| Green Knowe — (1954-1976) Ages 9-12. Publisher: Tolly comes to live with his great-grandmother at the ancient house of Green Knowe and becomes friends with three children who lived there in the seventeenth century.
  
  
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 The Children of Green Knowe:
For Anyone Who Wants to Explore An Old English House
Reading this book was a strange experience for me, as even though I had never read it before in my life, it evoked a strange sense of familiarity that only the very best books, movies and music are able to achieve. Usually these are reserved for the ones that are experienced in childhood and carried through into adulthood, but every now and then one arrives that touch one on so deep a level that one feels they've always known them. The Children of Green Knowe is one such book.
This is the perfect book for anyone who has a love of old homes, and especially for those who have very little chances of exploring them, much less living in them. Since Lucy Boston wrote the Green Knowe series based on her own house and garden that was built nearly nine hundred years ago, the descriptions of the house and grounds are painstakingly created and thus utterly realistic. As her young protagonist explores them, so too does the reader, and her poetic imagery concerning all the marvels that he finds are vivid, mysterious and beautiful all at once.
The story itself is slow and dreamlike; it can hardly be called a story, rather it is better described as the record of a young boy and his semi-magical experiences throughout his winter at Green Knowe. Seven year old Toseland is sent to live with his great-grandmother during the school break whilst his parents are in Burma, and despite some initial fears concerning Mrs Oldknow and her strange existence in the flooded waters of the property, Toseland (or "Tolly" as she calls him) soon finds himself quite at home among the welcoming atmosphere of the house, the variety of friendly animals, and the myriad of interesting relics to be found. Outside, the wintry landscape goes through many changes, from a flooded lake to snow-covered hillocks, all watched over by the statue of St Christopher against the wall.
But there are other components at work that Mrs Oldknow and her manservant Boggis seem reluctant to talk about - the spirits of children that lived in the house over three hundred years ago still seem to be dwelling within the house: Alexander, Toby and Linnet. Tolly is eager to get to know them, especially if it means seeing Toby's old horse Feste, and through several designs of his own, Tolly just might get his wish. The visitations with the "ghosts" come across as perfectly natural and not at all sinister, through there is just the right amount of mystery about them that keeps the normality of the house just forever verging on the magical.
In fact, for me personally, there was a little bit of a shock in store. The reason I liked this book so much was because it reminded me of my own little hobby (that I'm sure others share) of creating dream-homes to live in, complete with their own names. The name given to my own imaginary house is Joyous Gard (after Lancelot's castle), and I almost got goosebumps when Mrs Oldknow recounts the story of Alexander exploring the old church and deciding to call it Joyous Gard! How spooky is that?
Throughout the book, Lucy Boston's Catholicism is made clear, through her use of St Christopher and the descriptions of finely decorated cathedrals as opposed to the less-elaborate Protestant churches, and so with Catholic favor comes the barest touch of Paganism that (probably unintentionally) lies behind the animal hedge-sculptures that seem to come to life, the ghostly occurrences and the personification of inanimate objects. There is even a touch of the sinister in Green Noah, the evil humped tree that lies as a curse upon the family...
For anyone who likes dreamy, meandering stories but has no idea where to find them, look no further than The Children of Green Knowe. There's enough charm and mystery for any child or adult who long for such a place to live in, and Mrs Oldknow's stories-within-the-story, Tolly's wonderment at his home, and the many strange events that happen make this a hidden gem in children's literature.
—Rebecca Fisher
Treasure of Green Knowe: "You are blind, but you see things sometimes when I can't."
Tolly has returned to Green Knowe and his Grandmother full of excitement at being there once more, but an unhappy surprise lies in wait for him: the portrait of the children Toby, Alexander and Linnet is missing from the wall. It would seem a small loss but for the fact that its absence means that the children's spirits are also not present in the house.
Grandmother Oldknow explains the painting's loss due to poor finances, though soon sparks hope in Tolly for its return due to the tale of the missing treasure of Green Knowe (which he vows to find), and stories of another family ancestor: Susan Oldknow. Born to a vain mother, a kind but absent father, a spoilt older brother Sefton, and an overly pious grandmother, Susan knows her blindness is a terrible blow to the family's pride: "I can't take her into society, she'll never be married, and I'll have her always!" her mother laments when the sad truth is revealed.
