The four Wiltshire children live a comfortable middle-class English life. But as WWII overtakes the country, the family, like so many others, slowl...
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reviews
Jul 07, 2011
Deb
rated it: 
Noel Streatfield is better known for her "Shoes" books, particularly Ballet Shoes, but she also wrote adult novels. Saplings tells the tragic story of the four Wiltshire children whose lives are devastated by World War II. The book opens on the eve of the war, as the Wiltshire family enjoys an idyllic holiday at the shore. Alex Wiltshire, head of the family, is an industrialist working on military projects, while his wife Lena, is a charming, but shallow woman who actually resents t
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Feb 12, 2011
Beth
rated it: 
Noel Streatfeild is best-known for her children's books -- especially Ballet Shoes, of course.
This is a novel ABOUT children, but it is definitely aimed at adults. It was written just at the end of World War II, and the inspiration for it must have come from what she had directly observed during those tumultuous years in England. At the very end of the book, she has a very minor character (a charwoman) saying that at least in England, (as opposed to France) the children haven't had to su More...
This is a novel ABOUT children, but it is definitely aimed at adults. It was written just at the end of World War II, and the inspiration for it must have come from what she had directly observed during those tumultuous years in England. At the very end of the book, she has a very minor character (a charwoman) saying that at least in England, (as opposed to France) the children haven't had to su More...
Feb 25, 2011
Vivienne
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Like many of us, I grew up secretly wishing I could be a member of the Fossil family from Noel Streatfeild's children's book 'Ballet Shoes'. This book was cherished throughout my childhood and is still loved today. Over the years I began to collect her other children's book, but I was quite surprised to discover last year that Noel Streatfeild had also written books for adults. So it was an easy decision for me to pick Saplings as my Persephone choice.
Saplings is a much darker tale More...
Saplings is a much darker tale More...
Dec 03, 2011
Allison
rated it:
I really loved this book about the "perfect" upper class family of chic mom and adored and morally perfect dad and their four distinctly depicted children. All the kids are little quirky and full of humanity --they are keenly but subtly conveyed with their imperfections and potential for neurosis. And then everything and everyone unravels when dad dies in a bombing of the family home in WWII. Streatfield deftly shows again and again how different personalities sharing the same events
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Feb 26, 2011
Rachel
rated it:
I'm kind of a sucker for WWII homefront books, and this fit the bill. A good story of an upper class British family learning to cope with uncertainty, placelessness, suffering. I thought the adults in this family were painted with kind of a broad brush, but Streatfield really delivered in her description of the four Wiltshire children. Without being patronizing in either her language or her characterization of their thoughts and feelings, Streatfield got inside the heads of four very different k
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Feb 09, 2012
Helen
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The beginning was unpromising - a seemingly ordinary upper middle class family enjoying a day at the beach. My interest was snagged when it became clear that this is not a stereotypical happy family. Mother Lena sees herself first and foremost as a wife, a lover; her role as a mother is very much secondary. Nevertheless, the children have a devoted father, as well as a loving Nannie and a governess and their lives are privileged. Then comes the war, and gradually the family unravels and breaks d
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Oct 06, 2010
Margaret
rated it:
Streatfeild follows a happy middle-class British family into World War II and examines the psychological effects of the war and the evacuations of children from London during the bombings.
As with her children's novels, her portrayal of how children think and feel is excellent. Her feel for the adults is rather less so, though it's very interesting to see an author much better known as a children's author dealing with more adult subjects, from drunkenness to death. Streatfeild tackle More...
As with her children's novels, her portrayal of how children think and feel is excellent. Her feel for the adults is rather less so, though it's very interesting to see an author much better known as a children's author dealing with more adult subjects, from drunkenness to death. Streatfeild tackle More...
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Feb 27, 2011
Susan
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An adult novel written by an author better known for her children's books, this book focuses on the effect of WWII on an upper middle class family in Britain, especially the four children (Laurel, Tony, Kim and Tuesday). I wanted to like this book more than I did--while it realistically reflects the impact of WWII on a particular family and individual characters, the structure seemed to fall apart in the last third of the book (like the family perhaps) and the ending seemed almost arbitrary. Ver
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Jun 04, 2009
Michele
rated it:
I pray that I don't inflict as much damage on those in my care. No doubt some collateral damage is inevitable; puts me in mind of the Philip Larkin poem "This Be the Verse".Just shows you how after a while trouble is no longer character building. I do hope Laurel, Tony, Kim and Tuesday get some proper care. Glad the dreadful Lindsey got her just deserts and here's to John and Ruth.Thank goodness for divorce.
Not being particularly coherent but this book was a great read.
I lo More...
Not being particularly coherent but this book was a great read.
I lo More...
May 31, 2011
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 29, 2010
Meghan
rated it:
Persephone Press republishes forgotten popular classics from women authors, mostly from the early 20th century. It's a neat idea, and the books are put together carefully; they all feature endpapers of forgotten vintage fabric patterns created by women designers.
