Malcolm Saville, Jane’s Country Year

Description

This novel was written while Saville was extending his range as a writer, alongside his very successful Lone Pine adventure series, and nature anthologies for children. Moor End Farm, where Jane spends a year after the end of war discovering the birds and animals living around her, is based on a farm in Wheathamstead, Hertfordshire, where Saville had lived. Inspired by the experiences of Saville’s own god-daughter, this marvellous novel is full of the wonder of discovery, as well the happiness of regaining health, making friends, and learning to love the natural world.

We sent a copy to Mya-Rose Craig, aka Birdgirl, the prominent UK environmentalist and ornithologist, and she loved it. ‘A beautifully illustrated story of an eleven year old London girl’s year of convalescing in Hertfordshire in 1946. Her experiences are delightful. A traditional story but easily relatable for modern young people.’

Reviews

‘A heartwarming read with Saville’s descriptive talent for natural things shining through from the beginning to the end of Jane’s recuperation in the country. I love the way the seasons unfold as, with each chapter, we move through the year a month at a time, becoming more and more aware of the sounds and smells of the farm and growing familiar with the surrounding fields and countryside.’ – Kim Spencer, The Shropshire Magazine

‘Malcolm Saville’s new-to-me authorial voice is here guiding and instructive, but never patronising in its tone; his writing as crisp and sweet as an old-fashioned apple — childlike in its wonder, but never childish, filled with details that elevate his simple story into something gentle and wise. The full-colour reproductions of Bernard Bowerman’s beautiful illustrations from the first edition are refreshingly nostalgic in their simplicity, each built around a limited, austerity palette. (After the original publication in 1946, later editions were black & white throughout.) Together, words and images bring into sharp, loving focus the landscape and wildlife, livestock and farming rhythms of a rural twelvemonth, as seen through the eyes of eleven-year-old town child Jane. ‘ – The Unhurried Reader

‘Jane’s Country Year will appeal to anyone interested in rural life in the 1940s, the countryside or the natural world. It also ties in with present days concerns about the environment, sustainability and the preservation of the countryside. As Uncle William remarks at one point, ‘And so you see Janey how ’tis that everything that came from the soil goes back into it at last’. I thought it was utterly charming.’ – What Cathy Read Next

‘As a person who lives increasingly seasonally as I get older I really appreciated the microcosm of a life lived really in tune with the seasons that is portrayed in this book. It’s a quiet book, and is Handheld Press’s first colour illustrated novel, with beautiful illustrations by Bernard Bowerman. I’ve taken my time with it just because it’s worth savouring each creature and plant discovered, and each new experience that Jane has. Because the world of the farm and the countryside is so different to the one that she’s used to at home, everything is new to her and is described in such detail and with such care that it’s really easy to get swept up in paying really close attention to what’s going on.’ – Indie Book Network

‘Jane’s Country Year is a little like a novel version of the wonderful What to Look for in… series from Ladybird … I loved this book, especially with the fascinating introduction. I wish I’d had the resolve to read along just one chapter a month but it was soooooo good I couldn’t help myself and just had to read it all in one go!’ – Norfolk Bookworm

‘This is a book of gentle proportions. A book that calms frayed nerves and soothes the soul. It is a book without edges; a book with rounded corners and the most beautiful soul. The story of Jane and her year of discovery, is the balm I needed in this dark end of the year. Each chapter spans a month. Each chapter is like peeling back a window on nature, each turning page a new discovery. This book might be written for children but it’s appeal is universal. It takes the reader by the hand, throws you your wellies and says come with me. It is a feast for the senses and a gentle rest for the brain. It’s think therapy on the page.’ – Bookbound

‘If Malcolm Saville is remembered at all these days, it’s probably because of his Lone Pine adventure stories – I have a vague memory of reading one of them myself. But among his more than 90 books there are a number that are specifically aimed at introducing children to the English countryside. All but one of these are non-fiction: ‘Country Scrapbooks’, quizzes, ‘Wonder Why’ books and more. The exception is obviously Jane’s Country Year, which manages superbly to combine teaching its young readers to recognise the various elements of the natural world from insects to animals to flowers and trees with an engrossing story of a young girl’s daily life, her friendships and her adventures. ‘ – Shiny New Books

‘There’s a sense of bucolic idyll but also of the hard work and risk that was involved in farming. Jane’s Country Year is also a step back in time to a look at everyday life 80 years ago. A charming tale that is a delight from start to finish.’ – From First Page to Last

‘As a book “about” nature, farming and landscape, and “about” childhood, Jane’s Country Year is simultaneously explicitly and consciously of its time, yet also oddly, awkwardly timeless. I’m delighted to have read it this year and to have had the world of Malcolm Saville opened to me.’ – Unpopular Culture

‘Saville sustains the mood of engagement and wonder throughout. The pictures are a genuine bonus, and I greatly enjoyed learning about the recent historical past, however romanticised, and sharing the delight of Jane’s year in the country.’ – Tears In The Fence