About the author
Catharine Jane Hamilton (1840–1935?) was born in Somerset. Her parents were from Ireland, though her father worked as an Anglican vicar in the Church of England. After his death in 1859, Catharine moved to Ireland, returning to England later in life. She wrote several books for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and various works for children, including The Story of Steady and Sure (1927), the tale of two ponies who end up in a circus and for whom life does not go well.
Finding the book
Reasonably easy to find in both editions.
Links and sources
A Guide to Irish Fiction, 1650-1900 – accessed 19 February 2014. Update 2023: Link no longer exists, but the text does seem accessible via ResearchGate.
Many thanks to Lisa Catz for the photograph and summary.
Bibliography (horse books only)
The Story of Steady and Sure
GG Harrap & Son, London, 1927, 111 pp
Thomas Y Crowell Co, 1928, 159 pp, illus M D Hardy
Two twin colts, Steady and Sure, belong to Alice and Peter. Their early life is good, but tragedy strikes when the children’s father dies after a fall hunting. The two colts are split up. Sure is sold to a lady as a driving horse, but poor Steady ends up as a beach pony. The one bright spot for him is Mike, the kind stable-boy who cares for him. Steady is then sold to a circus, and reunited with Sure, who has also been sold to the circus. The circus changes hands, and things take a turn for the worse again.