Smothered by a good-hearted but utterly disillusioned Nanny, Susan is not allowed to do a thing on her own, till her Captain father brings back a gift from his travels that shocks the entire family: a West Indian boy named Jacob to keep her company. Their extraordinary friendship can only be describe through L.M. Boston's beautiful prose, as when the two meet:
“Who is it Papa?” Susan asked. Jacob answered for himself, in a voice whose smallest half-utterance she was never afterwards to mistake for any other. “It's me, Missy.”
As with Tolly's previous summer in the house, the line between past and present blurs, and he once again interacts with the older inhabitants of the house, though this time in a far more influential manner, going so far as to actively participate in the stories his Grandmother tells him each night. While other time-traveling stories leave me completely cross-eyed, the Green Knowe stories treat it as something utterly natural, and thus so do the readers.
As a sequel to Children of Green Knowe, this second part (also published as Chimneys of Green Knowe) is undoubtedly superior to its predecessor. Though I missed Toby, Alexander and Linnet, their part in the first story was as whimsical spirits — Susan and Jacob have a definite story assigned to them, and interact with Tolly in a more important way, stirring events into being on both sides of the centuries.
Lucy Boston creates a sophisticated commentary on prejudice that still rings true today in her use of blind Susan and West Indian Jacob. As she comments, blind people were either poor and beggars, or rich and had servants to live for them, and Susan was certainly of the latter group. As such, the poor girl often finds herself strapped to a chair with her doll tied to its arm, disliked by her grandmother who thinks her condition a judgment for her mother's vain lifestyle, and punished for fingering things. Boston's descriptions of blindness in both Susan's life: "things stuck out of space like icebergs out of the sea," and Tolly's experiments (he discovers feet are more useful than hands in such an instance) are evocatively written, and so imaginatively told that it won't simply be children so have their minds expanded.
Second is Jacob, whose place in the story is still whilst England allowed slavery. This book was first published in 1958, and I was both impressed by Boston's distaste for slavery, and refreshed by the lack of extreme political correctness that so often clogs books on the subject written today. Boston presents the Slave Trade as a simple fact, that could be neither explained nor excused, but simply a reality.
Truly, the Green Knowe stories are among the lost masterpieces of children's literature. Do everyone in your family a favor and read them — the house, the characters, the situations, and the sublime use of language that Lucy Boston uses is unforgettable. —Rebecca Fisher
 The River at Green Knowe: "A Promise to a Displaced Person is the Most Solemn of All"
As the third book in Lucy Boston's Green Knowe series, readers who are moving through the books chronologically may be a bit surprised at the extreme change of formula in the story that dictated the two previous books. There is no Tolly or Grandmother Oldknow and their discoveries of past inhabitants of the house, but rather two elderly women who rent the house and send away for a niece and two children from "the Society for the Promotion of Summer Holidays for Displaced Children."
Thus The River at Green Knowe is definitely moving in a different direction from the previous books, and continues with Boston's decision to set most of the scenes upon the river, as Ida, Oskar and Ping explore the flooded areas and the islands around the ancient house, often meeting strangers who are just as Displaced as they are. The adventures that they experience are dreamy and mysterious within the shrouded waters and woodlands, and one is never quite sure whether they are dreams or reality save that all three of them experience them.
These exertions are also different from Tolly's adventures in that they are more magical experiences rather than ghostly, and therefore need readers to suspend disbelief a little further. The fact that the children's experiences are all quite separated from each other and episodic also makes them a tad uneven. Some are based more on naturalistic themes, such as an overgrown river-side house, witnessing a pagan-festival in a time-traveling moment and meeting a busman who wandered into the woods and decided to remain there always, whilst others are of the extraordinary type: an island of winged horses, a giant who doesn't know what laughter is but eventually joins the circus, and one of the children shrinking down to mouse-size. Needless to say, Boston's style is suited best to the more natural occurrences that just border on the supernatural. To me at least, the others come across as a little too odd.
However, there is a theme that hasn't been addressed before that pushes through: that of adult disbelief in Green Knowe's magic. Beforehand, all strange events were simply taken in their stride by Tolly and Grandmother Oldknow, whilst here Boston explores the idea of grown-ups not being able to see what the children can. Green Knowe is contrasted against the reality of adult ignorance, whether it be through a frightened, confused message in a bottle, or through Boston's first two comic figures Maud Biggin and Sybilla Bun, who cannot see the truth in front of them even when they've been searching for it.
