Visitors

by Walter de la Mare

A solitary, brooding boy, crippled by an accident when he was very young, sees two marvelous white birds in a spring meadow and feels his life begin to change.

Genres: Short Stories

32 pages, Library Binding

First published April 1, 1925

About the author

Walter John de la Mare was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fiction, including "Seaton's Aunt" and "All Hallows". In 1921, his novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and his post-war Collected Stories for Children won the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children's books.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short tale about a young solitary boy with a deformed arm who spends a great deal of time in nature and in his own mind. He enjoys his own company. After having a significant moment of revelation after witnessing two white birds who take up temporary residence in a small pond formed in the centre of a field by heavy rainfall, he becomes determined to travel abroad and explore the world, not limited by his disability.

A tale of an outsider, beautifully written.

[Tym · Rating 3 out of 5]

A meandering short story that ended too quickly