About the author
Muriel Winifred Sylvester Hodder wrote just the one pony book, Pax. In a field characterised by early starters, she was a spectacularly early entrant, starting at the age of 11. The dustjacket of her book says: ‘Seventeen years ago, at the age of eleven, Miss Muriel Hodder wrote a novel about a stolen horse. Her relatives disapproving and snubbing her, it was put aside and lay in a drawer until last year, when it luckily came into appreciative hands. Now an accomplished horsewoman, Miss Hodder retains her affection for Pax and offers his story to the world on the entreaties of her friends.”
I can imagine the withering behaviour of her family – good for her on sticking with it.
Finding the book
Pax isn’t impossible to find, and is usually reasonably priced as long as you don’t want a copy with a dustjacket. With a dustjacket, the book can be expensive.
Bibliography
Pax, the Adventurous Horse
Faber & Gwyer, London, 1928
Viking Press, New York, possibly 1929
Preface by Edward Garnet, illus Ray Garnett
