Malcolm SavilleRezensionen

The second book in the Lone Pine series. These twenty books are British fiction for children that were written from 1943 to 1978. It's about a bunch of kids who form a club and have adventures in the Welsh countryside. This one, from 1944, was written during WWII.

In my mind I can't help comparing it to that other British writer of children's adeventures, Enid Blyton. There are some similarities, like the group of boys and girls having their holidays in the countryside, relatively free from adult supervision, playing and having adventures.

I find this books more down-to-earth than Blyton's, more connected with a real location. At the same time, I don't think Saville was as good a storyteller as Blyton. His adventure is less focused. Another reviewer wrote "the kids run around like they have ADHD and an accomodating adult is never far away to provide food or shelter". And that's spot on. They run around, and the adventure kind of happens, but they do not seem to enjoy the same independence from adults and the same awareness of the adventure as Blyton's characters.

On the plus side, I found the twins more amusing than in the first book. They are still up to their annoying customs, mind you, but I'm getting used to them and seeing the funny side of their anctics. They provide a welcome dose of individuality and zaniness.

Published in 1943, in the middle of World War II.

The Mortons (mother, elder son David and 9-year-old twins Dickie and Mary) are evacuated to Shropshire during the war, while the father is on the front. The children explore the area, make new friends and form the Lone Pine Club, whose aim is "exploring and watching birds and animals and tracking strangers". Mysterious strangers, kidnappings and explosives are all part of this gripping tale.

This is the first Lone Pine book, a series of 20 novels published from 1943 to 1978. It's a story clearly influenced by other British authors of adventure works for children like Arthur Ransome ("Swallows and Amazons" series) and Enid Blyton ("Famous Five" and other series).

Like the adventure works of Ransome and Blyton, here we have a group of children enjoying their holidays playing outdoors and exploring with their friends. This story is perhaps not as gloriously idyllic as Swallows and Amazons, or as tightly plotted and exciting as many of Blyton's adventures, but at the beginning it features some very vivid descriptions of the Shropshire hills, enough to inspire the imagination and thirst for adventure of its young readers.

The story is about wartime spies and saboteurs. The children are involved but never have the full picture of what is going on, and only at the end they get the whole thing explained to them. That seems to me a weakness because, although it makes perhaps for a more realistic depiction of how children might get involved with something like that, it's not as exciting as stories where they knowingly defeat the bad guys. Oh, and the young twins are a bit annoying at times.

Still, a good read and a very nice children's adventure story, from a time when children still played outdoors all day instead of spending their time with the internet and social networks.

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The first edition since 1946, with full colour illustrations throughout.

'At last she reached the brow of the hill ... now the country opened out below her and she looked down into a wide and lovely valley ... Still patched with snow the little fields spread like a carpet below her and here and there a farmhouse with barns and golden ricks was clearly seen. Across the plain ran, straight as a ruler, a railway line and she saw a toy train puffing and crawling across the picture.'

Malcolm Saville's classic novel is about eleven-year old Jane's discovery of nature and country life during a year spent convalescing on her uncle's farm, after having been dangerously ill in post-war London. This deeply-felt novel was written while Saville was extending his range as a writer, alongside his very successful Lone Pine adventure series, and nature anthologies for children. Inspired by the experiences of Saville's own god-daughter, this marvellous novel is full of the wonder of discovery, as well the happiness of regaining health, making friends, and learning to love the natural world. The novel is also a record of rural England eighty years ago, written by one of the great twentieth century English nature writers.

The Introduction is written by Hazel Sheeky Bird of the University of Newcastle. The illustrations by Bernard Bowerman have been reproduced from the first edition.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A quiet, gentle read for your tween-years reader. Beautiful reprint edition of a very prolific author for children's post-WWII novel. It follows Jane, a young girl recuperating from a serious illness at her aunt and uncle's farm in rural England. The framing device is, I know you'll know from the off, an excuse to write an elegy for the rural life that generations of people around the world were abandoning in increasing numbers as the world adjusted to new realities.

The text is, of course, not telling you this directly. It's a very sweet, very detailed love-letter to a vanishing time as it faded away. The reason it is interesting to read now is the world is rediscovering a need, once amply fulfilled, to recognize and relate our lives to the rhythms of the natural world. We do our descendants a service by giving them books of this sort. The way that urban outsider Jane comes to understand and treasure this world and its beauties and cycles is edifying without feeling condescending.

