Post by Claire on May 13, 2009 21:01:21 GMT 1
JILL’S GYMKHANA by RUBY FERGUSON
MAIN CHARACTERS:
Jill Crewe – an 11 year old (at start of book) pony mad girl
Mrs. Crewe – Jill’s authoress mother
Martin Lowe – Jill’s wheelchair bound friend and instructor
Ann Derry – Jill’s best friend
Susan Pyke – Jill’s nemesis and all round pain in the backside
Blackboy (aka Danny Boy) – Jill’s pony
PLOT SUMMARY
Jill and her widowed mother have recently moved to a cottage in the village of Chatton. Jill loved ponies and many of the local children ride, but she can only look on enviously as money is tight and a pony is a luxury they cannot afford. Jill visits a local gymkhana and realises it is her ambition to own her own pony and take part in a gymkhana just like that one! She knows the pony she would like, an attractive piebald gelding who is grazing in a local farmers field. The farmer tells Jill he is for sale but she knows sadly she cannot have him – or fulfil her ambition to ride in a gymkhana.
But then Jill’s mother receives a largish sum of money from one of her books and she agrees to buying the pony whom Jill calls Blackboy. Unfortunately there are still problems including not having the correct riding clothes, tack, and the small problem of not being able to ride!
REVIEW
This review will be primarily one of the first book in the series, however I will also be referring at times to later Jill books.
It is quite a daunting task to review a book/series which has become a real institution in the world of the pony novel. Can one look at the book objectively and even dare to criticise if need be? Well, I can but try!
On the surface, the plot for the book seems rather unoriginal and uninspiring. Poor girl can’t afford pony. Some money miraculously appears and girl gets pony, finds an expert to help her and becomes an able rider, wining at local gymkhana. We have certain ‘stock’ characters such as the aforesaid horsy expert (Martin), the sympathetic best friend (Ann), the hearty and competent riding school owner (Mrs. Darcy), and the annoying and conceited rich girl (Susan Pyke).
However there are two main reasons why we cannot use this criticism when reviewing the book. Firstly, the book was written in the vanguard of the ‘rider-focused’ pony novel (as opposed to pony point of view books of the 1930s), along with other books written by Joanna Cannan and M. M. Oliver and contemporaries. In that era the plot was not hackneyed, but fairly fresh. Pony books had been previously more centred on the life stories of the horses themselves, now writers were turning to plots where the heroine’s desire to have their own pony was at the heart of the book. To the modern reader, or to someone who has read hundreds of pony stories, the plot may seem unoriginal, but this is because it is in fact an archetype of the hundreds of pony books which were to follow, as are its characters.
Even if we look at extremely modern pony books we still see many of these archetypal characters. For instance in Samantha Alexander’s Riders series written in the 1990s we have an almost re-creation of these characters with the horsy expert Eric taking the place of Martin (he is even in a wheelchair too!), Zoe in place of Ann and Camilla standing in for Susan Pyke. Even the most recent pony book series, Lauren Brooke’s Chestnut Hill series, written 60 years after the Jill books shares many of the same character archetypes.
Ms. Ferguson, along with her fellow pony book writers of the time, was not re-using archetypal characters, she was actually creating them! And, almost like Jungian archetypes, they appear to strike an instinctive chord in the reader. Why else would the same character types have appeared throughout the years and still be part of today’s modern novel with its far different readership?
The other reason why the Jill stories do not seem unoriginal, even to people who have read many, many similar stories, is the tone in which they are written. Few other pony book authors have managed to recreate the light, witty and wry tone of the Jill stories. The chatty first person narrative of Jill is so natural it is almost like listening to a friend talking to you, and a funny and interesting friend at that. We can sympathise with Jill’s concerns because she confesses them to us without reserve. We share her ups and downs, her triumphs and her occasional tantrums, as we would those of a confidante whispering their secrets to us.
But more than anything else the books are fun! In a genre which is for the most part strangely fairly devoid of humour, reading a Jill book is a real feel-good experience.
Ruby Ferguson manages to combine a dry acerbic wit, which is seen in the comments of many of the characters and Jill’s narrative along with an attention to detail in which even the minutae of the story are given a funny slant. For example, take the sickly titles of the books Mrs. Crewe writes ( a send-up of Enid Blyton books perhaps?), or the hilarious names of characters such as Mercy Dulbottle. These little details form a funny and light-hearted back-drop to the humourous main narrative. As well as its humour, the book and indeed the whole series, is written in a very easily readable style and has that simplicity which is actually probably the hardest type of writing to achieve.