It all goes hand in hand with Oskar's comments on thoughts being real, and Terak telling the children he is so big that no one sees him. Lucy Boston weaves these ideas through her narrative with ease, and as always her poetic language is utterly beautiful. I don't think Oskar or Ida were quite as well defined as Tolly or as Ping becomes in later books, which is a shame as they had the potential to be fascinating — and they don't appear in any later books. However, keep a look out for a dark figure examining the house that does. —Rebecca Fisher
A Stranger at Green Knowe: "Don't move Ping. He's here. In the doorway."
The fourth book in L. M. Boston's Green Knowe series is a step away from the usual formula. Tolly is absent once more, though luckily Mrs Oldknow has returned in time to receive a letter from young Ida, (from The River at Green Knowe) asking her if her friend Ping might stay with her in her mysterious, magically inclined house. Missing Tolly, Mrs Oldknow agrees, and soon Ping, a young Burmese orphan and refugee, is happily exploring Toseland Thicket at Green Knowe.
But the story begins long before this, in the Congo, where a young gorilla is separated from his family and captured in order to make the long journey from his tropical home to the concrete realm of the Zoo. In one of the most evocative descriptions of gorilla life and environments I've ever read, Boston sets the scene for the story to come with descriptions such as: "even at noon the jungle is like a heavily curtained room", and "thunderstorms worthy of the beginning of the world". If you have discovered Boston's incredible use of language in her previous books, then this one won't fail to disappoint.
When Ping and Hanno the gorilla first meet at the Zoo, there is an instant connection bordering on the spiritual. It therefore seems almost fate that when Hanno goes missing from the Zoo (escaping via a clumsily locked door) it is at Toseland Thicket that Ping finds him. Drawing on what must have been carefully researched facts about gorillas and their lives (not surprising since the book was written when gorillas were first being seriously studied), Boston creates an utterly realistic bond between boy and gorilla.
But an escaped gorilla is big news, and the authorities cannot be drawn away for long, despite Ping's best efforts. With the police and Hanno's Keeper moving in, it is finally up to Hanno to make a choice: captivity or freedom?
A Stranger at Green Knowe is often considered the best of the Green Knowe books because of the sensitive and detailed way in which the gorilla's circumstances are brought to life (there's no sappy Disney Mighty Joe Young here!). Her descriptions on his way of life, his powerful disposition and the tragedy of his being are nothing less than sublime. Like she did with the blind Susan and West Indian Jacob of Treasure of Green Knowe, Boston shows a wisdom before her time.
However, some people may miss Tolly and the magical elements of the mansion, as this book is focused solely on the real life mystery of the gorillas. Rest assured though, in the next book, An Enemy at Green Knowe, both Tolly and the magic are brought back in full force. If you are into gorilla stories, I can suggest some movies that you may enjoy: Rene Russo's Buddy, Back to the Wild concerning a gorilla taught sign language, and of course Gorillas in the Mist. —Rebecca Fisher
An Enemy at Green Knowe: "What's Thought Cannot be Unthought"
The fifth book in Lucy Boston's Green Knowe series finally brings together our two main protagonists: the house's blood relative Tolly and the Chinese refugee Ping, both of whom have featured in the previous books, but never together. Unfortunately we do not see their meeting, but instead join the story half-way through the summer, by which time the two are already best friends.
As always, the mysterious Green Knowe is filled with ancient and semi-magical artifacts (all of which are actually real relics that belong in the author's home on which she based the books) and Grandmother Oldknow tells the children stories concerning the past inhabitants of the house. Now for the first time, she tells them a story that holds a more sinister edge to it. In the 17th century a young boy had a tutor that was said to dabble in alchemical practices, and have a number of magical books with which he created his spells. An author with astonishing vision for her time, Boston highlights the unfairness of such a man being thought of as noble and intelligent for following such a practice, whilst harmless women were often prosecuted for dabbling in herblore. Grandmother Oldknow tells the children that Doctor Vogel eventually burnt all his equipment with the help of the local minister (whose testimony was found in The River of Green Knowe, but only now translated), but it is rumored that one book of dark spells may have escaped the flames.
In typical Green Knowe fashion, in which the past regularly surges up to greet the present, it is not just a coincidence that directly after this storytelling a new neighbours comes to call: Melanie Powers, whose interest in the house and in the legend of Dr Vogel hints at her true intentions. She is after the missing book, and begins a systematic assault on Green Knowe as its first truly evil antagonist, whereas up until now the worst the children have faced is meddling adults. Like the Twelve Plagues of Egypt, Ms Powers sends nasties crawling into the Green Knowe: maggots, snakes and bird-snatching cats.
