Indeed, pretty much nobody in this story ends up marrying within their social class, although Loveday was at one point at least closer to Sir Benjamin’s social class. And, like the best of fairy tales, it has a few flaws that might disturb readers. For one, Maria is not a classic beauty, or even particularly beautiful at all, even though she is a Moon Princess, and she is vain about her clothing and certain parts of her body. To counter this, however, the book’s general theme seems to be less against curiosity, and more for faith. Let’s just say Maria is convinced he did, and this is, after all, a book about magic. One is Maria’s statement that she will marry Robin—this because Maria is only thirteen when she says this, and has not exactly had a huge opportunity to marry other people. Wiggins was aware that excessive emotion is damaging to personal beauty, and he never indulged in it…Except, perhaps, a very little, in regard to food. Though since Robin can visit Maria in his dreams, that’s perhaps not that surprising. The estate, village, and vicinity are shrouded in mystery and magic; the "little white horse" is a unicorn. You may think a seed was finished and done with when it falls like a dead thing into the earth; but when it puts forth leaves and flowers next spring you see your mistake.”, “In my opinion, too much attention to weather makes for instability of character.”, “...The simple little words came easily, fitting themselves to the tune that had come out of the harpsichord. And for all of the women-bashing at the beginning of the book (and there’s quite a bit of it), notably, at the end, the estate and the village are saved not by a man, but by a girl, and Maria, not a boy, is able to inherit and rule the estate in her own right. Do you hear, Maria? If you need something sweet and silvery, something where everything works out just the way it really should, and where everyone gets to eat a lot of wonderful food, this is your book. De pronto, la luz pareció tomar forma. Eran cientos de caballos blancos al galope, con largas y sueltas crines y elegantes cuellos curvados como los de los caballos de ajedrez que había en la sala de estar. Well. She also gets to bring along her dog, Wiggins. Really. Maria Merryweather is only thirteen when she finds herself orphaned and almost destitute in London—almost, since, luckily enough, it turns out that she has a cousin in the West Country, Sir Benjamin Merryweather, who is more than willing to welcome her and her governess, Miss Heliotrope, to his ancestral estate of Moonacre, despite his general dislike of women. It didn't seem to her that she made them up at all. And, where many traditional fairy tales end with the hero or heroine gaining a kingdom—or at least marrying into one, in this case, to gain her happy ending, Maria has to give away part of her kingdom. WorldCat participating libraries report holding editions in 11 languages of translation.[3]. Only Sir Benjamin, the lord of the estate, and his main servant Marmaduke Scarlet, retain their original positions. Error rating book. Kinda. You must be a registered user to subscribe to threads. Sus cuerpos, que avanzaban a la velocidad de la luz, estaban hechos de una materia más etérea que del arco iris-”, “A Princess called to rule a kingdom must know it through and through, if she is to reign worthily. The house, after all, is magical—or almost magical, which is just about the same thing, what with its tiny doors and astonishing food seemingly arriving from nowhere (actually from the genius hands of that kitchen artist, Marmaduke Scarlet), the way all of the animals truly magically get along, the way that Maria finds that if she just trusts Moonacre to tell her its secrets when it will, everything will work out right. Coward–McCann published a US edition next year. The description of their journey there has more than a touch of the Gothic about it: the orphan, the lonely journey, the bad roads, the odd castle that rarely receives visitors, where people are initially reluctant to speak about the past, the strange servants. It seemed to her that they flew in from the rose-garden, through the open window, like a lot of butterflies, poised themselves on the point of her pen, and fell off it on to the paper.”, “I have known him nearly all my life, and I am going to marry him, so that there won't ever be a time when I shan't know him.”, “Cleanliness', chuckled Sir Benjamin, noting his great niece's delighted smile as her eyes rested upon him, 'comes next to godliness, eh, Maria?”, “Give me the benefit of your assistance during those ablutions that neccessarily, though unfortunatly, invariably follow the excercise of the culinary art.”, “She could only wait. The 1994 television mini-series Moonacre was based on The Little White Horse. Rather, she chooses to give something up—and persuades Sir Benjamin to give up something as well. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Elizabeth Goudge needed at least a temporary escape from the horrors of World War II when she sat down to write The Little White Horse. Spoiler: it all works out. She rescues a hare in the forest, names it Serena, and keeps it as her pet. [6], "Formats and Editions of The little white horse", Elizabeth Goudge Society page and reader forum, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Little_White_Horse&oldid=980540788, Carnegie Medal in Literature winning works, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 September 2020, at 03:05. The little white horse by Elizabeth Goudge is a book that I have read once every year or two since I was 10. Fairy tales frequently deal with issues of pain and loss, and in this, The Little White Horse is no exception, with nearly every character (except, again, Marmaduke Scarlet, who is just an outlier everywhere here) having suffered loss and pain. All comments must meet the community standards outlined in Tor.com's Moderation Policy or be subject to moderation. All Quotes And there’s a larger, and I think fairly significant change to the fairy tale structure in the end. The Little White Horse is a low fantasy children's novel by Elizabeth Goudge, first published by the University of London Press in 1946 with illustrations by C. Walter Hodges, and Anne Yvonne Gilbert in 1992. Miss Heliotrope, the daughter of a not exactly wealthy village rector, falls in love with a French marquis—although when they do eventually marry, that title has been left well behind. It is a fun adventure, set in a pure and innocent world where good overcomes evil, enemies reconcile and hope is restored. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), © 2020 Macmillan | All stories, art, and posts are the copyright of their respective authors, Read an Excerpt From Sci-Fi/Horror Anthology, Five SFF Books Driven by Terrible Choices and Appalling Judgment, Growing Up in Narnia: The Pevensies as Young Adults in, A Strong Narrator Can Help You Weave a Spell of Protection, “Oh, Frak” — Avoiding the Censors the SFF Way, Five SFF Books Built Around Dead People (Or Mostly Dead People).