Bonny the Pony by Anne Clarke

[tintin]

Having touched on the subjective aspects of book reviewing on another thread this represents a very good example of its application

Not only is our taste in books and our preference for different aspects of horse life, or character of people or locale involved, but also our age, tastes and state of mind at the time we were first acquainted with the book and even who gave us it.

I was enthusiastically recommended this book by a very glamorous hunting lady who was quite emphatic, that after Black Beauty, this was the greatest horse story ever written

I feel an absolute churl at disagreeing, but that is not to say the book is a bad book.

Let us first look at what is wrong with it. It is all over the place, things chop and change and are swiftly picked up and put down again. An awful lot happens, it is very much like a cliff hanger serial as Bonny gets into all sort of scrapes. Also the writing style chops and changes and can be a bit odd. The setting and characters are very English yet constantly say "Sure" and "Gee" in a very American way. Was the author American living in the UK, or someone who naturally used American phrases? Also sometimes the author seems not quite sure of the correct word - I have never heard "harness" used as a term except for draught horses.

What is good with it? A great deal - it is a good hearted book full of genuine sentiment. The characters of Bonny (a gelding) and Frank his owner are delightful and they truly are best friends, they are both very bold and keep the reader on the edge of their seat with their scrapes. It is exciting yet does not stray into the realms of the fantastical. It is unusual in being a book from the austerity period of the late forties 1946(there are still land girls, far more books are from the 30's and 50's. It is a beautifully presented book with delightful illustrations and a handily sized type face. From the site it appears to be the author's only book, which is a great pity

I can well understand why my grand foxy friend loves the book so much, she likes the bond between horse and rider and the adorable character of Bonny (your love for him made more intense by the shameless, soap opera style, device of constantly placing him in danger) Also any horse mad child given this book at the right time, by the right person could n't fail to love it.

However, I can only give it a 3 because it very much needs the tautening hand of an editor (I am sure the sisters could have made 4 or 5 books out of this)Such loveable characters and location need a more patient and descriptive hand to flesh them out how they, and the reader, deserve. A good hearted, attractive book well on the good side of average. Like several books I have read recently would perhaps make a better TV series than a book

[Claire]

Excellent review! I haven't read this one as yet, but if I come across it at a reasonable price I'll definitely give it a go on the strength of the good points raised here. I don't know much about the author, she was definitely British but whether or not she lived in the USA at all I don't know.

[Claire]

Thanks for the loan of the book Tintin

[Claire]

Have read this book now (thanks to the lovely Tintin) and have to say I can sort of understand why Tintin's lady friend rates it as one of her favourite horse stories. Although books written in this era, and equine biographies, are normally not my favourite horse stories, I did enjoy this one. Despite a number of flaws, touched upon by Tintin, this is a charming book with a real 'feel good factor' about it. This is largely due to the character of Bonny who is a very decent soul who is always trying to do the right thing and is caring and compassionate, but without being priggish or dull. Also the bond between him and Ken is quite touching.
The book is full of cliches, though as it was written quite early in the genre, it was probably before they actually WERE cliches. We have the ubiquitous gypsies - though to be fair there is a decent gypsy character to balance out the usual rogues. The main irritation of the book is that there are simply too many instance where Bonny rescues people or in some other way saves the day. It starts getting a little tedious after a while. The Americansims used by Jen, I think could possibly be put down to the after effect of the American soldiers being posted in Britain and the American influence beginning to touch upon youngsters of the time (it was written just after WW2). I have heard similar expressions used by boys in other pony books of the time.
On the whole I'd recommend the book, especially if you are in need of something cheerful and light.