childhood of the nine Churston children, all named after the books of the Apocrypha. (This made me realise that I've never read any of the Apocrypha, and am now thinking perhaps I should!)
The first half is largely set around the nursery and schoolroom, and feels quite lighthearted and even cosy much of the time, with a nanny who is very similar to the ones in Streatfeild's children's stories, and various funny sayings by the children. But it soon becomes clear how little understanding the Rev David Churston has of his offspring, and how determined he is to make sure they are godly, rather than happy. His wife, Catherine, is a contrasting character, full of warmth and much more sensible, yet doesn't stand up to him.
The novel addresses the theme of women's rights, with the arrival of a governess, Miss Crosby, who passionately supports the suffragette cause and wants to educate Judith, the brilliant eldest daughter, for a career. But persuading David that girls need educating is not so much an uphill battle as an impossible one. One jarring note was an anti-Semitic comment by the otherwise wonderful governess. I know this often crops up in 1930s books, but somehow I didn't expect it from Streatfeild, although it isn't clear whether she agrees with the character's view.
The little details of life before, during and after the war are probably the strongest element of the book, along with the characteristic Streatfield humour and her sheer enjoyment of the children's characters, especially in the early chapters. Having said that, not all the nine children take a central role. Most of the focus is on the twins, Baruch, who suffers from agonising anxiety, and Susanna, who tries to protect him.
Overall, I enjoyed it very much, even though I can see that it is quite uneven and not as good as her children's fiction. My rating should probably be 3* but I can't resist adding the fourth star, because Streatfeild's voice is so unmistakably the same as in her famous children's books, starting with Ballet Shoes, published just a few years after this one. I've got another of her adult novels, Saplings, published by Persephone, and will hope to read that soon.
Parson's Nine is a family saga starting in the early years of the 20th century and going through to the 1920s. It's slightly similar in feel to some of D.E. Stevenson's books, such as Amberwell. However, it doesn't have the same element of romance and overall warmth. And there is a more sustained note of bitterness than in Stevenson (an author I really enjoy), especially after the family becomes caught up in the First World War. The relentless misery of the war and its aftermath dominate the second half of the book, with some very dark sections.
Showing the way forward to Streatfeild's children's fiction, much of the story is set during the childhood of the nine Churston children, all named after the books of the Apocrypha. (This made me realise that I've never read any of the Apocrypha, and am now thinking perhaps I should!)
The first half is largely set around the nursery and schoolroom, and feels quite lighthearted and even cosy much of the time, with a nanny who is very similar to the ones in Streatfeild's children's stories, and various funny sayings by the children. But it soon becomes clear how little understanding the Rev David Churston has of his offspring, and how determined he is to make sure they are godly, rather than happy. His wife, Catherine, is a contrasting character, full of warmth and much more sensible, yet doesn't stand up to him.
The novel addresses the theme of women's rights, with the arrival of a governess, Miss Crosby, who passionately supports the suffragette cause and wants to educate Judith, the brilliant eldest daughter, for a career. But persuading David that girls need educating is not so much an uphill battle as an impossible one. One jarring note was an anti-Semitic comment by the otherwise wonderful governess. I know this often crops up in 1930s books, but somehow I didn't expect it from Streatfeild, although it isn't clear whether she agrees with the character's view.
The little details of life before, during and after the war are probably the strongest element of the book, along with the characteristic Streatfield humour and her sheer enjoyment of the children's characters, especially in the early chapters. Having said that, not all the nine children take a central role. Most of the focus is on the twins, Baruch, who suffers from agonising anxiety, and Susanna, who tries to protect him.
Overall, I enjoyed it very much, even though I can see that it is quite uneven and not as good as her children's fiction. My rating should probably be 3* but I can't resist adding the fourth star, because Streatfeild's voice is so unmistakably the same as in her famous children's books, starting with Ballet Shoes, published just a few years after this one. I've got another of her adult novels, Saplings, published by Persephone, and will hope to read that soon.
September 30, 2014
Three and a half. A pleasant read but not much plot, a bit 'and than and then' - and don't think she entirely managed to characterise individually all of the 9 children named after books of the Apocrypha. Good on the exhausting emotional labour of being a vicar's wife/mother of 9 in the early C20th.