But of course, Tolly and Ping have their own spells and allies, and with this comes wonderful reappearances from previous characters, including the spirit of the gorilla Hanno and the ghostly past-resident Susan. Even the starlings, who have been pests in previous books, prove their worth. It is stirring stuff to see the children fight passionately for the home they love and attempt to reach the book before Powers does. I only wish Boston had taken the opportunity to include more characters: what about Ida and Oskar? Toby, Alexander and Linnet? Boggis and Feste the horse?
It is the first Green Knowe book to instigate a good against evil theme, and for that reason is sure to be a favourite among most readers since all the other books make more meandering and whimsical reading. In fact, one should be warned that this installment can get a little scary at times, and even gruesome, as in the case of Powers hanging dead birds on a clothesline or the sight of a horned ritual stick, which was described so evocatively that it sent shivers down my spine: "they recognized it at once as absolutely evil." I should also warn New-Agers and modern day "witches" that Ms Powers is a witch in the medieval description of the word — with black magic and links to Satan.
A great addition to the Green Knowe books, though often mistaken for the final installment. This is false, as there are six books in the series, and the last title is The Stones of Green Knowe, an essential part of the collection. Boston claims that she wrote these books for her own amusement, and that has never been more apparent than in An Enemy at Green Knowe since many questions are left unanswered concerning the background of Mr Powers and the real intentions of Dr Vogel, yet despite that, this book is one of my favourites.
And as always, Peter Boston's illustrations are excellent, and I love Brett Helquist's new covers; let's face it, these books were in need of a face-lift. —Rebecca Fisher
The Stones of Green Knowe: "It is a Family Heirloom. It Will Come to Me Again."
The Stones of Green Knowe completes Boston's series, and aptly takes us right back to the beginning of Green Knowe: to its original construction in 1120 A.D. The very first of the Green Knowe children is Roger, the grandson of a Norman Earl, who is excited beyond words at the building of a two-storied stone house, complete with windows. Roger's days are spent watching the flocks and exploring the construction site, with as much attention given to historical accuracy and detail as one would expect from Rosemary Sutcliffe. Like all the previous young protagonists, he is surrounded both by semi-mysterious characters sympathetic to his situation (such as the Viking Olaf Olafson, who gifts him with a magical knife, and another kindly grandmother reminiscent of the not-yet-born Grandmother Oldknow), and characters that make his life a little bit more difficult — such as a snobbish mother, not the first one to appear in Boston's books, leading me to believe that the author knew one personally.
Yet despite being surrounded by all this excitement, Roger becomes captivated by the talk of the workers, who mention among themselves two mysterious stones out on the hills: "Surely you've heard of them? Very old, they were. Two of them standing out alone on a grassy hill at twilight, it gave you the jumps to see them." Roger, along with his horse Viking and his dog Watchet, seek them out, and by clearing away some brush, discovers the King and Queen Stones: the source of the magic of Green Knowe.
From there the real adventures begin, as Roger discovers what later generations have yet to do: time travel back and forth to discover the other children of Green Knowe, and the fate of his beloved home. In true Lucy Boston style, there is added in little notes of Roger's discomfort at the environmental destruction of the forest, but it never overshadows what we are really interested in: his meetings with Toby, Alexander and Linnet, with Susan and Jacob, and with Tolly, all living in the same house at different times. Marveling at the differences they all face, the reader is eventually rewarded with a beautiful scene of all the children gathered together under the beech tree... joined by yet another unexpected child, who gives Roger a special keepsake.
After six books in the series, I was very sad to see its end, as with all great literature, I had grown quite attached to Green Knowe and its inhabitants. It was a touch of genius to have the final book take place at 'the beginning' as it were, as we finally can understand where St Christopher came from, how Green Knowe got its name, and how the time traveling was made possible in the first place: through the Stones, whose origins remain an eternal mystery. If there was one fault, it was that Ping, Ida and Oskar were completely absent — in the final book, surely it would have been the right time to bring ALL the children together, but it seems Boston wanted to keep only the children of Roger's bloodline in for simplicity's sake.
The Stones of Green Knowe is the perfect ending to a stunning series of somewhat unknown books, leaving us with the major theme of the books: the ongoing battle to protect that which is natural and beautiful. I found it extremely fitting that the book ended with one last enigma concerning the fate of the Stones, and what appears to be the end of the time-traveling, for the last sentence of this last book took my breath away in its sadness and potency. —Rebecca Fisher |
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