A kid today will read this with a sense of shock, I think, that this was ever a way of life that millions followed. It is clearly written and, while there are people winking in it, they are doing so from adult to child, so it's revoltingly condescending but not unexpected. The kind of folk who lived this life at that distant time:

...would have done the w-verb without thinking a thing of it. *shudder* The good old days, they were rotten.

The Introduction by Hazel Sheeky Bird is a wondeful overview of Saville's extended career as a writer for tweens and teens. It makes the book suitable for adults nostalgic for an earlier way of life by contextualizing it in its social milieu. I guess most of the people I'd gift it to, those between 11 and 14, will skip past that essay. If you were old enough to remember the Coronation, or the Rosenberg case, this book with Introduction will very likely hit every last nostalgia bump on your noggin.

Gifted to yourself or a younger reader, one who is beginning to wonder about the natural world around them, this novel of self-discovery, and family love, and the cycle of the seasons embedding them all, will hit a high note for #Booksgiving.½

Second in the series about Lucy (12) and Humf (9), a sequel to 'The Secret of Galleybird Pit'. I thought this book more cohesive, and with less unpleasantness. Lucy's character is well-developed and her concern for both her parents feels very realistic. Indeed, her parents are believable: a hard-working mother, a fond but rather self-centred father who is easily distracted, full of ideas but little inclination to hard work.

There's some camping, and an ongoing plot involving some crooks stealing and re-selling items from unlocked farmhouses. I thought it a good story, well-told, although I suspect some of the adult interactions would go over the head of most 9- or 10-year-olds, which are the main target group.

But worth reading if you are a fan of Malcolm Saville's writing, and if you can find it as it's only available used.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/10/good-dog-dandy-by-malcolm-saville.h...½

I expect I read this in 1974 when I bought it; nearly fifty years later I've just finished it, possibly for the first time since I was a teenager. It's about 12-year-old Lucy and her younger brother Humf who have moved from the city to a small village in Sussex.

Nice family dynamics, though I don't think children would appreciate them, and Humf is a three-dimensional character, but the plot is a bit thin, and there's no 'secret' as such. Rather more unpleasant animal issues than I'm comfortable with, but this was written in 1959, and set in a farming community.

Perhaps a child of about nine or ten might like it, so long as they're not sensitive to unpleasant scenes involving animals; but I suspect this is mainly read by adults who have loved Saville's writing for many decades.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-secret-of-galleybird-pit-by-mal...

Good characterisation in this children's book, but the adventure mostly involves bird-watching and camping, neither of which particularly interest me.

Worth reading after 'All Summer Through' and 'Christmas in Nettleford', which I finished earlier in the year, or for a child of about 8-12 who's not quite ready for the better-known 'Lone Pine' series by the same author. And I'm glad I've finally re-read these books after, probably, about fifty years.

But although I recalled the series with some fondness - and the children did rather get under my skin - I have no inclination to look for the fourth in the series.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/07/spring-comes-to-nettleford-by-malco...

Second in the 'Nettleford' series originally intended for children of around 9-12. The four Owlers meet again in the Christmas holidays, and are intimidated by some local bullies...

They also have to contend with a chicken thief, and the loss of a music box. There are lots of wintry scenes with sledging, snowballing, and a slightly tense section where two characters get lost in a very snowy wood.

Pleasant enough, though I doubt if it would appeal to most of today's pre-teens. There's quite a strong religious thread, relating to Christmas and the fact that one of the children is the daughter of. the local vicar. I thought it very well done but some might find it a bit too much.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/05/christmas-at-nettleford-by-malcolm....½

An adventure story from the early 1950s involving a group of pre-teens and a somewhat spoilt younger sister. Likeable characters, well-written, and a good story.

It's essentially a series of low-key adventures for the children concerned, including helping put out a fire, assisting. a sick elderly woman, and going for a dangerous walk along some cliffs in high wind. Probably intended for the 9-12 age group, but I first read it at just 13 and liked it sufficiently that I've kept it for fifty years or so, although I don't suppose I've read it more than once or twice in that time.

