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The Children on the Top Floor
Abandoned as babies on the doorstep of television star Malcolm Masters, Thomas, Lucy, Margery, and William also become TV performers, but problems arise when Malcolm goes off on an extended cruise, leaving the children behind
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
About the author
Noel Streatfeild
165 books623 followersMary Noel Streatfeild, known as Noel Streatfeild, was an author best known and loved for her children's books, including Ballet Shoes and Circus Shoes. She also wrote romances under the pseudonym
Susan Scarlett
.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 13, 2015
The bones of this book are familiar Streatfield formula, but the premise is delightful. You have the talented diva, the young, serious child, the unruly boy, the mothering nanny, the young and wise governess... And then you have a famous, single TV personality who announces on Christmas Eve how jealous he is of families with children, and his housekeeper finds four babies on his doorstep the next morning.
The four babies grow up with an agent and advertising experience, because Malcolm Master's secretary is a smart woman, and then slowly find out their childhood has been unusual and start campaigning for ordinary things, like fish and puppies. Margery (talented diva) gets a starring role and a comeuppance, Lucy (serious child) finds a vocation, Thomas (unruly boy) breaks his leg. There are a lot of overlaps with Ballet Shoes, not only with regard to the found family aspect, but especially considering that Malcolm Master, like Gum, disappears, and the money slowly runs out.
This is a mashup of Streatfield themes and characters, but it's a really charming one.
The four babies grow up with an agent and advertising experience, because Malcolm Master's secretary is a smart woman, and then slowly find out their childhood has been unusual and start campaigning for ordinary things, like fish and puppies. Margery (talented diva) gets a starring role and a comeuppance, Lucy (serious child) finds a vocation, Thomas (unruly boy) breaks his leg. There are a lot of overlaps with Ballet Shoes, not only with regard to the found family aspect, but especially considering that Malcolm Master, like Gum, disappears, and the money slowly runs out.
This is a mashup of Streatfield themes and characters, but it's a really charming one.
August 11, 2011
This was my favorite of all Streatfeild's books! A beloved British TV star says he envies his viewers hearing the patter of little feet coming down the stairs on Christmas morning, and wakes the next day (Christmas morning, in fact) to find not one, but FOUR babies on his doorstep. He decides to keep them, mostly as a publicity move, and the children spend most of their days in the top floor nursery of his posh house. Of course, being famous, they are much in demand for commercials and tv guest spots. But as the children get older, their different looks and personalities start to take them in different directions. That's what I've always loved about Streatfeild's books: she always starts out with a family all together, taking tennis lessons, or a pair of friends bonding over figure skating, but then her characters start to find out who they really are, and explore what they really want in life. I just truly adore this book, and I can't think of how many times I've read it!
July 13, 2021
My review: http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/202...
When a television personality says on the air that he is envious of viewers surrounded by children, he wakes up on Christmas morning to find that four babies have been left on his doorstep! As an adult, one sadly thinks of real-life abandoned children but this is quasi-fantasy so it is fun to read this "orphan" story, in which siblings must fight to stay together when their adoptive father disappears.
When a television personality says on the air that he is envious of viewers surrounded by children, he wakes up on Christmas morning to find that four babies have been left on his doorstep! As an adult, one sadly thinks of real-life abandoned children but this is quasi-fantasy so it is fun to read this "orphan" story, in which siblings must fight to stay together when their adoptive father disappears.
July 24, 2014
When a television personality casually mentions during a Christmas special that he envies people who have kids he does not actually mean that he wants his fans to leave him numerous babies as gifts.
Although the personalities are quite different and it's set later, the base story reminded me quite a bit of Streatfeild's classic Ballet Shoes.
Although the personalities are quite different and it's set later, the base story reminded me quite a bit of Streatfeild's classic Ballet Shoes.
January 7, 2022
I remember loving this as a child, but it hasn't worn particularly well. It starts wonderfully, with the author's dryly witty descriptions of a spoiled man who is looked after by a fleet of women who look like "cottage-loaves." It seems early on that the author is in on the joke about how completely ridiculous the whole set-up is: said man, who is a TV personality, gives a Christmas address in which he says he wishes he had children at home. Next morning, there are four babies on his doorstep, which one of the cottage-loaves sweeps upstairs into her nursery and with no further ado spoiled man is the guardian of four orphans. All this is to some extent Ballet Shoes redux, but the individual children never really come to life like the three Fossil sisters. The details of television and advertising are interesting and I'm sure accurate for their time. Overall, it's readable, as Streatfield always is, but not outstanding in any way.
May 12, 2008
Lovable foursome, each with a distinct personality. Streatfeild does a terrific job "painting the picture." Reading her books it was easy to envision myself taking daily constitutionals in the gray English countryside and returning for a spot of tea and a platter of scones.
January 13, 2011
Sweet, but the formula dried up Streatfeild's creativity.
March 23, 2013
Definite shades of Ballet Shoes but not quite as good.
June 22, 2015
Not one of her best. It was bit convenient and predictable. Ballet Shoes did something similar, but better. The Cobb Circus cameo made my day.
