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Boston, Lucy M.

The Children of Green Knowe, [87] 39

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20250901111324 Ann Kennedy Smith on The Memory of a House, SF Issue 87

How Sweet the Music

Anne Kennedy Smith on Lucy M. Boston, Memory in a House

Something rather magical happened to me last summer when, walking along the river path by the Great Ouse in Huntingdonshire, I came across an old iron gate set into a stone wall. A small sign said ‘Visitors welcome’ so I pushed the gate open and found myself in a lovely English garden with some curious details. Ahead of me lay a velvety swath of lawn, edged with a row of dark green yews trimmed neatly into coronation orbs and crowns. Walking further, I discovered more topiary in the shape of giant chess pieces, and rare irises standing tall. Old roses carelessly cast their petals at my feet as I looked up to see a mysterious old house.
20250901111349 Melanie McDonagh on The Children of Green Knowe, SF Issue 87

Where Past and Present Meet

Melanie McDonagh on Lucy M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe

Lucy Boston’s The Children of Green Knowe (1954) is one of the most enchanting children’s books ever written, set in the perfect time and place. The time is unspecified, but it would seem to be after the war, when trains still stopped at little stations like the one called Penny Soaky. It’s not long before Christmas and there will be snow. It is also a time when a little boy like Tolly, who is 7, can travel on a train to his unknown great-grandmother all by himself.

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