The Greengage Summer, by Rumer Godden

Staff review by Chris Saliba

Rumer Godden’s classic autobiographical novel brilliantly captures a heady, transformative childhood summer. 

Five English children – Joss, the eldest, then Cecil (who narrates the story), Hester, Willmouse and Vicky – are taken to France by their mother, in the hope that they will learn something about the sacrifices made on the battlefield of war. En route, the mother is bitten by a horse-fly, and by the time they reach the hotel Les Oeillets, where they are to stay, she is seriously ill. Mother soon falls into the background and the children must learn to get on by themselves.

The five children soon make acquaintance with some of the curious and mysterious people of the hotel, most notably the hotel’s owner, Madame Zizi, and her English lover, Elliot. It somehow transpires that Elliot is given charge of the children and they become fascinated with him, often trying to make sense of his mercurial personality. Things become emotionally charged when it appears that Elliot is becoming enamoured of Joss, who at sixteen is blooming into womanhood. Just as the pieces of the story finally seem to be coming together, it’s discovered that Elliot is not all what he seems and is wanted by the police.

First published in 1958, The Greengage Summer is based on real events from Rumer Godden’s life. It’s primarily a coming-of-age story and has a somewhat similar tone to Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle. Godden infuses her story with a dreamy, hazy, nostalgic feel, describing a group of young to adolescent children in a sumptuous, exotic no man’s land. Authority has been suspended, a cast of unreliable hotel characters have filled the gap, and the children must try to figure out what rules should apply.

A slow, dreamy read that authentically captures a children’s lost summer.

The Greengage Summer, by Rumer Godden. Published by Pan. ISBN: 9781447211013 RRP:$19.99

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Mouse House, by Rumer Godden

Staff review by Chris Saliba


A busy family of mice find a new house to live in...

Mary has been given a beautiful little doll's house as an Easter present. In fact, it's really a "mouse house" as two doll-like mice made out of flannel occupy the little house. A he-mouse that wears a suit stands on his hind legs in the sitting room while a she-mouse, wearing a lovely dress, stands in the bedroom. Their little mouse house is beautifully decorated. In the window sills stand thimble-sized pots of geraniums made out of scarlet silk.

In Mary's house, in the cellar, there's a broken flower pot that sits in a corner. A real family of mice live in the pot. The problem is there's no room in the pot for this large family of mice, especially Bonnie, one of the youngest mice. Trying to escape the cramped conditions, Bonnie bravely leaves the cellar, runs past the house cat and up the stairs to Mary's room. There she finds the mouse house. What bliss! She makes herself at home, but knocks over the he-mouse and she-mouse. When Mary finds the mouse house in such disarray after Bonnie's visit, she decides to keep the he-mouse and she-mouse, but relegate the mouse house to the cellar.

At last, the mouse family can move out of their old, cramped flower pot and into more suitable lodgings.

This is a charming, dainty little story, perfect to read out aloud to youngsters in one sitting. The contrast between the busy and disruptive little mice and the order and composure of the mouse house makes for some gently comic scenes. The descriptions of the mouse house's furniture show the connoisseur's delight in the miniature world of doll's houses: they are intricate and just-so right. The story also benefits from Adrienne Adams' wonderful illustrations.

Rumer Godden's Mouse House, first published in 1952 and now reprinted in this lovely New York Review of Books imprint, is a delight and a treat.

Mouse House, by Rumer Godden. Published by NYR Children's Collection. ISBN: 9781590179987  $29.95

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