About the author
R Sinclair wrote numerous books for children in the late Victorian era. Stanley’s Pony is a very early pony story indeed, being published in 1903, though it must be said that the story is far more about Stanley and his doings than the pony. Nevertheless, it is an interesting insight into the matter of town versus country, which came to be a regular theme in the pony book. Here, Stanley and his friend Arthur are both sent to the country for their health: and as the alternative, in Arthur’s case, was smoky and polluted Birmingham, well and truly pre the Clean Air Act, it is easy to see why the country had so much to recommend it.
Finding the book
Not impossible to find, but pricing does vary.
Sources and links
The British Library
Bibliography
Stanley’s Pony and Other Tales
Robert Culley, London, 1903, 64 pp.
Stanley is debating where to stay for the school holidays: once his uncle writes to him and tells him he has a pony, the decision is made. It’s the country for Stanley. The story is far more about Stanley and his doings than the pony, it must be said.
