Title The Little White Horse Series --- Author Elizabeth Goudge Cover Art Warner Brothers Publisher Lion Children's - 2008 First Printing 1946 Category Children Warnings None Main Characters Maria Merryweather, Miss Heliotrope, Wiggins, Sir Benjamin, Robin, Periwinkle, Serena, Wrolf, Zachariah Main Elements Unicorns Website ---

Maria Merryweather, a stranger to Moonacre, is fascinated by the mysterious story of the long-lost Moon Princess and the magical little white horse. Before long she is determined to restore peace and happiness to the valley. And Maria usually gets her way...

There is a unicorn in this book, but it shows up for about two whole pages, but you know what, I wasn't disappointed. In fact from the very first page I was drawn in by the beautiful writing and this magical world where I kept expecting everyone to turn out to be fairies in a land of the fey. And maybe it still was, who knows, and maybe the fact it doesn't really get explained is a good thing.

We start with your standard city-bred orphan being brought to live with some relative she's never met in the country. But instead of hating the place, she falls in love with it, as if she has finally come home to place she belongs. She meets her uncle Sir Benjamin, a good man but with his faults, as we all have. His pet "dog" Wrolf (that has a mane, and roars, has a tawny coat and is big enough to ride...it was a bit silly that everyone thought a lion was a dog but, whatever, it's a weird place!), a mysterious cat name Zachariah that seems to be able to write, a dwarf-like cook named Marmaduke Scarlett, and of course, the pony Periwinkle. But best of all is the moon-themed tower room Maria has all to herself.

But of course, mysteries abound. Such as why all the women Merryweathers always seem to be driven away from their ancestral home? Who are the Dark Men that come to poach and steal from the village? Why does Sir Wrolf, the founder of the Merryweather estate, continue to haunt Paradise Hill? What is that mysterious white pony Maria saw on the first day? And how can she make everything right and break the curse that has haunted the family for centuries. Of course we have a 13 year old girl fix everything that a generation of adults couldn't, but then that's how middle-grade books work, the kids save the world and the adults are well-intentioned idiots. But I think that just adds to the magic, it's unrealistic but it inspires us. Even where you find out the villain isn't actually evil, just misunderstood. That kind of thing, a book that makes you happy in the end, and gives you warm fuzzy feelings.

I absolutely adored this book, that touch of what feels like fairy magic (though no actual fairies appear) just made it the most wonderful read, Goudge is an amazing author. This might be a book for middle grade readers but I found it so much better than so many books aimed at adults. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes to imagine moving to a magical mansion in a mystical land with a touch of whimsy.