Hob and the Goblins

Hob Stories

by William Mayne

When Hob the friendly spirit finds himself living with mean and nasty witches, gremlins, dwarfs, goblins, and an ogre, he has to use all of his powers, tricks, and lots of love to restore peace to their home.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Fairies, Adventure

140 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

William Mayne was a British writer of children's fiction. Born in Hull, he was educated at the choir school attached to Canterbury Cathedral and his memories of that time contributed to his early books. He lived most of his life in North Yorkshire.

He was described as one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th Century by the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, and won the Carnegie Medal in 1957 for A Grass Rope and the Guardian Award in 1993 for Low Tide. He has written more than a hundred books, and is best known for his Choir School quartet comprising A Swarm in May, Choristers' Cake, Cathedral Wednesday and Words and Music, and his Earthfasts trilogy comprising Earthfasts, Cradlefasts and Candlefasts, an unusual evocation of the King Arthur legend.

A Swarm in May was filmed by the Children's Film Unit in 1983 and a five-part television series of Earthfasts was broadcast by the BBC in 1994.

William Mayne was imprisoned for two and a half years in 2004 after admitting to charges of child sexual abuse and was placed on the British sex offenders' register. His books were largely removed from shelves, and he died in disgrace in 2010.

Reviews

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fear the world of British buses is a bit too foreign for many kids, although the young listeners found the basic story engaging and appealing even if quite a few things went over their heads. For those who do know, there were an abundance of subtle witticisms to enjoy. Mayne has a curious style that is charmingly obscure in its disconnectedness.

[Miss Jools · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildly inventive use of language!!

I loved this kids book about a Hob who finds a new home with a family in a dangerous situation with some goblins.

Weird, unusual, interesting. Great stuff…sadly can’t see anything like this getting published for kids now…

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hob is a house sprite who tidies away troubles such as leftover bad feelings, soothes unquiet ghosts and teething babies, keeps the cream fresh, the curtains from being tired and encourages the teakettle to sing. So when he finds a new family, he knows what to do. But he discovers the house has bigger secrets than he thinks he can handle. He hears the distant music approaching from the land of faerie and when un-childlike neighborhood children named Dew and Rag come over to play with his house's children he is certain evil is coming his way.

Based on British folklore, Mayne's story both charms and terrifies. Hob will be familiar to readers of The Shoemaker and the Elves. They, like Hob, are free of further responsibility for their household when given clothes; they depart without further thought. They enjoy living life in the moment until their clothes finally have disintegrated and, unclothed, they must find another house to tend. So too with Hob who, at just the wrong moment, seizes the opportunity to leave.

Hob, a charming naif, is amazed by simple machines and speaks of himself in the third person. Yet there is more to him than appearances would suggest. But is it enough to thwart the evil that is coming as surely as winter? (140 p.)
p.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hob and the Goblins was the most interesting and at first, somewhat confusing book I've read. I didn't like the language at the outset because it wasn't "kid-like" as I'd assumed it would be. In fact, it almost didn't seem like a children's book at all until I got into it and met the family Hob eventaully adopted for himself. It also took me awhile to understand Hob's purpose and he referred to himself in the third person, which was off-putting at first.
I was determined to read it to the end to see if I would like it better as I went along. I did. It had creepy elements--a witch, a mysterious monster living underground directly below the house and an army of hateful goblins, some disguised as children. Hob had his own journey of finding a family and then leaving them and then making his way back to help the children, and ultimately the parents, fight off the coming evil.
All in all a good read. Tense at the end but a satisfying ending. After I got used to Mr. Mayne's voice and his point of view, the book flowed much better.

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Hob is there to help clean up Greed and sooty creatures and other leftover emotions and tired things in the home. He loves to serve and keep family and children safe, all that he asks for is a little food, and a little cupboard all his own to sleep in. Hob does not call himself a creature with thoughts, but when his new family moves into a Fairy Ring house, he has to summon wits he never knew he had to save his family even at his own peril. The lyrical writing is beautiful, Mothers see everything, and babies are magic and have to be decided upon to trust. Loved it. Though the sad past of the author makes me hesitate to read anymore of his award winning stories.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Previously unfamiliar with William Mayne, this was the first Hob book I came across (for a buck at a library sale). English folklore/fairy-tale setting? Yes, please. Perhaps because I'm steeped in British myth and legend, was quite comfortable with the out-and-out fantasy of the hobgoblin and indeed the entire premise.

Continued on to search out and purchase other Hob stories and love them all---5 stars plus for each! Norman Messenger's precise b&w drawings add the perfect mystical quality. His hobgoblin alphabet in this edition melds beautifully with Mayne's storyline.

Hob is a helpful, friendly house goblin, or brownie, if you will. He "works when he lives in a house. He tidies away abandoned things, like scraps of quarrels, or pieces of spite. He banishes small troubles, makes ghosts happy, soothes tired curtains, charms kettles into singing, and stops milk sulking."

'Hob and the Pedlar' (original British spelling; Americanized to 'Peddler') isn't perhaps as frightening to younger children as 'Goblins', but all are charming, imaginative and pure fun.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim; I hadn't heard anything about it or about the author. This is supposed to be a children's book, but I found the language a little hard to follow. I also found parts that I would consider too scary/creepy for a child. Not my favorite.

