Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Family from One End Street #3

Holiday at the Dew Drop Inn

Rate this book
Holiday at the Dew Drop Inn describes Kate Ruggles' summer holiday at the Dew Drop Inn in the fictional village of Upper Cassington.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

15 people are currently reading
110 people want to read

About the author

Eve Garnett

24 books9 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
58 (46%)
4 stars
46 (36%)
3 stars
19 (15%)
2 stars
2 (1%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
11 reviews
February 10, 2015
I read this as a child in the early 1970s and the two previous volumes. As there were no mobile phones, PC's, etc, back in my childhood days, the 1930s setting did not seem as remote as it did on a recent re-reading. I liked this book less than the previous two volumes because the working class character of Kate had adopted (beginning in the second volume) a frightfully posh way of speaking ("You frightful fibber!") and irritated me more than somewhat. But the settings of Upper Cassington, the Dew Drop Inn, plus the brief return to One End Street for a Lily Rose story, somewhat made up for my disgruntlement. NOBODY else in the story puts on airs quite as much as Kate, and whether this was author Eve Garnett forgetting the character's humble background, Kate displaying her love of English and making (too much of) an effort to "speak proper", or getting big ideas about herself (as we would have said in my working class neighbourhood when I was a child) I've no idea. But it rankled. The fact that most of the principal characters also seemed to want to own a destructive bull terrier seemed a little odd, and I couldn't help wondering if Eve Garnett was letting her personal likes intrude a little too much.
Profile Image for JennLynn.
596 reviews16 followers
July 16, 2012
Third in Garnett's trilogy about the working class Ruggles family, this book focuses on Kate. She spends a summer holiday in the country at her beloved Dew Drop Inn. She keeps busy preparing exhibits for the fair and also recites poetry at the town show. My favourite of the three it is a delightful look at British country life in the 1930's. A-
Profile Image for Margaret.
1,116 reviews
November 29, 2011
I really loved this book, the third, and last of the series. I only wish there were more.
490 reviews2 followers
February 16, 2020
I remembered Eve Garnett's No 1 One End Street as I read Mangan's Bookworm. (I have to thank her for reminding me of several winners). I absolutely loved these books as a child, but could only find one on my shelf now. I am delighted they are still in print. They have much to commend them, not least the absolute decency of people who are not wealthy or have fewer opportunities. Loving relationships in working class families isn't something that is often depicted in today's literature for adults or children. There is much in these books that defies the hyper modern fad of 'intersectionality.' Hurray.
Profile Image for Kim.
248 reviews
May 10, 2013
Read the first two books in the series as a child. I never knew there was a third. I've just read the entire trilogy as an adult and thoroughly enjoyed them all over again.
Profile Image for Harsha Priolkar.
444 reviews12 followers
March 29, 2022
Read for Middle Grade March 2022.

This is the third and final book in the Family From One End Street trilogy by Eve Garnett. The series as a whole has been a five star read and a highlight of my March reading! It’s very rare to find an entire series that consistently delights, amuses and comforts, and this is definitely one of them!

In this book, we follow Kate, who is once again sent to the Dew Drop Inn in the country for her school vacations. Once there, we watch her participate in various events, the Flower Show, the Concert and the Village Fete. In the process we watch her overcome stage fright and nerves, and her willingness to learn new skills. We watch her enjoy competition, play fair, take joy in victory - both hers and her friends, and learn to accept defeat gracefully.

The adventures that ensue when her father and her twin brothers visit for the Village Fair are hilarious! What with Thelma the tigress, the Dog Daisy and Jaegar, I was laughing out loud for the most part! And yet it’s not easy to forget the constant poverty that dogs their lives…the constant shortage of money notwithstanding, Garnett manages to capture the joy and comfort they find in the little, unexpected joys that life affords; always maintaining their dignity, integrity & honesty. I’ve come to love the Ruggles - their tight family bond and their irrepressible family spirit!

Goodbyes are bittersweet, but I feel sure I’ll revisit the Ruggles before long! Meanwhile I wish them love and courage enduring.
Profile Image for Pollymoore3.
286 reviews2 followers
Read
August 18, 2023
Written much later than the first and second books (1937 and 1956), Eve Garnett is now recreating the past, set in a vague bucolic 1930s countryside. 1962, when the book was published, would have had a different vibe. I prefer the urban adventures, such as the escaped convicts, to the rural hobnobbing with the gentry and who will win most prizes at the village show, but it is a pleasant enough read.
Profile Image for Angie Rhodes.
765 reviews23 followers
February 27, 2020
Oh how I loved re reading Holiday at The Dew Drop Inn..
When Kate Ruggles from One End Street goes to stay with Mr and Mrs Wildgoose at The Dew Drop Inn, for the Summer, adventures are waiting.
Complete with illustrations by Eve Garnett, it is a joy to read and treasure.
Profile Image for Catherine Jeffrey.
833 reviews4 followers
July 20, 2019
More fun with the Ruggles family . I loved the description of the summer flower show as I remember these when I was little.
7 reviews
April 29, 2024
I love this book (and the other One End Street books). Not just a children's book -- I am a senior citizen.
Profile Image for Nathaniel Clarke.
115 reviews1 follower
July 16, 2024
Another beautiful and serene Ruggles tale. A comforting and cosy read.
18 reviews
May 13, 2025
I love this book. A light hearted and easy read with a gentle historical aspect aswell
Profile Image for Kathleen Vincenz.
Author 5 books5 followers
December 5, 2016
If you liked the Wallace and Grommit and the Curse of the Were Rabbit and all things British and vegetable, you'll like the first section of Holiday at the Dew Drop Inn, where dear Kate is back at the Dew Drop Inn and tasked with entering every competition in the Upper and Lower Cassington fair and reciting at the annual concert. I much more enjoyed the end section where we returned to One End Street with Lily Rose's adventure and Kate's father and the twin's visit to the Dew Drop Inn. Kate is a bit too perfect for me.

I wish Eve Garnett had given us a glimpse of the future so we knew whether Kate ended up living in the country and whether Lily Rose became a laundress like her mother, but I guess it is up to my imagination.

What a lovely family!
Profile Image for Heather.
510 reviews8 followers
February 14, 2025
Loved it. Who wouldn't want to go on Holiday to the delightful Dew Drop Inn, in the most perfect countryside? Totally wonderful, idyllic book.
Profile Image for Eric.
1,495 reviews46 followers
April 23, 2017
Loved all of these but felt the momentum and focus was a bit off in this one which i think was written much later. Easy to forget the first was ground-breaking in its day and was refused by a lot of publishers as unsuitable for children!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.