Saplings by Noel Streatfeild was one of the works republished by Persephone. Streatfeild is famous for Ballet Shoes and its sequels, children's book originally written in the 1930s. Before she started writing children's book More...
Saplings by Noel Streatfeild was one of the works republished by Persephone. Streatfeild is famous for Ballet Shoes and its sequels, children's book originally written in the 1930s. Before she started writing children's book More...
May 13, 2009
Jeanette
rated it:
"Really! I wish I didn't have to grow up. Do you know, Alice, I'm beginning to wonder if we've not been told things wrong. I mean, we're told that children behave badly and grown-ups are always right. I wonder if we shan't find that grown-ups do worse things than children." (240)
This heart-wrenching and painful book really packed an emotional wallop for me. It is not what I would characterize as one of those "charming" books I love to read. In fact, at times it wa More...
This heart-wrenching and painful book really packed an emotional wallop for me. It is not what I would characterize as one of those "charming" books I love to read. In fact, at times it wa More...
Jan 21, 2008
Ali
rated it:
Oh I do love my persephone books, and this one was really wonderful.
from the publisher
Saplings (1945), Noel Streatfeild's tenth book for adults, is about children: a family with four of them, to whom we are first introduced in all their secure Englishness in the summer of 1939. 'Her purpose is to take a happy, successful, middle-class pre-war family – and then track in miserable detail the disintegration and devastation which war brought to tens of thousands of such families,' More...
from the publisher
Saplings (1945), Noel Streatfeild's tenth book for adults, is about children: a family with four of them, to whom we are first introduced in all their secure Englishness in the summer of 1939. 'Her purpose is to take a happy, successful, middle-class pre-war family – and then track in miserable detail the disintegration and devastation which war brought to tens of thousands of such families,' More...
Jan 11, 2012
Cathy
rated it:
It's too easy to say this is a charming period piece. Streatfeild tells more than a story and explores the personal plight of children with an edgy candour. I especially admired her portrayal of Laurel, misunderstood and sidelined. Indeed there is a strong feminist vine running through this book, if you want to find it, despite the hideous Lena. Very worth reading and glad this is a Persephone. I read Streatfeild's 'Ballet Shoes' and 'White Boots' as a child, so to read her work again has been a
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Nov 30, 2011
Bex
rated it:
Not a happy book, but a very honest one, and a portrayal of the awful rammifications of the Second World War, even for those not directly involved in it, that you don't see often. I highly recommend this book. It gave me a totally new experience with an author I expected nothing new from, and that's an achievement.
Full review is here
Full review is here
Feb 25, 2009
Tyra
rated it:
Another Persephone book that I loved. It is a great book about World War II and how it affect the children in one particular family. The book is about the children what they go through, how they see things, and how they deal with it. It was a new look for me and I really enjoyed it.
Aug 24, 2010
Jeannie
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Great read crafted with rare subtlety. Outwardly, the story of a well-to-do English family in the late 1930s and the costs of war. Inwardly, an intense study of identity and its formation, focused on children. Streatfeild treats children beautifully and her understanding of their thoughts, fears and cares is delicate and imaginative.
Jul 04, 2010
Sue
rated it:
A kind of fictionalized Mitford family. I have a penchant for England during WWII. Love the Persephone imprint too.
Aug 25, 2009
Marian
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some beautiful characters and fascinating plot. not a perfect book but an absorbing read. for me, it was a page-turner.
Apr 11, 2011
Gill
rated it:
A very powerful and moving book about the impact of adult behaviour upon four children, set in the context of WWII.
In contrast to another Persephone title, Doreen, the "saplings" here are part of an outwardly happy middle-class family, but as in that book the world of the children is disrupted by war and permanently scarred by the decisions that adults make for them.
I knew Streatfeild only as a children's author and this was a revelation. I shall certainly seek More...
In contrast to another Persephone title, Doreen, the "saplings" here are part of an outwardly happy middle-class family, but as in that book the world of the children is disrupted by war and permanently scarred by the decisions that adults make for them.
I knew Streatfeild only as a children's author and this was a revelation. I shall certainly seek More...
May 12, 2008
Susann
rated it:
I think this was the first Persephone book I ever read but, at the time, I didn't write much about it in my book journal. I am a huge fan of Streatfeild's children's books, so it felt funny to find her signature tone in an adult book, with adult themes. The happy, pre-WWII English family that begins the book is much like the families in her 'Shoes' books but, once the war hits, everything falls apart. Even though this is an adult book, Streatfeild still has a knack for seeing the world through a
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Sep 10, 2008
Susan
rated it:
Thank you for sharing Tyra! I really enjoyed this book - may be my favorite Persephone so far. I had not realized Noel Streatfeild, author of Ballet Shoes and other classic books for children, wrote for adults as well.
Feb 02, 2008
Anne
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This is an absolutely fantasic novel chronicling the disintegration of a family during the war. Highly recommended.
Jan 30, 2012
Marybel
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Another excellent edition from Persephone Books.I bought this in London while visiting Gemma and savoured every page.
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