Mackenzie, Kathleen

The Four Pentires and Jimmy

W G Harrap, London, 1947, illus Violet Morgan, 256 pp.
Reprinted, Harrap, 1949

This book starts off conventionally enough with the Pentire girls competing at a show. The ponies Punch and Judy then go missing, and it takes a while before it dawns on anyone that they have been stolen, and haven’t just strayed.

We Four and Sandy

Evans, London, 1947, 247 pp.
(NB: dj pictured is a homemade one cut out from the original and stuck to brown paper)

The Pentire girls go on a holiday with Uncle Percy, in a horse-drawn caravan.

A Green Fox

Evans, London, 1949, illus Violet Morgan.  248 pp.

The Pentire girls have to do some determined work to save their reputation with the hunt.

The Badgers of Quinion

Evans, London,1950, illus Violet Morgan, 262 pp.

Terry Ferrars arrives to stay with the Cartwright children. Her arrival coincides with one excitement after another, culminating in the capture of two spies and the return of Terry’s father (whom everyone but she thought was dead), and the revelation of who Terry really is.

Vicky and the Pentires

Evans, London, 1951, illus Violet Morgan, 239 pp.

The summer holiday soon livens up once the children find out that some crooks are using a local folly for dog rustling, and making free with the ponies to do it. Once the crooks are disturbed they flee, and all seems to quieten down until they go on to a caravan trip to visit a castle Vicky has inherited. Once they’re there, the children and Uncle Percy are thrown into the midst of a criminal gang and have to exercise all their ingenuity to escape.

Red Conker

Evans, London. 1952, illus Violet Morgan, cover art Maurice Tulloch, 224 pp.
Reprinted 1955, 1958

Frances Pentire’s horse is badly injured at a local show. She finds a lost chestnut horse, and the Pentire family and their friend Vicky manage to find the horse’s owner. Frances is allowed to ride Red Conker, but they soon find someone else appreciates the horse’s qualities too, and is trying to get him by very
unscrupulous means.  And then Red Conker’s owner disappears…

Minda

Evans, London, 1953, illus Maurice Tulloch, cover Maurice Tulloch, 188 pp.
Evans, 1959
Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau for the picture.

“This is the story of Minda Budge who, with her colt Crescent, joins a Pony Club started by three children and proves to be easily the best rider among them. Unfortunately another young member of the Club, Jill, is jealous of Minda and when she is chosen to represent the Club in the Area Competitions, Jill tries to keep Minda and Crescent out of the event. The plot fails and Minda does well. Other exciting adventures follow and finally Minda scores a great personal triumph in the Inter-Branch Competitions.”

Jumping Jan

Evans, London, 1955, illus Violet Morgan, cover art Maurice Tulloch. 182 pp.
Evans, 1960

Janice Maddever wants to work with horses. Her first job is with the rich, unhappy Jervis family. Each of the Jervis children needs help, and Jan is the one who provides it. Irving has been crippled by polio, and thinks he will never ride again. Elaine wants to be a nurse, but dare not tell her snobbish mother this. Gary, a playwrite, is the favourite, but he’s having problems writing and isn’t too fussy about where he gets his ideas. The last child, Sarah, is pretty but selfish. In the end Jan impresses more than just the Jervis family, and rides at White City.

Three of a Kind

Evans, London, 1956, illus Violet Morgan. 190 pp.

Jenny, Janey and Ginny are triplets. Jenny is an excellent rider, and Ginny a fine actress. Janey is good at both, but not outstanding. She though is the one who helps her sisters achieve their dreams. Near the Dane triplets live Mrs Comy and her daughter, Margaret. Mrs Comyn wants to have first class show horses, but Margaret is too nervous to be able to ride for her, so Jenny has to ride and train Sir Peregrine. Horse and rider do well. Meanwhile, Ginny has been given a part in a play. Ginny persuades Janey to take her place at an audition when she can’t go, and Janey takes Jenny’s place riding Sir Peregrine to win at the Southern Counties Show.

Chalk and Cheese

Evans, London, 1957, illus Violet Morgan. 189 pp.

“Widow Mrs. Sinclair gets a job at Diana Watson’s riding stables, and her daughter Pippa goes too. Diana is a hard mistress, but a friendly neighbour named Miss Winter helps the Sinclairs in their difficulties. When Diana gets married the stables are sold and the Sinclairs lose their main source of income. But Miss Winter once more comes to the rescue, and Mrs. Sinclair takes a large house where she looks after children whose parents have gone abroad. Of course the children ride, and they all have exciting adventures, including the breaking in by Pippa of a frisky horse bought by Miss Winter. Mrs. Sinclair has a fall, which necessitates a drastic operation,but in the end everything ends happily.”

