Forgotten Vintage Children's Lit We Want Republished! discussion

I'm nearly finished The Black Gull of Corrie Lochan, and I liked it so well that I ordered two more of hers: Anra the Storm Child and The Hand in the Bag which my Faber '64 copy says was her first book:

The Hand in the Bag
'Mrs MacAlpine's tale of magic and mountain life is as exciting as the best of daydreams. The story is told simply and seriously, as the best fairy tales should be, and admirably illustrated by Richard Kennedy.' The Times Educational Supplement
'Richard Kennedy's remarkable drawings add much to this gentle, evocative fairy-tale with its tang of mist-damp tweed, coarse oatmeal and trout cooked on a peat fire' Spectator
'. . . has the quality of a real folktale, and a feeling of eeriness not soon forgotten.' Glasgow Herald
Drawings by Richard Kennedy
12s 6d net

Dougal and the Wee Folk is another title not listed on GR:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book... (A.S. Barnes, NY, 1960)

A provisional bibliography is:
The Hand in the Bag (= Dougal and the Wee Folk, U.S. title)*
The Black Gull of Corrie Lochan
Anra the Storm Child
*see EDIT, this post, at bottom

So that makes four books attributed to Margaret MacAlpine, though the GR blurb (for which I am most grateful - can't find boo about her otherwise!) states there were just three. Dougal and the Wee Folk (USA publisher) could well be a reissue/US title of The Hand in the Bag (Faber), though (it isn't likely to be either of the other two: Anra (boy) is the protagonist in Anra the Storm Child, and Morag and Rory are the children in The Black Gull of Corrie Lochan). I'll update once I receive my copy of The Hand in the Bag.

Anyway, yet another interesting author who shouldn't have vanished and who should be republished. The Black Gull of Corrie Lochan might well hit my Top 10 list - will finish today and find out. ;)

UPDATE: I received my copy of A Hand in the Bag:

"Here is a story in which the magic catches you from the very first page. This, you feel, could happen. The wild, solitary country, the trout stream, the rowan berries, the mist in which a man can so naturally disappear, all are real and yet a part of the mystery. And the boy, Dougal, standing in the middle of it all, strong, sturdy and carefree; busy, while his parents were away, looking after the goat, making his porridge, fishing for his supper, and taking a great delight in being on his own, free to do what he liked.
It was the trout stream that led him to the source of his adventure though there had been already perhaps a hint of something out of the ordinary in the coming of the stranger with the grey eyes and the love of sharing: who came and went so silently and always, if Dougal wanted company, came again."

So, given the same cover art and the same protagonist, I think we can safely assume that Dougal and the Wee Folk is simply the U.S. reissue of The Hand in the Bag

Richard Kennedy (this 'profile' includes many disparate "Richard Kennedys", but nevermind) also illustrated The Black Gull of Corrie Lochan.

I'm not a fan. He's one of those illustrators who is clearly very, very gifted, and who can, with a few messy and sloppily placed strokes, bring a scene to life... messily and indistinctly. So his talent is impressive, but, honestly, could he have not taken some time and made something jaw-dropping?! It looks like he chucked these out rapid-fire, like an artist on the seawall who will draw your portrait in under 2 minutes or something. Impressive, but not the sort of quality you'd want immortalized, I think...

There's one scene in the corrie with two figures that's especially bad - it's a boulder-filled, bowl-like depression high on a Ben. It looks like an alien planet, and one of the boulders looks an awful lot like a hot air balloon, or a giant fruiting fungal pod or something. I really hate it. (Perhaps I'll take a photo and upload it..)

"Sketchy" is the best description. Victor Ambrus has a similar style, but it's cleaner and easier to parse, I feel (I like Ambrus).

Capn wrote: "Richard Kennedy (this 'profile' includes many disparate "Richard Kennedys", but nevermind) also illustrated The Black Gull of Corrie Lochan.

I'm not a fan. He's one o..."

For once I have to disagree with you. I have always admired Richard Kennedy's work. He was one of those artists who broke away from the strictly pictorial, almost strip cartoon style in British illustration. Have you made contact with Charles Keeping's drawings? He revolutionised things in his day. Rosemary Sutcliff in particular.

It could be that Kennedy was having an off day in 1959 (sorry - 1964. Still thinking about 'The Hand in the Bag'!). XD As I said, his skill is evident here, but, oof - I'll have to take some photographs of this one as proof. Although, you know, art and the eye of the beholder, etc. XD

But, fair is fair, I don't know his body of work at all. I just wasn't super impressed with this one (again, because it was so obvious that he was very talented!). :p

:) He sure got rave reviews for The Hand in the Bag, anyway.

Len wrote: "Capn wrote: "Richard Kennedy (this 'profile' includes many disparate "Richard Kennedys", but nevermind) also illustrated The Black Gull of Corrie Lochan.

I'm not a fa..."

So there's a 20 picture limit for profile photos. I wish I knew that after uploading and cropping all of them. XD Oh well. I'll try to remove some of the covers from there by requesting the Librarian Group to affix them to missing editions, then I can free up some space (my poor dog is down to the single photo now!). ;)

Here's the one I complained about:

and here's another double-page spread:
(all humans depicted here in the second one, even though they look like the undead...)

:p

:D

So I've finished Anra the Storm Child, and it was fantastic. Straight onto the "Favourites" (or "Favorites", because GR is in the U.S.A.!) shelf.

I think I liked it even better. The characters, the plot, the setting, the everything*! Not Selkies, not Kelpies, not Mermaids (I guess?) but Storm-Maidens (no fish-tails mentioned...). Sirens of the sea, though. But Scottish sirens. And they are fierce. :)

(*Richard Kennedy did the illustrations. I'm still not a fan. ;) But there were a couple I actually liked for a change.)

Trying to decide if I should start right into The Hand in the Bag now, or buffer it with something else in the meantime. I might ride this high for awhile and come back to Margaret MacAlpine in a bit, knowing her to be a safe harbour...

The Hand in the Bag was EXCELLENT, and might be my favourite of the lot. :)

Even Kennedy's illustrations are better in this one! XD

But wow, I wish this woman had written more than just these 3 books!!!!