I think these are the main reasons for the books’ popularity with so many people and so many generations. This light touch and humour is a real breath of fresh air and the originality of the tone in which they are written overcomes any potential lack of originality of plot which a modern reader may feel.
One criticism which it is possible to make of the Jill books is that they do not address weighty issues. Apart from the question of whether or not pony books should fulfil this role, (which is a whole new argument!) I cannot entirely agree with this. It is done so skilfully it is barely detectable, but under the humour there are some often quite serious moments and real insights into human nature. For instance in A Stable For Jill when Jill’s mother has to go into hospital and Jill must stay with her drippy cousin Cecilia, she, quite understandably for a teenage girl, is more concerned with her own plight at being taken away from her pony and forced to live with deary relations, but then she has a sudden realisation that she has selfishly ignored her mother’s plight and is overcome by remorse. The books are very British in that strong emotions are addressed lightly although certainly not ignored. For instance when Jill is upset she ‘howls’ - a humourous description of her misery which is a complete contrast for example to the constant soul-searching and wallowing in self regret of many of CPT’s characters.
The bizarre realities of life are explored too with situations which you know could happen in real life, but are very funny, such as the bring and buy sale and Jill’s visit to the Lowes, when both Jill and the other two children misinterpret each other completely. (I also love the bit where Jill is trying to be assertive and hammers on the bathroom door only to find it occupied by Martin's father). Ms. Ferguson is obviously trying to highlight the sometimes absurd nature of life and its unintentional humour. So although the Jill books certainly cannot at all be termed ‘deep’ they do in their own laconic style often address the realities of life, and cannot be dismissed as mere froth. However they were never intended to explore too deeply into the realms of the human psyche, they are unashamed unadulterated entertainment, and as examples of such are sheer genius.
We have already discussed the many archetypal characters in the books, but I want to look more closely at a couple of other characters.
Martin Lowe, for instance, is not just a character in a story, he is also an example of the ‘instructional element’ which began to creep into pony books in the late 1940s and 1950s. It was no longer acceptable to amble around on an indifferent pony, girls wanted to learn to ride properly and well, and the pony book became an important medium for this. Although not as accomplished and in-depth as JPT’s instructional element in her Noel and Henry series with Major Holbrooke as the mouth-piece, the reader does learn the basics of horseman-ship through the teaching of Martin. And he does it in a very natural way which blends seamlessly into the narrative of the story.
Mrs. Crewe is also an important character in the stories. She has much more input than most mothers of pony book heroines. This is I think because she is partly a foil to Jill, and is also Jill’s ‘conscience’. As we will discuss later on in the review, she often highlights Jill’s faults and so gives her daughter a chance to redeem herself and win back the reader’s liking and respect. But because she is portrayed as a real caring mother this does not seem like a device, but extremely natural; much as Martin provides a dual role as character and plot device, so too does Mrs. C.
It is however the character of Jill which is at the heart of the series, she is a far more rounded character than many fictional creations in the genre. And, as we discussed earlier, we empathise and relate to Jill closely through her intimate first person narrative. Unlike many characters, Jill does change and grow throughout the book and series in general, becoming much more confident and competent. Unfortunately she becomes in later books a little too confident and there is a touch of the ‘pot-hunter’ about her. For instance in a later story in the series when her pony has been injured her emotions seem to focus more on the prizes she won’t be winning than her poor pony’s injury. Whilst I don’t find this later Jill character as likeable as the earlier more humble Jill, it does smack of realism. A girl who is so successful with her two ponies may inevitably start thinking a little too much of her abilities and become a little too interested in her successes. Jill also has other faults which include an inability to ‘suffer fools gladly’ and an occaisional selfish streak. It is this willingness by the author to show some unpleasant aspects of Jill’s character that turns her heroine into a realistic three-dimensional creation (and it also gives rise to much of the humour in the books). However, with a real stroke of genius, Ruby Ferguson nearly always forces Jill to confront her faults and repent them, sometimes with a ridiculous or absurd situation waiting round the corner which takes her down a peg or two, sometimes with the help of the astute comments of Mrs. Crewe – in this way Jill can be unpleasant at times but still remain sympathetic as a character. And of course we can forgive Jill much because she has such a funny and biting wit, even when she is being pretty awful!