November 5, 2018
Popular television personality Malcolm Master leads a comfortable bachelor existence looked after by his.old Nannie, his secretary, his cook and his valet -chauffeur. Then one Christmas Eve he makes a sentimental.broadcast in which he rashly tells.his viewers how lucky they are to be spending Christmas with their children, unlike him, a lonely bachelor. On Christmas morning, four babies are found on his doorstep, two boys and two girls, who are given the names Thomas, Lucy, Margery and William. Nannie is delighted to have babies to care for again, and the top floor of the house becomes their nursery. The publicity surrounding the children means that as they grow they are in demand for advertising, but they lead a rather odd life, their constant television work means they cannot go to school, and they miss out on many of the ordinary things that children do. Then disaster strikes, Malcolm Master is taken ill and advised to go abroad, and at the same time the adventurous Thomas breaks a leg. The advertisers are not.interested in fiming the children with one missing, and so the children begin to explore other options. Pretty, precocious Margery gets a part in a tv series, and the others find other things they are interested in doing, William for instance fancies being a cameraman, and Lucy wants to work in the wardrobe department. But what has happened to Malcolm Master? And will the children get the dog they long for? A very enjoyable story of an unusual family, told with much humour and warmth - a similar theme to the more famous Ballet Shoes, but this time centred on the world of television.
October 18, 2024
Unfortunately Noel Streatfeild can't beat Ballet Shoes and White Boots, but without comparing it to those it was quite good.
The premise is great and more original but then it all felt a bit too easy and she just copied things from Ballet Shoes etc.
The premise is great and more original but then it all felt a bit too easy and she just copied things from Ballet Shoes etc.
September 6, 2014
This was an enjoyable read which I bought from abebooks. Malcolm Master a famous tv presentor says in a Chirstmas Eve broadcast that he wishes he had children to go back to for Christmas. The next morning he wakes up to discover that 4 babies have been left on his doorstep. The babies end up being named Thomas, Lucy, Margery and William.
This is slightly different to Streatfeild's earlier stuff as television gets a big mention and she has clearly done her research as she mentions technical terms like Dolly and booms.
The children are brilliantly portrayed and Malcolm Master also has a childlike quality that alot of people working in the arts have. The downside of fame is also explored which I don't remember Streatfeild doing so much in other books. I also liked the adult characters. Especially Nannie, Alfred and Rose. Alfred's remarks made me laugh out loud several times. The way he breaks the news to Malcolm about four babies being left on the doorstep is hilarious! Nannie is like most of the other Nannie's in Streatfeild's other books but she is seen as old-fashioned in her ideas and contrast more with Rose who is young and is surprised how little the children are allowed to decide what toys they have etc.
A lovely story with hilarious moments as well as dramatic ones. Possibly a little unrealisitic but that's what fiction is all about afterall!
This is slightly different to Streatfeild's earlier stuff as television gets a big mention and she has clearly done her research as she mentions technical terms like Dolly and booms.
The children are brilliantly portrayed and Malcolm Master also has a childlike quality that alot of people working in the arts have. The downside of fame is also explored which I don't remember Streatfeild doing so much in other books. I also liked the adult characters. Especially Nannie, Alfred and Rose. Alfred's remarks made me laugh out loud several times. The way he breaks the news to Malcolm about four babies being left on the doorstep is hilarious! Nannie is like most of the other Nannie's in Streatfeild's other books but she is seen as old-fashioned in her ideas and contrast more with Rose who is young and is surprised how little the children are allowed to decide what toys they have etc.
A lovely story with hilarious moments as well as dramatic ones. Possibly a little unrealisitic but that's what fiction is all about afterall!
May 8, 2017
Still a favorite, and now my kids love it, too!
Though some of the things were a little old-fashioned, like the descriptions of clothes, this book holds up well. It's the hilarious and charming story of four children who are left as babies on the doorstep of a famous TV personality, after he says on live TV that he wishes to hear the pitter-patter of little feet in his home on Christmas morning. The children are taken in and raised, mostly by his staff, and mostly as a PR opportunity. The "quads" are an advertising sensation, shilling everything from clothes to nursery furniture to candies they aren't allowed to eat (too much sugar!). But as the children grow up, their personalities diverge, and then a tragedy befalls the little family. But it's all terribly sweet and funny, in the classic Streatfeild style. I was devoted to her books as a kid, and this is probably my favorite, beating out even SKATING SHOES.
Though some of the things were a little old-fashioned, like the descriptions of clothes, this book holds up well. It's the hilarious and charming story of four children who are left as babies on the doorstep of a famous TV personality, after he says on live TV that he wishes to hear the pitter-patter of little feet in his home on Christmas morning. The children are taken in and raised, mostly by his staff, and mostly as a PR opportunity. The "quads" are an advertising sensation, shilling everything from clothes to nursery furniture to candies they aren't allowed to eat (too much sugar!). But as the children grow up, their personalities diverge, and then a tragedy befalls the little family. But it's all terribly sweet and funny, in the classic Streatfeild style. I was devoted to her books as a kid, and this is probably my favorite, beating out even SKATING SHOES.
