This is a classic I should have read long ago. Happy to say it was enjoyable even as an adult, though some parts seemed a bit too sweet or simplistic or tidily-solved for my taste. Sure to enthrall the right sort of children, though. It’s got overtones very like Robin McKinley’s Beauty, with the mysterious large mansion that provides every comfort though no servants are in sight. It reminded me of many books I once read by George MacDonald, with the good girl protagonist (though this one is not without her flaws) seeking to solve a little mystery and put something to right. There are moralizing themes but they weren’t heavy-hand, and hints of magic but quite subtle.
It’s about a thirteen-year-old girl who suddenly finds herself an orphan and has to leave her nice London home to go live with an unknown relative in the country. She’s expecting the worst, especially because the journey with her governess is long and rough, but surprised at the lovely acreage that greets her. Moonacre is quite the estate. Her relative Sir Benjamin soon makes it clear that she is the next heiress to the manor and its lands, and shows her how far she may wander at will. She explores the house, the gardens, the dark woods nearby, the nice little village. Learns that there is some shadow hanging over Sir Benjamin and his household (yes, there are servants of a sort, but they keep mostly out of sight and work secretly), and a very long-standing feud between Moonacre + the villagers, and the fishermen + ‘Black’ men who live in the dark forest. Together with some animal companions (a great, calm dog who turns out to be more than canine, a sophisticated cat that communicates by writing in the fireplace ashes, a wild hare that she rescues from a trap) and an old childhood friend she gets reunited with, Maria tries to put to rights what was done wrong so many generations ago. She’s not the first Moonacre princess to attempt this, but she will be the first to succeed.
There’s a slightly magical element to the whole story- but it feels under the surface rather like some books I’ve read by Dianna Wynne Jones. You’d think from the cover (and all the covers I saw depicted online) that a unicorn is a big part of the novel, but really it’s not. The ‘white horse’ or unicorn is glimpsed only a few times, and it’s more a symbolic presence than anything else.
It’s a very nice story, and written so lovely. It feels like a turning point in my focus or recovery- the first actual full chapter book I’ve been able to feel immersed in and enjoy. It did still take me longer to read than books of this level used to, and I had difficulty with the descriptive passages- finding they just did not hold my attention and I couldn’t picture all the wonderful details clearly- but I was finally spending some time reading during the day and appreciating it, instead of only managing to get a few pages in at bedtime.
Borrowed from the public library. Completed on 6/28/24.