A good introduction to Malcolm Saville for children not quite ready for the longer and more intense Lone Pine series, if you can find it at a library or inexpensively second-hand.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/03/all-summer-through-by-malcolm-savil...½

More excitement from the Lone Piners, once again in Shropshire. The older ones are somewhat preoccupied, so the bulk of this adventure falls on the twins Richard and Mary, their loyal dog Mackie, and their friend Harriet. A surprising number of strangers seem to be wandering around, looking for lonely cottages to rent. Peter's father meets an unpleasant stranger from his past, and James Wilson the reporter is on the trail of some fake jewellery that's flooding the stories.

Plenty of suspense and fast-paced action, with a fairly complex resolution. All good stuff. Probably best for children of between about eight and 14, but enjoyable as an adult too. Definitely best to have read some of the earlier books in the series first, as there's rather a large cast and a somewhat complex plot.

Unexpectedly poignant in places.

Latest full review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/10/strangers-at-witchend-by-malcolm-sa...

Read for the first time in GGBP edition, and I liked it very much. An exciting adventure story, involving Roman treasure and artefacts, and some unpleasant criminals, two of whom had come against the Lone Piners in some previous adventures.

This is 15th in the series, mainly featuring Jon and Penny who - in a low-key sideline to the adventure - finally realise how much they mean to each other. The twins play their inimitable parts, with Mary demonstrating once more her quite advanced sensitivity for one so young, and the whole is a satisfying story.

Intended for younger teens, this appeals most to adults of my age who recall the books from our teenage years. I would recommend it to anyone over the age of about ten, with the proviso that there are some quite tense scenes with violence that's not glossed over.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/04/treasure-at-amorys-by-malcolm-savil...

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, 13th in the Lone Pine series, but rather different from the other books. This is a thriller-adventure where the Morton family feature, but none of the other Lone Piners. It's set on the East Coast of England in a firm geographical and historical context, and is the story of a missing father, and some stolen paintings.

I found myself quickly caught up in the story, not minding at all that a lot of the book is written from adult rather than teenage perspective. I didn't appreciate that as a teen - and didn't, anyway, have the full GGBP edition then - but reading it over the past couple of days, I liked it considerably better than I had expected. As I had totally forgotten the plot, it was like reading a new book.

Recommended for adults and teens, so long as you don't mind the lack of most of the Lone Piners.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/01/sea-witch-comes-home-by-malcolm-sav...½

I'm not sure if I have ever read this before, as I didn't have it in Armada. I've just read my fairly newly acquired GGBP edition, and have thoroughly enjoyed it, all the more so for it being new to me.

Lots of great characterisation along with an exciting story set in Yorkshire, for a change. The older Lone Piners are starting to grow up, with just hints of what they're going to mean to each other in the later books. The twins, too, are taking on some separate characteristics - particularly Mary - as well as doing their double act as brilliantly as ever with their enemies.

Definitely recommended, but best read as part of the lengthy series - or at least after the first few, and 'The Neglected Mountain', where the baddies in this book were first introduced.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/11/mystery-mine-by-malcolm-saville.htm...½

It's probably twenty-five years since I read this book, 11th in the Lone Pine adventure series for teens. I'd never read the full GGB publication, and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It took a few chapters to get into, and I found the crooks particularly unpleasant - there's a lot of danger in this book and some violence, though nothing gratuitous.

The premise is excessively unlikely - the Lone Piners and the crooks are trying to find a diamond necklace that was stolen many years earlier. They only have the sketchiest of clues, and are looking in a rather large area. But while reading it feels all too believable, and by the end I was quite drawn into the story (which, as it's a book for younger teens, naturally ends satisfactorily for all concerned, other than the crooks).

Best read after others in the series, but it could stand alone - recommended for children of about nine or ten and upwards, but most likely to be read by adults like me who recall these books nostalgically from their teenage years.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-secret-of-gorge-by-malcolm-savi...

I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this book, which I had not read since 1995 - and then in the abridged Armada version. I'd entirely forgotten the story, and found it well written and quite tense in places.

The Morton family are in London, with Jon and Penny visiting. They find themselves - as ever - in the midst of an exciting adventure, and while there are some slightly dodgy coincidences over just happening to bump into various relevant people, it doesn't much matter: that's how these stories get going, after all. James Wilson, the journalist from 'The Elusive Grasshopper' reappears, now with a delightful fiancée, Judith.

There's also a glamorous film star who makes a cameo appearance, and I mustn't forget twelve-year-old Harriet Sparrow, who proves herself courageous and loyal. It sounds like a lot of people but the characterisation is excellent, though it helps to have read the earlier books beforehand.

