The Little White Horse

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There are no servants to be seen, and Sir Benjamin declares that no woman has set foot on the house for twenty years! Never in all her short life had she seen such wonderful trees; giant beeches clad in silver armour, rugged oaks, splendid chestnuts, and delicate birches shimmering with light. They had no leaves as yet but the buds were swelling, and there seemed a mist of pale colour among their branches—amethyst and chrome and rose and blue, all melting into each other like the colours of a rainbow that shines for a moment through the clouds and then changes its mind and goes away again. Maria as well as Elizabeth was an only child, and so relates well to the grown ups around her, there is very little us and them mentality. The second is a scene where Maria is chided for being overly curious—going along with some other not very subtle women-bashing in the book. To counter this, however, the book’s general theme seems to be less against curiosity, and more for faith. And for all of the women-bashing at the beginning of the book (and there’s quite a bit of it), notably, at the end, the estate and the village are saved not by a man, but by a girl, and Maria, not a boy, is able to inherit and rule the estate in her own right. When Maria finally continues reading the book, she discovers that the two families fought over the pearls and the Moon Princess cursed Moonacre Valley to be plunged into eternal darkness at the rising of the 5000th moon, unless a "pure heart" is heard. The Manor's chef Marmaduke tells Maria she is the new Moon Princess, as she can see the unicorn, and only such a one can undo the curse. Maria figures out that the very next full moon will be the 5000th. Frightened, she runs away and finds a cave inhabited by a woman named Loveday. Loveday reveals she herself was a Moon Princess, but failed to unite the families and break the curse. Maria realises that the de Noirs stole the casket containing the pearls and the Merryweathers took the key to it.

Everything in this book happens so much in Maria's favor that there isn't really any plot tension. The one time in the entire book that something goes wrong for her, it's completely clear that she will try again and get it on her second try. Also, the "secrets" in the book are made so painfully obvious that it's nearly impossible to be surprised with Maria when X is actually revealed to be Y! The Secret of Moonacre was met with a mixed reception from critics. Some criticized the film's script and acting. [13] [14] Philip French of The Observer called it "A film about magic that remains obdurately unmagical." [15] Rating the film one out of five stars, The Independent's Anthony Quinn wrote that it had a "sluggish narrative" and accused it of "trying to hitch a lift on the Potter gravy train." [16] Simon Reynolds of Digital Spy wrote that the film was "let down by a script with tin-eared dialogue" and "laboured direction", but found the cast's "hilarious acting misjudgements" enjoyable nonetheless. [17] Kevin Maher of The National referred to the film as "bargain-basement fantasy", complaining that its plot was too predictable. [4] What Beautiful Eyes!: Jane Heliotrope is described has having a beaky puce colored nose and a hairstyle of ringlets that's twenty years too young for her, but she does have very nice blue eyes. Maria Merryweather was born and raised in London, but when was thirteen she was orphaned and sent to live with her last living relative – Sir Benjamin of Moonacre Manor – in the heart of the country. She travelled with her governess, Miss Heliotrope, and her beloved spaniel, Wiggins. Night was falling when arrived, and they were all enchanted by the sight of a moonlit castle set in a beautiful and expansive grounds.

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Bradshaw, Peter (6 February 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 September 2019. Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "There is only one thing that can save us now. Classical. French. Needlepoint!". After her father dies in debt, Maria Merryweather and her governess Miss Heliotrope go to live at Moonacre Manor with Maria's uncle Benjamin.

