regshoe

Interesting that the beginning is not the best place to start with the Hornblower books! I'd be curious to know which ones are worth reading and in what order.

In many of her books FHB will grab onto an idea and hold it like a terrier, and in The Secret Garden it's clearly the Fresh Air of Yorkshire! Fascinating that she never lived there; she evokes it so vividly! (The robin, I think, is based on an actual robin friend of Burnett's: she wrote a short book called My Robin, which is about a robin that used to visit her in her garden.)

I love the Miss Read books. They're so gentle and relaxing and well-observed.