Nancy and the Carrs

Evans, London, 1958, illus Violet Morgan, cover art Anne Gordon. 192 pp.

Nancy Thompson, 15, is an orphan. She meetes the Carr family, and everything goes well at first. Unfortunately, Nancy’s aunt, with whom she lives, doesn’t approve of her affection for the Carrs, and she doesn’t understand her love of horses and riding either. Besides horses, there is also plenty of the usual holiday sort of adventure: a robbery, a theft, a chase over land and sea and a rescue.

Prize Pony

Evans, London,1959, illus Violet Morgan, cover Anne Gordon. 191 pp.
Children’s Book Club, 1959

Tessa’s father is a poor vicar, and they live in London. Tessa is mad on horses, but her circumstances mean she can’t do much about it. Then her parents go to stay in France,and Tessa is sent to the country. When she enters a raffle in the village fete, she wins a pony, and meets Diana, who is a champion jumper. There is the issue of how Tessa will manage to keep the pony when she has to return to London, but then her father is offered a country living, and everything works out.

Many thanks to Heather of Peakirk Books for the picture of the first edition and to Gillian Taylor for the picture of the reprint.

Nigel Rides Away

Evans, London,1960, illus Violet Morgan, cover uncredited. 192 pp.

Nigel doesn’t get on with his cousin Alastair, and he is delighted when he manages to escape him, and go camping with Hamish and Fiona. In order to get away, he has to pretend that he is going straight to his grandmother (with whom he should be spending the whole of his holiday) and there are some anxious moments at the railway station when his aunt and Alastair turn up to meet some friends of their own. Then there is plenty of holiday adventure when he’s out with Hamish and Fiona, and in the end, Nigel is allowed to live with his grandmother.

The Cave in the Cliff

Evans, London, 1961, illus Violet Morgan. 191 pp.
Children’s Book Club, 1961

Two sisters go and stay with their aunt in France and meet adventure with smuggling, burglaries and kidnapping. The pony content is pretty minimal in this book, but there is a little (as you can see from the cover).

Pony and Trap

Evans, London,1962, illus Violet Morgan, cover uncredited. 192 pp.

“Tamsin and her brother John, who is recovering from a serious illness, are sent to spend a few months with their grandmother in Cornwall. They manage to buy an old pony trap and hire a pony with which to explore the surrounding countryside. Tamsin, who loves horses and riding, makes friends with Molly, the girl groom at the stables of a retired Army colonel. The colonel owns a horse, Greenheart, who is entered for the Grand National, and Tamsin, John and Molly discover a plot to injure the horse and its rider.”

The Pageant

Evans, London, 1964, illus Violet Morgan. 176 pp.
Reprinted 1975, White Lion, 176 pp.

London girl Della has no interest in the country of horses, after a fall put her off. Then her parents have to go abroad, and the only place Della can stay is with her horse-mad uncle, aunt and cousins, who are so obsessed with their horses they can barely even acknowledge her when she arrives. Della keeps a diary, having little else to do until the village pageant provides a means to unite the family. Not only does Della take part in the pageant,she also has to face her fear of horses when one of her cousins is seriously injured.

SHORT STORIES

Griselda
Collins Magazine Annual Volume 2 1949, illus Artur Horowicz
A girl and her brother catch a wild pony and break it in entirely by themselves.

Bogged Down
The Pony Club Book 13, William Heinemann Ltd in association with the Naldrett Press Ltd, 1962, illus Helen Collins.
Sally Brown feels herself a complete outsider at Pony Club

Quarry Adventure
Pony Magazine Annual, 1963, illus Anne Bullen
Gillian meets a tiger in a quarry.

Non Pony

Thanks to Miss Winter
Collins, 1950, illus Beryl Thornborough

Monster Creek
Collins, 1951, illus Shirley Hughes

Magpie and Mrs Winter
Evans, 1952

The Stark Sisters
Evans, 1963, illus Hilary Abrahams

Charlotte Evans
Evans, 1964, illus Hilary Abrahams

White Swallows
Methuen, 1964

Garden Railway
Methuen, 1966, illus Gunvor Evans

Kelford Dig: A Story of the Starke Sisters
Evans, 1966, illus Hilary Abrahams

The Great Sarah: The Life of Mrs Siddons
Evans, 1968