There is also something darker. Maria learns of her sadness and wrong-going in her family’s history, and she realises that it has fallen to her to set things right. I simply loved this one right from the start, mostly because there is something very magical about the atmosphere Goudge creates—she makes you want to almost step into the book and live in Moonacre manor which is a warm, welcoming place, with lovely surroundings—so are the other houses described, like the old parsonage and Loveday’s house. Her descriptions too are beautiful. As usual I never remember to mark them when I read them but this for instance: Has been adapted into both a live-action TV series, Moonacre, and a movie, The Secret of Moonacre. The latter was directed by Gabor Csupo of Bridge to Terabithia fame, and while it is an enjoyable movie in its own right, it plays up the more overt fantasy elements of the book with Maria now having to force the two families together, before the 5000th moon since the curse was laid upon the family destroys Moonacre Valley. It also eliminates any reference to Old Parson (or the surrounding village) and re-tools the character of Robin into being the Big Bad's son. Oh, and it has Tim Curry as the Big Bad, Coeur de Noir. The writing is completely charming --in the sense that great charm is always allied to intelligence and wit. All of the sentences are beautifully wrought, and the magical setting ("Moonacre")is so lovingly described that the reader can perfectly imagine it. The story is about a young girl who finds herself an orphan and moves from high-society London to her only surviving relative's castle in the countryside. Her cousin's town is a magical fairyland where everything is wonderful except that there are horrible people living in the woods and increasingly wreaking havoc (stealing food and animals at night, pretty much). Everyone in the town accepts Maria instantly as being the Chosen One who will mend ways with the bad people. She has to uncover the town's secrets - and those of its inhabitants - while all the time remembering not to be too curious in her pursuit of this information. She is routinely rewarded for not asking questions or going exploring on her own by being handed the piece of information she was waiting for in the next scene.

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when at last the men ride away singing into the sunset, there was not a crumb of food or a drop of anything to drink left upon the table; nor a drop of hatred in any heart nor a crumb of bitterness in any mind. Everything was explained and forgiven, and the future stretched before them with a fair promise...

Miss Heliotrope is partial to the color purple, heliotropes are a flower that often sport purple blossoms. Marmaduke Scarlet – Sir Benjamin's cook and housekeeper. Also the owner of Zachariah the cat. He does not like feminine curiosity and sees his kitchen as a private domain. He is a wonderful chef. Nice to Maria.Graebel, Laurel (26 February 2009). "A World Full of Movies Where Kids Call the Shots". The New York Times . Retrieved 20 September 2019. Zachariah – Marmaduke's special cat. He helps out Maria and Robin. He writes messages in the ashes in the kitchen fireplace. Marmaduke Scarlett is described as often wearing a red hat and scarlett refers to a type of fabric that was frequently dyed red. The valley is filled with the delightful characters that pepper all of Elizabeth’s works and tells us something about her natural friendliness towards all differing sorts of people. Elizabeth one feels, would never judge a book by its cover; an attribute she gives to Maria, and her devotion and love to the outwardly unappealing Miss Heliotrope. Her “invented” London play mate, Robin who turns out to be the shepherd boy come gardener at the manor, is not an unsuitable suitor, and his Mother, Loveday Minette, is “a dream come true. For when in lonely moments the motherless Maria had imagined for herself the mother she would like to have, that mother had been exactly like Loveday Minette.”(Goudge p. 131)

A fairy tale fantasy – that gave many readers a life-time longing for a circular tower room at the top of a spiral staircase. I wonder if Devon is even half as enchanting in real life as it is portrayed in this book!!! If so, I want to go... In 2008, the book was very loosely adapted into the film The Secret of Moonacre, written by Lucy Shuttleworth and Graham Alborough and directed by Gabor Csupo. Starring Dakota Blue Richards as Maria, [5] the movie was mostly shot in Hungary and released in February 2009 a b c Maher, Kevin (13 May 2010). "The Secret of Moonacre: Predictable". The National . Retrieved 15 September 2019. Reynolds, Simon (5 February 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". Digital Spy . Retrieved 15 September 2019.

Elizabeth Goudge Press Reviews

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the book, Sir Benjamin Merriweather is described as fat, bowlegged, and past his prime. In its film adaptation, he's played by the lean, sinewy Ioan Gruffudd, who's also considerably younger than the character. A completely adorable book from start to finish! I'm sorry I didn't run into this one sooner in my reading life, it's a sweet, perfectly balanced adventure for the young and imaginative, and is overloaded with all the best things one thinks of when one thinks of England. For me, I first read this book when I was probably seven or eight, and adored it at first read. It has remained one of my favorite childhood books. There's sheer magic in the descriptions - like Maria's room at the manor (I wanted a room like hers so badly, with that little silvery door that was too small for anyone else to use!), the clothes, Loveday's cottage, the manor itself, the symbolism of the moon and sun, the people, and of course the wonderful animals. The plot itself is just lovely - but if you go into this reading it from the perspective of a jaded, cynical, literary-minded adult, you won't be able to appreciate it.