Definitely recommended as part of this series.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/07/lone-pine-london-by-malcolm-saville...½

I'm delighted to have the GGBP full version of this book, ninth in the 'Lone Pine' series. It's a well-written, fast-paced adventure story with some humour, a poignant section involving a much-loved dog, and plenty of excitement.

More character-building sections than are found in the abridged Armada version, and a nice wintery setting as the Morton family spend the run-up to Christmas at their holiday home, Witchend, near the Long Mynd in Shropshire.

This was one of my favourite series as a teenager, one I re-read regularly. Best to read this after at least a few of the earlier books in the series, but possible as a stand-alone. The GGBP gives publishing history, but even the Armada editions come with an introduction to the main characters and what the Lone Pine club stands for.

Definitely recommended for older children and young teens, and for anyone who remembers this nostalgically from their own teenage years.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/06/wings-over-witchend-by-malcolm-savi...½

Several things make this novel stand out from previous Lone Pine novels (not necessarily in a good way).

The topic itself, Flying Saucers, is more fanciful than previous stories, yet very much of it's time.

There is a greater emphasis in describing Jonathan as a lover of physics, and outer space, and science. His intelligence and "nerdishness" (to use a 21st century term) are greatly emphasized, thus enabling the reader to feel that, perhaps, this is a mystery worthy of the Lone Piners.

We finally meet Penny's parents, who take them all to Dartmoor before leaving five children and a dog alone with a man they have never met, while they go off, improbably, for a second honeymoon. They are even less responsible than the Morton parents, but otherwise indistinguishable.

One chapter is devoted to Dan Sturt, as a way of giving back story for the adventure itself.

The whole story boils down to the Lone Piners helping thwart spies who want to find out about British prototype flying saucers, and culminates in army planes "downing" two spy helicopters before the army arrest teams of foreign spies.

Jon proves himself also to be an action hero, punching one spy to save Penny.

Peter is unimpressed, throughout, with the whole thing and is far more concerned that this world is put right before we explore other worlds. She pointedly walks away rather than watch the thrilling spectacle of the helicopters being caught and she remains the moral compass of the Lone Piners, and, by default, the readers.

All in all, an unsatisfactory story. The fact that Peter, and other characters, frequently question whether it is worth their effort suggests that Saville himself was trying extra hard to convince a doubtful readership.

I first read this 50 years ago, and remember finding it thrilling.

There are some elements which make this different to previous Lone Pine stories.

The book covers a greater time frame moving through the Easter holidays, to greater discussion of their separate school lives, to an adventure in the summer holidays at Seven Gates (Again).

Usually the Lone Piners separate to solve a mystery near the end of the book. This time, Mr Morton sends them on separate treasure hunts early on, which lead to them identifying the mystery of stolen dogs.

The separate trips also allow the older Lone Piners to begin to appreciate how much their pairing matter to them. Something made more apparent by Charles Sterling and Trudie's engagement.

The mystery of dog napping is made worse when Mackie is stolen by Robens. Peter is angry that the Lone Piners have relied too much on adults and they have not taken charge of events, and Mary is furious and frightened for Mackie.

Eventually Mackie is saved, but at the cost of a broken ankle for Peter.

As usual, everything ends with a feast and explanations.

The other big change is in the tone of the book. The emotional and romantic life of the older Lone Piners is now touched upon more, and is starting to seem as important as the adventure. Loyalty, friendship and kindness to animals remain key values and Peter becomes a central character due to her strong and virtuous nature.

Peter is asked to be Trudie's bridesmaid, and Mary hints to Dickie that Peter will always be in the Morton's family.

This story begins in Paris where Jon and Penny are staying with the beautiful Arlette Duchelle and her parents while improving their French.

Their return to The Gay Dolphin, with Arlette coincides with them seeing friends of Miss Ballinger (from the previous adventure here.

Quickly the story develops around smuggling by Miss Ballinger and her associates and Jon and Penny enlist the support of the Mortons, plus Mackie as well as James Wilson, a reporter investigating the smugglers.

At the denouement the twins are imprisoned by Ballinger again, and later James and Arlette are also locked up (James is also knocked unconscious three times. However, with the aid of the police, and the persistence of Jon and David, the smugglers are brought to justice.