November 15, 2018
A darker version of the Vicarage Trilogy. Trademark Streatfeild only for adults, bringing an almost unimaginable world to life as it violently swings from Edwardian to post war with all the loss and change entailed. Poignant. tragic and yet funny and absorbing. Really looking forward to reading more of her adult work (and rereading The Vicarage Family for the umpteenth time).
November 5, 2018
Nine children was too many to give depth to the characters.
I liked the suffragette governess. The mother was interesting too, if very different from my modern feminist sensibilities.
As for the father, the more of Streatfeild I read the stronger my impression that Streatfeild's own father must have been very difficult to live with. This book has strong similarites with A Vicarage Family, which I know is based on Streatfeild's own childhood. But this one deals with more adult themes. Not as well written as Saplings but has potential.
I liked the suffragette governess. The mother was interesting too, if very different from my modern feminist sensibilities.
As for the father, the more of Streatfeild I read the stronger my impression that Streatfeild's own father must have been very difficult to live with. This book has strong similarites with A Vicarage Family, which I know is based on Streatfeild's own childhood. But this one deals with more adult themes. Not as well written as Saplings but has potential.
December 10, 2025
This is classic Streatfeild and obviously draws on her childhood experiences. I have always enjoyed her child characters in her work and this book was no exception. The relationship between the twins was very touching.
January 28, 2026
Witty and moving.
This is brilliant. It’s an adult version of a vicarage childhood. The opening chapter is an absolute hoot.
A heads up for a bit of antisemitism early on but there is a compensatory comment at the end of the book.
--
A re-read. Still a rather moving book. I really do recommend this.
This is brilliant. It’s an adult version of a vicarage childhood. The opening chapter is an absolute hoot.
A heads up for a bit of antisemitism early on but there is a compensatory comment at the end of the book.
--
A re-read. Still a rather moving book. I really do recommend this.
December 11, 2020
Very Good.
It was a lovely read , you could picture all of it in your mind. Like you were actually there.
It was a lovely read , you could picture all of it in your mind. Like you were actually there.
July 17, 2022
No están bueno
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2015
I found this a very strange, even somewhat disturbing book. On one hand, it could be seen as a cozy read : the trials and tribulations of a tribe of 9 children with their vicar father and doting mother, growing up before and during WWI. So there are tea parties, and nursery maids, and lots of roaming around the countryside.
On the other hand, there are some serious themes, and even tragedies being hinted at, or even being mentioned in a casual way. There's the fact that Catherine, after having produced a child and a set of twins annually for nearly a decade, uses a legacy to just escape from her brood and spend some time alone in the South of France, and the fact that her husband, the loving but overly religious and totally oblivious David, just can't understand why she would want to do that (?!). There is the tragedy of girls' brains going to waste because the culture states that girls should stay at home and marry. This occurs not once but twice, in the figure of Miss Crosby, the feminist governess, and then again when her star pupil, Judith, is denied an opportunity to go to Oxford because her loving but misguided father thinks that girls should become loving wives and children. Miss Crosby, frustrated beyond endurance, decides to strike another blow for feminism by throwing a brick through a window or some other such small act of vandalism, is arrested, goes on a hunger strike, and is force-fed in prison - a barbaric procedure that has her haunted with fear and revulsion. And Judith never really recovers from her disappointment, especially when it turns out that her husband, whom she married partially out of a desire to help him in his work, turns out to want her to stay quietly at home and have babies.
There's, of course, the tragedy of WWI, where two of the boys lose their lives. A totally separate tragedy is the death of Baruch, the most sensitive of the boys, who falls out of a window shortly after he realizes how horrible war is, and how he will have no choice, once he turns 18, but to go to the trenches. His twin sister, Susanna, is still in a fog of grief while her mother starts coaxing her into stating that Baruch had recently sleepwalking. It takes her a while to realize that her mother knew Baruch had committed suicide, but was trying to have his death passed as accidental, so that there would be no inquest, no public shame, and especially no distress for the very religious father. Susanna goes into a decline, mechanically filling her days with good works around the parish. There is again that strange disconnect between Catherine and David. Catherine sees how unhappy her daughter is, but David thinks that everything is just fine. Catherine manages to get Susanna to London, where she falls in with a fast crowd. Alcohol, cigarettes and loose living are about to become her downfall, when she hits upon the idea of preparing Baruch's stories for preparation. This becomes her salvation.
