The Children of Green Knowe
Lucy M. Boston
This is the first of the six books about Green Knowe, an ancient and
mysterious house. The book open with young Toseland (Tolly) Oldknow
travelling alone while his parents are overseas to visit his
great-grandmother who lives in his ancestral home of Green Knowe, where his
family has lived for centuries. The countryside has been flooded due to
heavy rains and Tolly reaches the house by boat, adding to his romance. The
garden of the house has an extensive collection of topiary animals and two
large trees Green Noah and his wife. Tolly finds Green Noah to be a bit
frightening.
From the first Tolly senses the presence of unseen others, occasionally
finding things have moved or hearing strange noises. His great-grandmother
tells him stories of their family history, particularly about three children
in a portrait who lived in the house and died of the plague. To Tolly it is
almost as though she can still see them. Gradually Tolly starts to see and
then talk to the three children from the the time of King Charles II, nearly
three hundred years before. They are not frightening, instead they give
Tolly a connection to his family history and become his friends and
companions. They tell him stories including how Green Noah was cursed.
The story comes to a frightening climax as Tolly's friends try to help him
escape from danger.
Reviewed by Adam Quinan, June, 2009
This article is ©2009 by Adam Quinin, and posted on All Things
Ransome with permission.
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