There is also a change in the way the older children are depicted. Penny and Arlette are seen as more grown up and flirtatious, especially with James whereas David and Jon are seen as reliable and steadfast but fairly clueless.

From here onwards, the burgeoning relationships between the older couples begin to be more emphasized.

PS David and the twins (plus Mackie) are allowed to negotiate the various train and bus journeys from Shropshire to Sussex in ways that a modern 16year old, with younger siblings) would never be expected to. They generally rely on a public phone box to keep people appraised of where they are, with the assumption that the person they are phoning will actually be at home.

The first "lightweight" story in the series. It is the first where Jenny is full in the lead, but the premise is simply that she befriends a "bullied" gentleman who is interested in Roman artefacts. eventually they find a bunch of Roman plates in a race against time, due to a sudden flood (fifth novel, third flood)

In this story -

* the Lone Piners go to Seven Gates again

* Mackie is hurt by Percy but gets revenge

* The twins imprison Percy

* Reuben, Miranda and Fenella reappear

* Everything ends with a feast and explanations

We begin to notice more strongly (through 21st century eyes) how neglectful the Mortons' parents are.

They have to go back to London but are happy to leave the children with the housekeeper who, herself, has to look after her sister's guest house.

Jon and Penny Warrender meet the rest of the Lone Piners, which is a good thing. However, it is difficult to accommodate them all within the constraints of the plot.

it is the second time we meet Jenny and she has aged three years when the other have not aged at all.

This is much more her story, but they all get involved in solving a case of sheep rustling.

For once, the twins are NOT kidnapped, or locked up - they get to trail and work with, a police officer. However, the boys all get locked up and need to be rescued, before the case is solved.

The first book in the series to feature Jon & Penny Warrender, and to be located away from Shropshire.

It is also the first story to feature Miss Ballinger, Grandon and Valerie - recurring "villains" who we encounter in further books.

Saville seems to be in his stride with the series by now, and even the change of lead characters and location do not alter the pattern he has developed. Slow build up, often involving a journey to the setting of the adventure, some local history provided by an adult to the children and a good deal of local geography thrown in.

Followed by the Lone Piners splitting up to track someone, or find clues, and eventually reuniting and putting all of the pieces together. But not before Penny and the twins end up imprisoned in a house in danger of flooding

What distinguishes this novel is that it has a genuinely thrilling conclusion, with kidnapping, rescues and a race against rising sea levels. The villains are just mean enough to create a sense of jeopardy.

The third book in the series, but the first truly exciting story.

The main feature of this story are -

* The introduction of the Romany family (who appear in a number of subsequent stories)

* The addition of Jenny to the Lone Piners

* Meeting Uncle Micah, and, subsequently, Charles Sterling

and reinforcement of a plot which necessitates the Lone Piners separating, having their own adventures, and coming back together in a dramatic climax.

The twins are developed as characters, and this is mainly Peter's story.

The original hardback publication has a greater level of inappropriate sexism and colorful descriptions of Peter eating hedgehog, and Mackie dispatching rats in a barn.

The book is dated by the way a boiled egg and a slice of bread and butter is still seen as a feast

The first in the popular Lone Pine series of novels (twenty in total).

Sets the standard for all the other books. However, it is firmly dated in the middle of World War Two, and the Home Guard and food,in particular, date it.

The book starts with a journey (two trains and a car). The Mortons get to meet Peter, and Tom, explore the area around Witchend, Hatcholt, The Long Mynd and Stiperstones, and have “adventures” – namely walking in the countryside, eating sandwiches outside, and building camp fires.

Eventually, we have a “mystery” surrounding Mrs Thurston, Jacob, John Davies and Mr Evans. The twins are detained at Mrs Thurston’s house, and subsequently freed.

Separately, each Lone Piner uncovers evidence that strangers have an unusual interest in the reservoir at Hatcholt.

Eventually, the German spies (for that is what they are) blow up the reservoir near Hatcholt. However, they are all captured due to the excellent work of the Lone Piners.

I read most of the Lone Pine books as a child, so was overjoyed to find this in a charity shop. Still as good as I remember it, althought I still find the twins infuriating. Plot is very obvious to me now as an adult.

Includes a story called 'Young Robin Hood' by Eric Leyland, chapter 1, and stories by Ursula Hourihane, Arthur Groom, Diana Wynne, etc. There is also a full page advert for Bubbly, 'the extra big bubble gum'.