Follyfoot

Follyfoot #2

by Monica Dickens

Follyfoot Farm is a retirement home for old or unwanted horses, invariably horses rescued from a cruel fate or cruel owners. It's run by the Colonel who is helped by his stepdaughter, Callie, and two stable-hands, Dora and Steve. These three youngsters have plenty to do at the stables, but can always find time to get involved in the mysteries and adventures that abound at Follyfoot.

Genres: Horses, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 1971

About the author

From the publisher: MONICA DICKENS, born in 1915, was brought up in London and was the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Her mother's German origins and her Catholicism gave her the detached eye of an outsider; at St Paul's Girls' School she was under occupied and rebellious. After drama school she was a debutante before working as a cook. One Pair of Hands (1939), her first book, described life in the kitchens of Kensington. It was the first of a group of semi autobiographies of which Mariana (1940), technically a novel, was one. 'My aim is to entertain rather than instruct,' she wrote. 'I want readers to recognise life in my books.' In 1951 Monica Dickens married a US naval officer, Roy Stratton, moved to America and adopted two daughters. An extremely popular writer, she involved herself in, and wrote about, good causes such as the Samaritans. After her husband died she lived in a cottage in rural Berkshire, dying there in 1992.
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Reviews

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

They don't make books like this any more!

[Undomiel Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a lovely book, I adore this story! It is such a heartwarming little story, and whilst a simple concept very similar to "Black Beauty", it makes for a fantastic read.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic old school English pony book here, that I'd never managed to read before and I see is also the second in the series, the first apparently doesn't exist in a digital format from what I can find!

Follyfoot was enjoyable enough, I liked all of the young people and the Colonel was also pretty decent and I enjoyed the setting of retirement farm for horses.

Personally it doesn't quite hit my criteria for an excellent pony book (I need more riding, delish descriptions of food and a book ending round of show jumping to be truly satisified :D ) but I enjoyed it well enough ALTHOUGH those hotel people and their awful awful sons really gave me the creeps and I hated their part of the story. Bleh!

[John Peel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable, if lightweight, book about horse rescue that was the basis of the popular TV show (though the book incorrectly says it is based on the show). The main problem is that the author tends to let her plot-lines fade away, rather than resolve them properly. But her imagination is good, and she sets up some nice stories.

[Pm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in my 60s and I read these books as a child. I had a fancy to reread the books I loved then. This novel has stood up very well. I have to be honest and say I skipped all the bits about cruelty to children and horses though.

One word of warning - it contains the N word, which in the 1970s white people were not educated enough about, and was used to name black coloured animals.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Follyfoot" isn't so much one story as half a dozen lined up one after the other.
I'm surprised by how watery this book seemed in both content and characters, but it was still quite an enjoyable read.

[Annika Billberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story

A story about horses who are saved from a hard living and finally can have a good life in a nice place. And about friendly and not so friendly people and their adventures in the countryside.

[Meg Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love horses so this was always going to be great but its an old book so it has somethings that you just wouldnt do now but I'll keep reading