There is something inherently magical to me about children’s literature. It contains the books that first awaken the passion of reading for most individuals, and it has long been one of my favorite genres, even as an adult. These are the first pages that shape people’s understanding of the world surrounding them, and for this reason is described by many experts as the most important form of literature. As Madeline L’Engle wrote, “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
Heralded by J. K. Rowling as her favorite childhood book, The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge has never been out of print since its 1946 publication and is a beautifully written tale set in mid-19th century England, with just a smidge of magic. Following the death of her father, 13-year-old Maria Merryweather is sent to Moonacre Manor accompanied by her governess, Miss Heliotrope, and her spoiled lapdog, Wiggins. Maria immediately adores her cousin and now guardian, Sir Benjamin Merryweather, and feels as if she has always belonged at Moonacre. Both the human and animal inhabitants seem to be old friends, and she discovers her bedroom — a small circular room at the top of a tower — even has a little door, just her size. However, there is a mystery from many generations ago in the estate, keeping perpetual turmoil below the calm surface. Moonacre Manor, based on Compton Castle in Devon (also the film site for the 1995 Sense and Sensibility), seems to just nearly abide in another world as the wall dividing it from the village appears to retain within the park a remnant of magic.
The Little White Horse won the annual Carnegie Medal upon publication, recognizing the year’s best children’s book by a British subject, and falls into the category of “low-fantasy,” defined as “non-rational happenings that are without causality or rationality because they occur in the rational world where such things are not supposed to occur.” High-fantasy, then, are the novels that typically involve “world building” — think The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones or Harry Potter series — where magic occurs expectedly in a magical world and is confined to the physical laws of that world.
I found this novel to be perfectly delightful. Written in an era in which children’s literature was still broadly expected to have a sophisticated vocabulary and writing style, this book is thus enjoyable for adults as well as children. I thought the low-fantasy element very intriguing since it just allowed for small splashes of magic in an otherwise standard reality. The intermingling of reality and fantasy within the story gave both the human and the animal characters a vibrant spark.
For more book reviews, please visit our blog, Cola Town {Curated}.
