The House on the Cliffs Ruth Dallas, Methuen UK, 1975, 157 pages, paper back.
ISBN: 0 416 24370 3
Judy Clearwater, new to life in the countryside, is lonely until she makes friends with Brenda, a farm-girl who boards at her shop-home during the week. 'It’s lonely on a farm too', says Brenda. Judy is frightened of Old Biddy, an eccentric lady who lives in isolated house on the cliffs, but gradually Judy sees that Biddy is not a witch and even comes to share her interest in saving an albatross.
The minor characters and tensions in the small coastal town of Sandy Bay are well-drawn, and the adventures that Judy and Brenda become involved in are interesting and plausible.
The illustrations are by Gavin Rowe.
Trevor Agnew
Showing posts with label Ruth Dallas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ruth Dallas. Show all posts
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Shining Rivers by Ruth Dallas
Shining Rivers Ruth Dallas, Methuen UK, London, 1979, 144 pages. ISBN 0 45603 070 0
This historical novel is set in the Otago goldfields of New Zealand in the 1860s. ‘I caught the gold fever when I was a boy of fourteen…’ writes young Johnnie, who enters the hard mountain landscape of Central Otago in search of quick wealth. He meets several odd characters, encounters death and disaster (including a dramatic flood) and comes to see his quest as affecting his own character. ‘Most of all I was tired of living among men who had grown like the stones they worked among, hard and unfeeling, and who thought of only one thing, gold.’ Johnny’s gold-mining brings him (and the novel) a satisfying conclusion.
Gareth Floyd’s atmospheric illustrations capture the atmosphere of the novel, especially the landscape. They also match the historical integrity of the text.
Trevor Agnew
This historical novel is set in the Otago goldfields of New Zealand in the 1860s. ‘I caught the gold fever when I was a boy of fourteen…’ writes young Johnnie, who enters the hard mountain landscape of Central Otago in search of quick wealth. He meets several odd characters, encounters death and disaster (including a dramatic flood) and comes to see his quest as affecting his own character. ‘Most of all I was tired of living among men who had grown like the stones they worked among, hard and unfeeling, and who thought of only one thing, gold.’ Johnny’s gold-mining brings him (and the novel) a satisfying conclusion.
Gareth Floyd’s atmospheric illustrations capture the atmosphere of the novel, especially the landscape. They also match the historical integrity of the text.
Trevor Agnew
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