[scarlettraces · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly lovely. Shame about the provenance.

[R.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent introduction to William Mayne's "Hob" world; perfectly folklorish, spooky, and charming all at once. The cast of gobins, fairies, dwarfs, and a witch who just won't go away all combine to give this tale an air of utter traditional fantasy. I read this in the days leading up to Halloween and found it entirely appropriate, but it's worth noting that the story take place sometime close to Christmas (as can be deduced from the snow in the cover art). While it certainly would have been deliciously Halloween-ish had it taken place in autumn, with swirling colored leaves and fields of harvest, the winter setting made the conflicts somehow more dreadful: during Halloween, of course you would expect creatures to come to your door, but when they arrive in winter... well, that's a more serious matter. Winter is when people huddle around their fires reading tales just like this, ones full of mischief and fantastic danger; but to the characters stuck in the story's own winter, the snow and season pose only another limitation to their freedom and safety.

As for the titular character himself, Hob is a delight. The language Mayne employed in speaking for the little fellow gave me reason for smiling, for it so utterly suited the personality of Hob in many ways. In my mind, Hob is very close to a Hobbit, in that he likes food, comfort, and making a happy home. Indeed, he also likes to smoke. There is, in this entire work, a feeling of complete Englishness, whether concerning the creatures we encounter, the hilariously passive-aggressive attitudes of the family involved, or the quaint little man himself.

There are, however, three negative things which affected my reading of this book. Two have not influenced my rating, and one has. Let's start with the one which took away a star.

[PLOT SPOILER]

There comes a part around the last third of the book where Hob is given clothes by the conniving witch, and thus completely forgets his duties to his family and wanders away free as a (very small, anthropomorphic) bird. We follow him on this new journey, sticking by him as he struggles to remember what it is he's leaving behind, and where he's going, exactly. He eventually encounters a band of dwarfs, joins their mine company for a night or so, then remembers who he is, steals some swords, and begins heading back to his house (his clothes are coming off bit by bit, and he's resisting their influence regardless). My issue with all of this is that it's a large sidestory to include in an otherwise very tight plot. It felt random and unnecessary, and I couldn't help but constantly wonder, "when is he inevitably going to get back to the main plot?" I think this whole episode could have been included successfully were we not present for it; if, instead, the reader remained with the family at their home, and Hob came back eventually with a band of angry dwarfs on his tail and the tease of a faraway adventure he had while we stayed home. That would have brought the necessary dwarf swords and kept the plot cohesive. But, as it was, it wasn't a huge detractor. I'm only putting my thoughts here for their own sake, not to be overly critical.

As for the other two things that negatively influenced my reading, well... they're odd. The first is that William Mayne was convicted of molesting juvenile girls. I learned that halfway through my reading of this book, and couldn't really shake it from my mind. The book itself is great, but I don't know that I want to read any more of his works, simply because I don't want to see any more of him as a person in my life. That's an entirely personal choice, however, and I wouldn't judge anyone who read his entire collected works.
The second is dependent on the reader's interpretations. There are two goblin children named Dew and Rag, and that, to me, is wholly referential to "du-rag", a term which had been around for a very long time. These two names could, of course, be entirely coincidental picks, but it's pretty odd that they're featured together on two goblin children. This wouldn't be the first time goblins have been used for racial suggestions: Tolkien himself referred to his orcs as "Mongoloid" in their facial features. Anyways, I thought it might very well be an instance of an old British man employing subtle racism. You may not, and that's just fine. It's not like any of us can write a letter and ask him, so we might as well read it and get on.

After these three drawbacks, however, the book was thoroughly enjoyed. I recommend reading it with candles/firelight, hot tea, a blanket, and a black cat nearby. But if there's a full moon outside your window, gaze at your own peril: you might just see a figure on a broomstick pass over its face.

[Kirsten Simkiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t really the book for me if I’m being honest. I didn’t really enjoy the simple language so much and, at times, I found the actions of Hob difficult to understand in the literal sense. Being a kid’s book with simple language, this wasn’t a problem I thought I’d be facing.

That being said, the world and the rules of it were rather charming. I thought it was a nice concept, having a hob making your home safe and comfortable for you.

Still, this book just wasn’t really as endearing as I’d hoped.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A startlingly different fantasy about different innocents - Hob who doesn't understand humans but knows it is his job to look after them, who can't make plans but only knows what to do when he has to do it, and the Grimes family who know nothing about Hobs and even less about the dangers waiting in Great Uncle Fluellen's house.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second attempt to enjoy this. But I just don't understand what's so special about it. Maybe if I were in an altered state of consciousness, or if I were of a more *L*iterary mind.... But mostly it was hard work to understand what was going on... if it were told in a more straightforward manner it wouldn't have amounted to much of anything.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annoyingly cute, but also kind of nicely dark and creepy. Should have been edited better and longer, but for a dollar sale, I scored.

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird. Told from the perspective of Hob, a friendly house spirit. It felt like half the story was missing because of Hob's limited perspective. Weird.

[Rich · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author must have been smoking some weed when he wrote this book.

[EchoHouseLibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic combo of clear innocence and creepiness!