I would rate this book as 5 horseshoes because it is not quite my favourite of the series, if I rated the series as a whole however I would also give it a gold cup for an outstanding achievement in the genre.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
Jill Crewe – an 11 year old (at start of book) pony mad girl
Mrs. Crewe – Jill’s authoress mother
Martin Lowe – Jill’s wheelchair bound friend and instructor
Ann Derry – Jill’s best friend
Susan Pyke – Jill’s nemesis and all round pain in the backside
Blackboy (aka Danny Boy) – Jill’s pony
PLOT SUMMARY
Jill and her widowed mother have recently moved to a cottage in the village of Chatton. Jill loved ponies and many of the local children ride, but she can only look on enviously as money is tight and a pony is a luxury they cannot afford. Jill visits a local gymkhana and realises it is her ambition to own her own pony and take part in a gymkhana just like that one! She knows the pony she would like, an attractive piebald gelding who is grazing in a local farmers field. The farmer tells Jill he is for sale but she knows sadly she cannot have him – or fulfil her ambition to ride in a gymkhana.
But then Jill’s mother receives a largish sum of money from one of her books and she agrees to buying the pony whom Jill calls Blackboy. Unfortunately there are still problems including not having the correct riding clothes, tack, and the small problem of not being able to ride!
REVIEW
This review will be primarily one of the first book in the series, however I will also be referring at times to later Jill books.
It is quite a daunting task to review a book/series which has become a real institution in the world of the pony novel. Can one look at the book objectively and even dare to criticise if need be? Well, I can but try!
On the surface, the plot for the book seems rather unoriginal and uninspiring. Poor girl can’t afford pony. Some money miraculously appears and girl gets pony, finds an expert to help her and becomes an able rider, wining at local gymkhana. We have certain ‘stock’ characters such as the aforesaid horsy expert (Martin), the sympathetic best friend (Ann), the hearty and competent riding school owner (Mrs. Darcy), and the annoying and conceited rich girl (Susan Pyke).
However there are two main reasons why we cannot use this criticism when reviewing the book. Firstly, the book was written in the vanguard of the ‘rider-focused’ pony novel (as opposed to pony point of view books of the 1930s), along with other books written by Joanna Cannan and M. M. Oliver and contemporaries. In that era the plot was not hackneyed, but fairly fresh. Pony books had been previously more centred on the life stories of the horses themselves, now writers were turning to plots where the heroine’s desire to have their own pony was at the heart of the book. To the modern reader, or to someone who has read hundreds of pony stories, the plot may seem unoriginal, but this is because it is in fact an archetype of the hundreds of pony books which were to follow, as are its characters.
Even if we look at extremely modern pony books we still see many of these archetypal characters. For instance in Samantha Alexander’s Riders series written in the 1990s we have an almost re-creation of these characters with the horsy expert Eric taking the place of Martin (he is even in a wheelchair too!), Zoe in place of Ann and Camilla standing in for Susan Pyke. Even the most recent pony book series, Lauren Brooke’s Chestnut Hill series, written 60 years after the Jill books shares many of the same character archetypes.
Ms. Ferguson, along with her fellow pony book writers of the time, was not re-using archetypal characters, she was actually creating them! And, almost like Jungian archetypes, they appear to strike an instinctive chord in the reader. Why else would the same character types have appeared throughout the years and still be part of today’s modern novel with its far different readership?
The other reason why the Jill stories do not seem unoriginal, even to people who have read many, many similar stories, is the tone in which they are written. Few other pony book authors have managed to recreate the light, witty and wry tone of the Jill stories. The chatty first person narrative of Jill is so natural it is almost like listening to a friend talking to you, and a funny and interesting friend at that. We can sympathise with Jill’s concerns because she confesses them to us without reserve. We share her ups and downs, her triumphs and her occasional tantrums, as we would those of a confidante whispering their secrets to us.
But more than anything else the books are fun! In a genre which is for the most part strangely fairly devoid of humour, reading a Jill book is a real feel-good experience.
Ruby Ferguson manages to combine a dry acerbic wit, which is seen in the comments of many of the characters and Jill’s narrative along with an attention to detail in which even the minutae of the story are given a funny slant. For example, take the sickly titles of the books Mrs. Crewe writes ( a send-up of Enid Blyton books perhaps?), or the hilarious names of characters such as Mercy Dulbottle. These little details form a funny and light-hearted back-drop to the humourous main narrative. As well as its humour, the book and indeed the whole series, is written in a very easily readable style and has that simplicity which is actually probably the hardest type of writing to achieve.
