About the author
Ruth Clarke was brought up in the North Oxfordshire village of Islip with her five siblings. She was a Quaker, and therefore a pacifist, who refused to do war work during World War II, and was fined for it. She had no children of her own, but adopted three, whom she raised on her own. According to her niece, Kate Clarke, she was “always busy, always politically aware , often cycling for miles.” She wrote two books: Bonny the Pony, and Don, Dobbie and Dash. Bonny, published in 1947, was one of the later examples of a genre that was becoming less popular: the pony biography.
Finding the books
Bonny is easy to find, and not generally expensive. Don, Dobbie and Dash tends to be expensive, and can be tricky to find with its dustjacket.
Links and sources
Kate Clarke, the author’s niece
Bibliography (pony books only)
BONNY THE PONY
Frederick Warne & Co, London, 1947, illus Stanley Lloyd, 220 pp
Reprinted 1948
Frederick Warne & Co, London, 1959, illus Stanley Lloyd, 159 pp.
The story of an Exmoor pony: Bonny gets his first taste of freedom when he runs away from a cruel trainer. He then searches for Ken, whom he loves, and has many adventures on the way, including saving lives!
DON, DOBBIE AND DASH
Frederick Warne & Co, London, 1950, illus Grace Golden, 190 pp.