Harrison-Wallace, Katharine

About the author

Katharine Harrison-Wallace was the god-daughter of the Duke of Atholl, who wrote a foreword to her book. Written and illustrated by her when she was 12 years old, it was reproduced in facsimile form. It is that very rare thing: a book written by a young author which I would seek out and read again. The author is a trenchant observer, so much so that she convinced Colonel CEG Hope, of Riding Magazine, that she was worth reading. Colonel Hope was not a fan of the book written by a very young author, but he liked Sambo and Susan. The book is made up of three short stories. Katharine Harrison-Wallace is a trenchant observer: Sambo and Susan are husband and wife, but Susanโ€™s head is turned by a handsome white horse, with whom she goes off without a second glance. Poor Sambo is left bereft, and Katharine simply observes that: โ€˜Whenever Sambo passed a familiar place, the tears rolled down his cheeks.โ€™

Finding the book
Very difficult to find in its original printing, it was re-issued by theย Apple Tree Press.

Sources and links
Sambo and Susan, introduction
The Apple Tree Press,ย โ€“ run by Katharine Harrison-Wallaceโ€™s son, Colin Studd (link no longer working)


Bibliography


Sambo and Susan

Collins, London, 1938, 60 pp. Illus the author
Apple Tree Press, Northleach, 2012. Facsimile.

A review of the book

A collection of three short stories:ย Sambo and
Susanย 
is the tale of two horses and the
white horse who turns Susanโ€™s head.ย Jim the
Huntsman
ย sees a local fox escaping and
living happily ever after, andย The Story of a
Disobedient Salmon
ย makes plain
what happens to those who will not listen.