Post by tintin on Aug 8, 2013 13:17:06 GMT 1
The Great Horses follows the lives of three heavy horses and ranges from the time of the Norman conquest (1066 and all that) to the agricultural depression of the thirties. Although it ranges widely through time it does not stray much beyond the East Sussex/Kent borders and is non the worse for that.
The three horses, Calph from Norman times, Valour from the middle ages and Major from the thirties all have a distinctive sword shaped white mark on their faces. Calph and Valour are Major’s ancestors. All the horses are brave.
The writing is very good indeed. The book starts with Calph and his fellow horses on the transports in the Channel at first light awaiting the landing. This passage is incredibly vivid and you feel this is just how it must have been. This is one of the best bits of descriptive writing I have ever read.
A central theme of the book is horses and people who are more than they appear to be. Calph’s owner is a minstrel who pretends to be a knight and dies heroically at the Battle of Hastings. Valour’s master, a young medieval dandy of Winchelsea, is widely regarded as a fop, but again dies heroically in defence of Rye from the French invader.
The majority of the book however deals with Major his upbringing, training and work on a depressed farm and subsequent sale on the farmer’s invalidity due to an accident. Major passes to a contractor via a dealer of somewhat elastic honesty.
Major is an undersized horse which leads people to underestimate him, the author whoever shows that the world of work can be just as much a battleground as the world of war and Major shows he has more than enough of the right stuff. If you liked Boxer the heroic cart horse of George Orwell’s Animal Farm you will love Major. The horse sets a good example to the depressed recently widowed contractor giving him a break in business and restoring his pride.
There is lots of good detail of draught work with horses on farms, in highways maintenance and in forestry. The book is very good on the struggles to make ends meet in the depression and some of the “hit and miss” type horsemastership that went on, also on a work world in the transition from horse to motor.
I won’t spoil the ending too much, but the farmer’s daughter who grew up with Major, is very lucky and is able to have a life with horses and make a good marriage. Unfortunately she becomes besotted by thoroughbreds and very sniffy about other types of horses in an irritating way. Her old pal saves her life after a hunting accident. Like the Minstrel and the dandy he proves the scoffers wrong. This is genuinely affecting.
A very well written, beautifully descriptive, uplifting book with charming illustrations.
The three horses, Calph from Norman times, Valour from the middle ages and Major from the thirties all have a distinctive sword shaped white mark on their faces. Calph and Valour are Major’s ancestors. All the horses are brave.
The writing is very good indeed. The book starts with Calph and his fellow horses on the transports in the Channel at first light awaiting the landing. This passage is incredibly vivid and you feel this is just how it must have been. This is one of the best bits of descriptive writing I have ever read.
A central theme of the book is horses and people who are more than they appear to be. Calph’s owner is a minstrel who pretends to be a knight and dies heroically at the Battle of Hastings. Valour’s master, a young medieval dandy of Winchelsea, is widely regarded as a fop, but again dies heroically in defence of Rye from the French invader.
The majority of the book however deals with Major his upbringing, training and work on a depressed farm and subsequent sale on the farmer’s invalidity due to an accident. Major passes to a contractor via a dealer of somewhat elastic honesty.
Major is an undersized horse which leads people to underestimate him, the author whoever shows that the world of work can be just as much a battleground as the world of war and Major shows he has more than enough of the right stuff. If you liked Boxer the heroic cart horse of George Orwell’s Animal Farm you will love Major. The horse sets a good example to the depressed recently widowed contractor giving him a break in business and restoring his pride.
There is lots of good detail of draught work with horses on farms, in highways maintenance and in forestry. The book is very good on the struggles to make ends meet in the depression and some of the “hit and miss” type horsemastership that went on, also on a work world in the transition from horse to motor.
I won’t spoil the ending too much, but the farmer’s daughter who grew up with Major, is very lucky and is able to have a life with horses and make a good marriage. Unfortunately she becomes besotted by thoroughbreds and very sniffy about other types of horses in an irritating way. Her old pal saves her life after a hunting accident. Like the Minstrel and the dandy he proves the scoffers wrong. This is genuinely affecting.
A very well written, beautifully descriptive, uplifting book with charming illustrations.