A review by foggy_rosamund
The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston

4.0

A beautiful and atmospheric story in which lonely Tolly arrives at his ancestral home for the first time. In the ancient castle, Green Knowe, Tolly's great-grandmother maintains the traditions of the house, and tells stories about the generations who have lived there before her. It's a magical place: Tolly arrives for the first time by rowing boat, as the fens are flooded, and fish swim on the lawn. He plays with toys that are almost 400 years old, and meets tame birds, hares and moles. But the magic runs deeper, because Tolly also meets three ghost children, who lived in Green Knowe and continue to make it their home over the centuries, playing games and music, romping through the gardens, and acting as companions to lonely relations. My caveat for this book is that the plot is poorly thought-through, and it's unfortunate that what plot there is rests around a "gypsy curse", which is a dated and frankly offensive conceit. However, the story itself is so richly populated with wonderful creations and characters that I was able to look beyond that detail. The prose in this book is unforgettable, and I was so caught up in the story that I couldn't stop reading, even while wanting to savour it.