March 27, 2017
"Wake up, sir. Merry Christmas, sir. We've had quads, sir."
I forget sometimes that this is really one of my absolute favorite of the Streatfield books. And sometimes I forget how much I love Streatfield until I re-read this book. Formulaic sometimes, and definitely stretching credulity, but so much fun!
My current quibble: I've always been able to hand-wave that the grownups just matter-of-factly accept that 4 babies were abandoned on their doorstep as Christmas presents. But on my recent re-read, I was bugged that the children kept wondering why they weren't back to advertising, but never got an answer. The answer seems to be, because if you went back to advertising, we wouldn't have this plotline. If the children just accepted this like their abandonment, it would bug me less, but it keeps popping up with no resolution.
I forget sometimes that this is really one of my absolute favorite of the Streatfield books. And sometimes I forget how much I love Streatfield until I re-read this book. Formulaic sometimes, and definitely stretching credulity, but so much fun!
My current quibble: I've always been able to hand-wave that the grownups just matter-of-factly accept that 4 babies were abandoned on their doorstep as Christmas presents. But on my recent re-read, I was bugged that the children kept wondering why they weren't back to advertising, but never got an answer. The answer seems to be, because if you went back to advertising, we wouldn't have this plotline. If the children just accepted this like their abandonment, it would bug me less, but it keeps popping up with no resolution.
December 29, 2016
I have always loved Noel Streatfeild's books and as a child I got my library to ILL them for me or hunted through second hand book stores to find all of them. She tells the perfect "girls stories". I was always able to find one character in each book that was my favorite. They definitely stand up to re-reads.
July 8, 2014
It was fun to read a brand-new-to-me Noel Streatfeild since I somehow missed this one as a child. I have to say it wasn't one of her best - there are others that have fuller and less formulaic characterizations. But it was charming, all the same.
September 26, 2009
I loved this book when I was little, and I love it still. I'm so glad I had a chance to reread it!
Want to Read
October 14, 2016Not in library
April 28, 2018
DNF 10%; it was written at a 4th grade level (because the narrator is young) and I just couldn't stand it.
April 15, 2020
I wouldn't want this to be the first Noel Streatfeild book a child reads, but as a kind of collectors' item for hard-core fans it's an interesting read. In a way it carries some of Streatfeild's stock ideas to absurdity. There is almost always a money anxiety in her books, perhaps, it occured to me when reading this, because of her own vicarage childhood which was marked by a mismatch between her family's social class and their income. So we are accustomed to middle-class Streatfeild children fretting about money, but here the adopted children of one of the country's most successful TV personalities have their lives defined by financial fears from the very first moment.
Another unquestioned Streatfeild motif is the assumption that the adult in charge must be kept in the dark about any deep anxiety. Here again, a weird and elaborate life is constructed for the children around the idea of not worrying their guardian about them. The children, likewise, are to be sheltered from worry, it being "kinder" to wait until the very last moment before informing them that their lives are about to be completely dismantled - even if the gory details are printed in all the newspapers.
All in all - not one of her best; but enjoyable nonetheless.
Another unquestioned Streatfeild motif is the assumption that the adult in charge must be kept in the dark about any deep anxiety. Here again, a weird and elaborate life is constructed for the children around the idea of not worrying their guardian about them. The children, likewise, are to be sheltered from worry, it being "kinder" to wait until the very last moment before informing them that their lives are about to be completely dismantled - even if the gory details are printed in all the newspapers.
All in all - not one of her best; but enjoyable nonetheless.
October 16, 2022
Only 2 stars because it's basically a mashup of Streatfield's other "kids in the entertainment industry" books. The kids who don't relate to other kids and seldom leave the house except for work. The "uncle" who goes off on a sea voyage and vanishes. The old fashioned nanny. The secretary who tries to make ends meet. The kids working out for themselves what they want to be "when they grow up" (ie at 14). The kid in an "acting family" who doesn't want to. The actress kid who becomes a little monster when she gets noticed. Even Cobb's Circus makes a reprise from Circus Shoes.
Streatfield is a good comfort read but I have to say she didn't seem to be trying very hard with this one, she just kind of ticked the boxes of her previous books.
Streatfield is a good comfort read but I have to say she didn't seem to be trying very hard with this one, she just kind of ticked the boxes of her previous books.
August 25, 2019
Another cracking NS 'fairytale' of the likes of Ballet Shoes. One that passed me by as a child. Lovely to read it now as an adult. 4 'orphan' children talented in different ways, 1 famous TV personality, 1 old fashioned Nanny, & NS's usual well researched background information combine to make a lovely story.
May 17, 2020
Great read for grade 4,5 or 6
Noel Streatfeild was mentioned in the movie "You got mail"
Noel Streatfeild was mentioned in the movie "You got mail"
February 12, 2016
When television personality Malcolm Master regrets his childlessness in his Christmas address, he should not have been surprised to discover not one, but four babies left on the doorstep the next day. Brought up as siblings, they rarely see "Mistermaster" as they call him, but earn money posing for advertisements and commercials. Each child develops his or her own personality in this enjoyable book about an unusually "blended" family.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews