Anyone who has enjoyed The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge will want to read the newly written sequel. The original book featured Maria Merryweather who finds her way around Moonacre Manor in a valley in the West Country of England. THE SILVER MOTH revisits the location, as the Great War has made London unsafe, and Maria, now a mature lady, travels with her granddaughter Rose Marlowe to the quieter countryside.
Rose doesn’t want to leave home but London has become a scary place, with a Zeppelin getting shot down, and bombing raids at night. Moonacre Valley soon starts to feel at home, especially as she gets to ride a calm golden pony, Appledore, and is guarded by a large dog, Wrolf, who seems like a guardian spirit. Fantasy quickly becomes evident along with the remnants of the robber baron's rural ways. Hugo de Noir, a neighbour, is making the woodlands unpleasant, and scaring the bombed-out people who live in a camp on the seashore. One of these is a lad called Devin, about twelve like Rose, and they soon make friends.
The title Silver Moth refers to an aeroplane, an innovative design at a time when planes were mostly still wood and wire. Many tensions arise, as the war has already been fought for two years, and everyone is suffering. The landscape here is unchanged, but life will never be the same. As to whether Rose gets to meet the little white horse, I will leave the reader to discover.
Carol Lefevre grew up in Australia and loved the original story which brought her to a greener, myth and magic-filled version of England. She gained permission to write a sequel and seems to have done it justice, carrying much of the tone and richness. Readers will delight in returning to the location and feeling the fabric of local history, with the extra layer of the war years. New readers can enjoy this story for itself, and learn about an evacuee and the development of light aircraft. THE SILVER MOTH will be loved by girls who enjoy pony stories and fantasy particularly. If they have not read the original story, it will go on the must-read list.
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