As I said, there are a lot of sad, even tragic things in this book : war, suicide, a girl on the brink of becoming an alcoholic slut, clever women frustrated by the conventions of their social position and the times they lived in, even the many little deceptions that Catherine has to perpetrate to keep her oblivious husband's illusions intact. I think that David is supposed to be a wonderful, warm father figure, but I found him a bigot. I just felt like shouting : "What's wrong with you, expecting your wife to have a baby every year? Can't you see that she needs a break? Can't you see that your daughter pines for a life with more intellectual satisfaction than arranging the flowers in the parish church? Can't you see that your son just couldn't face the prospect of the carnage in the trenches? Can't you see that his twin is floating around the parish like a ghost without a soul?"
But most of these themes are touched upon in a very casual, even superficial way, and then the narrative floats on again to a much cozier interlude. I guess that one way of expressing my frustration with this book is that I couldn't figure out what the author wanted to write : a serious book about the social issues of that era, or a cozy view of an average, albeit large, family.
On the other hand, there are some serious themes, and even tragedies being hinted at, or even being mentioned in a casual way. There's the fact that Catherine, after having produced a child and a set of twins annually for nearly a decade, uses a legacy to just escape from her brood and spend some time alone in the South of France, and the fact that her husband, the loving but overly religious and totally oblivious David, just can't understand why she would want to do that (?!). There is the tragedy of girls' brains going to waste because the culture states that girls should stay at home and marry. This occurs not once but twice, in the figure of Miss Crosby, the feminist governess, and then again when her star pupil, Judith, is denied an opportunity to go to Oxford because her loving but misguided father thinks that girls should become loving wives and children. Miss Crosby, frustrated beyond endurance, decides to strike another blow for feminism by throwing a brick through a window or some other such small act of vandalism, is arrested, goes on a hunger strike, and is force-fed in prison - a barbaric procedure that has her haunted with fear and revulsion. And Judith never really recovers from her disappointment, especially when it turns out that her husband, whom she married partially out of a desire to help him in his work, turns out to want her to stay quietly at home and have babies.
There's, of course, the tragedy of WWI, where two of the boys lose their lives. A totally separate tragedy is the death of Baruch, the most sensitive of the boys, who falls out of a window shortly after he realizes how horrible war is, and how he will have no choice, once he turns 18, but to go to the trenches. His twin sister, Susanna, is still in a fog of grief while her mother starts coaxing her into stating that Baruch had recently sleepwalking. It takes her a while to realize that her mother knew Baruch had committed suicide, but was trying to have his death passed as accidental, so that there would be no inquest, no public shame, and especially no distress for the very religious father. Susanna goes into a decline, mechanically filling her days with good works around the parish. There is again that strange disconnect between Catherine and David. Catherine sees how unhappy her daughter is, but David thinks that everything is just fine. Catherine manages to get Susanna to London, where she falls in with a fast crowd. Alcohol, cigarettes and loose living are about to become her downfall, when she hits upon the idea of preparing Baruch's stories for preparation. This becomes her salvation.
As I said, there are a lot of sad, even tragic things in this book : war, suicide, a girl on the brink of becoming an alcoholic slut, clever women frustrated by the conventions of their social position and the times they lived in, even the many little deceptions that Catherine has to perpetrate to keep her oblivious husband's illusions intact. I think that David is supposed to be a wonderful, warm father figure, but I found him a bigot. I just felt like shouting : "What's wrong with you, expecting your wife to have a baby every year? Can't you see that she needs a break? Can't you see that your daughter pines for a life with more intellectual satisfaction than arranging the flowers in the parish church? Can't you see that your son just couldn't face the prospect of the carnage in the trenches? Can't you see that his twin is floating around the parish like a ghost without a soul?"
But most of these themes are touched upon in a very casual, even superficial way, and then the narrative floats on again to a much cozier interlude. I guess that one way of expressing my frustration with this book is that I couldn't figure out what the author wanted to write : a serious book about the social issues of that era, or a cozy view of an average, albeit large, family.
December 22, 2014
My first ever GreyLadies book, a cosy hugely readable treat.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2014/...
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2014/...
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews