The January Queen

by Joyce Stranger

Kate is a spoiled and selfish twenty year old. She is supposed to be helping on her father's farm but through her carelessness causes a terrible and expensive accident. Her parents take drastic action to force her to grow up. They give her a tumbledown cottage on the farm and a few animals and tell her she has to fend for herself. At first Kate is devastated but then she helps save the life of a beautiful Shire horse mare called The January Queen. Old Joe the ex-farmer and breeder who thought he would lose the mare when forced to retire at the age of eighty, is overjoyed. A warm friendship develops between the pair and Joe helps her make something of the smallholding. But when disaster strikes will Kate show she is made of sterner stuff than before...

An excellent adult story of horses, animals and the problems of both growing up and growing old.

Genres: Animals, Horses, Fiction

189 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 1979

About the author

Psuedonym of Joyce Muriel Wilson (1921–2007). Lived in Anglesey, Wales.
Trained as a biologist, specialising in animal behaviour, and tried her hand at dog training too. Not surprisingly, animal themes, especially relationships between human and animal feature in all of her books. She thought that the human-animal/human-nature relationship was extremely important and that a co-existence between the two could improve quality of life. She said "for many people an animal can provide a harmony lacking in day-to-day relationships with people."
Her books are not very anthropomorphic, deliberately so. She thought that many animal books, especially childrens were inaccurate or sentimental or humanised the animal and wanted her stories instead to "show how animals live in a world that is real to them"
They are definitely not sentimental either, many are quite downbeat. Disasters often strike her fictional worlds and her characters are often unhappy, guilt-stricken or remorseful. However they usually end on a more upbeat and optimistic note.
Ms. Stranger was one of the few authors to write horse stories aimed at adults. Most of her pony books are either adult or teenage stories.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corgi has sold over 2,000,000 copies of books by this author, who writes under a pseudonym and lives in Anglesey. She trains her dogs for obedience trials and keeps Siamese cats. Written over a long period, her novels portray country life in realistic terms, whether about foxes or sheepdogs. Siamese cats crept into her books some years ago with 'Never Tell a Secret' featuring a Siamese kitten raised by a tabby cat on a farm.

The January Queen is a beautiful Shire mare saved from the knackers by young, irresponsible Kate, who is in disgrace since causing the death of a prize ram. Turfed out to a derelict cottage and told to stand on her own feet, Kate begins rebuilding work, buys the mare and gradually surrounds herself with animals and friends, beginning with a black and white cat and her kittens. While her life changes, her parents, feeling the big farmhouse empty, also make changes at home.
Recommended.

[Shahnaz Radjy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very pleasant and easy read, a coming-of-age story of young Kate who starts of as a spoiled brat and learns how to be responsible for herself and a small homestead along the way.

The writing reflects the author's experience with animals and on farms, coming across as genuine and informed. However, she goes back and forth in terms of the point of view she is using and at times it can be a little confusing (hence the 3*).

For anyone interested in learning about what it's like to live and work on a farm, whether it's a sheep or horse farm or other, then this should be right up your alley.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's more of a quiet novel about redemption and of a young woman learning her place in the world - in this case making a farm her own. Lovely.