What do you think?
Rate this book
The Valley and the Farm
The valley and the farm
141 pages, Paperback
About the author
Monica Edwards
77 books23 followersMonica Edwards (November 8, 1912 - January 18, 1998) was a British children's and young adult writer.
Monica spent spent much of her childhood at Rye Harbour in East Sussex, encountering the fishermen and rural characters that later appear in her "Romney Marsh" series of books. In 1933 she married Bill Edwards and began publishing articles and verses in a variety of publications. She spent eight years as editor of a Correspondence magazine for parents before the publication of her first book Wish for a Pony in 1947.
In 1947 the Edwards family moved to Punch Bowl Farm in Thursley, South West Surrey, which became the setting for her other main series of books (as Punchbowl Farm).
Monica differed from many of her contemporaries - notably Enid Blyton - in that her characters grew older with the books until they reached the edge of adulthood, and the atmosphere of the books changed with the times.
In 1968, Monica's husband, working Punch Bowl Farm, was seriously disabled in a tractor accident. Monica stopped writing fiction. By the end of 1970, the Edwards had left Punch Bowl Farm.
Series:
* Romney Marsh
* Punch Bowl Farm
Monica spent spent much of her childhood at Rye Harbour in East Sussex, encountering the fishermen and rural characters that later appear in her "Romney Marsh" series of books. In 1933 she married Bill Edwards and began publishing articles and verses in a variety of publications. She spent eight years as editor of a Correspondence magazine for parents before the publication of her first book Wish for a Pony in 1947.
In 1947 the Edwards family moved to Punch Bowl Farm in Thursley, South West Surrey, which became the setting for her other main series of books (as Punchbowl Farm).
Monica differed from many of her contemporaries - notably Enid Blyton - in that her characters grew older with the books until they reached the edge of adulthood, and the atmosphere of the books changed with the times.
In 1968, Monica's husband, working Punch Bowl Farm, was seriously disabled in a tractor accident. Monica stopped writing fiction. By the end of 1970, the Edwards had left Punch Bowl Farm.
Series:
* Romney Marsh
* Punch Bowl Farm
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 30, 2015
I'd previously read a couple of the author's children's books about ponies, and her memoir Badgers of Punchbowl Farm. In this book we find more tales of the English countryside and cats and Jersey herd. Monica continues her dogged observations of the badgers in the wooded valley and manages to get some better photos.
Unlike Doreen Tovey's books I have not found these funny, for all that some surprising things happen. This tale is the most fraught because the author's husband has a life-threatening tractor accident - his third major accident with this vehicle. There's a photo of the tractor and it has no cab, roll bars or any other protection for the driver. It's all very well to say that this occurred during the 1970s, but we also hear of a farm student driving the tractor in her bikini, a pony regularly being ridden bareback by people (in bikini or not) without head protection. Nobody seems to have thought of alleviating any risk factors or insisting on protective gear or standards at any time.
Farming has always been tedious, difficult and dangerous. Monica says she prefers to plough with horses, now a thing of her past, though a tractor does the work four times as quickly. Clearly speed or throughput were the in thing during the 1970s and this farm is regarded by the publisher as being charmingly antiquated. By halfway through the book we start to see Monica's worry about the sale of the farm they'd bought twenty years previously. She is determined to keep the wooded valley where the badgers live.
Two of the Beatles and their wives make cameo appearances and I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that the farmers should have sold to Paul and Linda McCartney when they had the chance. Various cats feature largely, including a longhaired stray who is tamed. Animal characters abound while young people come and go, including the son who is working on a biology degree and works up a project on sphagnum moss.
Read this for a look at farming and nature study of the past, with wry observations regarding the 1970s pesticide use killing off the songbirds and making the badgers infertile, then a gradual return as pesticides are banned. But drive a safe tractor.
Unlike Doreen Tovey's books I have not found these funny, for all that some surprising things happen. This tale is the most fraught because the author's husband has a life-threatening tractor accident - his third major accident with this vehicle. There's a photo of the tractor and it has no cab, roll bars or any other protection for the driver. It's all very well to say that this occurred during the 1970s, but we also hear of a farm student driving the tractor in her bikini, a pony regularly being ridden bareback by people (in bikini or not) without head protection. Nobody seems to have thought of alleviating any risk factors or insisting on protective gear or standards at any time.
Farming has always been tedious, difficult and dangerous. Monica says she prefers to plough with horses, now a thing of her past, though a tractor does the work four times as quickly. Clearly speed or throughput were the in thing during the 1970s and this farm is regarded by the publisher as being charmingly antiquated. By halfway through the book we start to see Monica's worry about the sale of the farm they'd bought twenty years previously. She is determined to keep the wooded valley where the badgers live.
Two of the Beatles and their wives make cameo appearances and I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that the farmers should have sold to Paul and Linda McCartney when they had the chance. Various cats feature largely, including a longhaired stray who is tamed. Animal characters abound while young people come and go, including the son who is working on a biology degree and works up a project on sphagnum moss.
Read this for a look at farming and nature study of the past, with wry observations regarding the 1970s pesticide use killing off the songbirds and making the badgers infertile, then a gradual return as pesticides are banned. But drive a safe tractor.
Displaying 1 of 1 review