I think these are the main reasons for the books’ popularity with so many people and so many generations. This light touch and humour is a real breath of fresh air and the originality of the tone in which they are written overcomes any potential lack of originality of plot which a modern reader may feel.
One criticism which it is possible to make of the Jill books is that they do not address weighty issues. Apart from the question of whether or not pony books should fulfil this role, (which is a whole new argument!) I cannot entirely agree with this. It is done so skilfully it is barely detectable, but under the humour there are some often quite serious moments and real insights into human nature. For instance in A Stable For Jill when Jill’s mother has to go into hospital and Jill must stay with her drippy cousin Cecilia, she, quite understandably for a teenage girl, is more concerned with her own plight at being taken away from her pony and forced to live with deary relations, but then she has a sudden realisation that she has selfishly ignored her mother’s plight and is overcome by remorse. The books are very British in that strong emotions are addressed lightly although certainly not ignored. For instance when Jill is upset she ‘howls’ - a humourous description of her misery which is a complete contrast for example to the constant soul-searching and wallowing in self regret of many of CPT’s characters.
The bizarre realities of life are explored too with situations which you know could happen in real life, but are very funny, such as the bring and buy sale and Jill’s visit to the Lowes, when both Jill and the other two children misinterpret each other completely. (I also love the bit where Jill is trying to be assertive and hammers on the bathroom door only to find it occupied by Martin's father). Ms. Ferguson is obviously trying to highlight the sometimes absurd nature of life and its unintentional humour. So although the Jill books certainly cannot at all be termed ‘deep’ they do in their own laconic style often address the realities of life, and cannot be dismissed as mere froth. However they were never intended to explore too deeply into the realms of the human psyche, they are unashamed unadulterated entertainment, and as examples of such are sheer genius.
We have already discussed the many archetypal characters in the books, but I want to look more closely at a couple of other characters.
Martin Lowe, for instance, is not just a character in a story, he is also an example of the ‘instructional element’ which began to creep into pony books in the late 1940s and 1950s. It was no longer acceptable to amble around on an indifferent pony, girls wanted to learn to ride properly and well, and the pony book became an important medium for this. Although not as accomplished and in-depth as JPT’s instructional element in her Noel and Henry series with Major Holbrooke as the mouth-piece, the reader does learn the basics of horseman-ship through the teaching of Martin. And he does it in a very natural way which blends seamlessly into the narrative of the story.
Mrs. Crewe is also an important character in the stories. She has much more input than most mothers of pony book heroines. This is I think because she is partly a foil to Jill, and is also Jill’s ‘conscience’. As we will discuss later on in the review, she often highlights Jill’s faults and so gives her daughter a chance to redeem herself and win back the reader’s liking and respect. But because she is portrayed as a real caring mother this does not seem like a device, but extremely natural; much as Martin provides a dual role as character and plot device, so too does Mrs. C.
It is however the character of Jill which is at the heart of the series, she is a far more rounded character than many fictional creations in the genre. And, as we discussed earlier, we empathise and relate to Jill closely through her intimate first person narrative. Unlike many characters, Jill does change and grow throughout the book and series in general, becoming much more confident and competent. Unfortunately she becomes in later books a little too confident and there is a touch of the ‘pot-hunter’ about her. For instance in a later story in the series when her pony has been injured her emotions seem to focus more on the prizes she won’t be winning than her poor pony’s injury. Whilst I don’t find this later Jill character as likeable as the earlier more humble Jill, it does smack of realism. A girl who is so successful with her two ponies may inevitably start thinking a little too much of her abilities and become a little too interested in her successes. Jill also has other faults which include an inability to ‘suffer fools gladly’ and an occaisional selfish streak. It is this willingness by the author to show some unpleasant aspects of Jill’s character that turns her heroine into a realistic three-dimensional creation (and it also gives rise to much of the humour in the books). However, with a real stroke of genius, Ruby Ferguson nearly always forces Jill to confront her faults and repent them, sometimes with a ridiculous or absurd situation waiting round the corner which takes her down a peg or two, sometimes with the help of the astute comments of Mrs. Crewe – in this way Jill can be unpleasant at times but still remain sympathetic as a character. And of course we can forgive Jill much because she has such a funny and biting wit, even when she is being pretty awful!
I would rate this book as 5 horseshoes because it is not quite my favourite of the series, if I rated the series as a whole however I would also give it a gold cup for an outstanding achievement in the genre.