Bearing in mind how many I have already read it's in some ways amazing that there are still some Monica Dickens books that I haven't read yet, but I'm delighted to say that there are. Flowers on the Grass has been sat on my bookcase for a while, but it was only when I picked up a second copy of it in a charity shop recently that I realised it was unread.
This book is follows a young man called Daniel Brett as he wanders through life – never staying anywhere long – following the sudden tragic death of his wife in a household acident. The main focus though is not Daniel himself, but instead the many characters that come and go through the different periods of his life and the places that he stays. Each chapter illustrates a different place and could easily stand alone as a short story, but the common thread of Daniel and how he changes ties them all together beautifully. Each one shows different traits of his character and as a result the people he meet have some differing views of Daniel himself.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Monica Dickens book, especially since it introduces so many delightful characters, each one so real to the reader in the amazing way that the author always seems to manage.
When I get a spare five minutes (probably at the point when I see a pig flying past the patio window) I'll try and pull together a complete list of all the Monica Dickens books that have been published and work out which ones I am left to read. Don't hold your breath though…
horse care says
This is a copt of my list of Monica Dickens books, I think it’s complete, now all you have to do is tick off the ones you’ve read…..
One Pair Of Hands (1939)
Mariana (1940)
One Pair Of Feet (1942)
The Fancy (1943)
Thursday Afternoons (1945)
The Happy Prisoner (1946)
Your’s Sincerly (1947).
Joy and Josephine (1948)
Flowers on the Grass (1949)
My Turn To Make The Tea (1951)
No More Meadows (1953)
The Winds of Heaven (1955)
The Angel in the Corner (1956)
Man Overboard (1958)
The Heart of London (1961)
Cobbler’s Dream (1963) (republished in 1995 as New Arrival at Follyfoot)
The Room Upstairs (1964)
Kate and Emma (1965)
The Landlord’s Daughter (1968)
The Listeners (1970)
Talking of Horses (1973)
Last Year When I Was Young (1974)
An Open Book
A Celebration (1984)
A View From The Seesaw (1986)
Dear Doctor Lily (1988)
Enchantment (1989)
Closed at Dusk (1990)
Scarred (1991)
One of the Family (1993)
Children’s Books
The World’s End Series
The House at World’s End (1970)
Summer at World’s End (1971)
World’s End in Winter (1972)
Spring Comes to World’s End (1973)
The Follyfoot series
Follyfoot (1971)
Dora at Follyfoot (1972)
The Horses of Follyfoot (1975)
Stranger at Follyfoot (1976)
The Messenger series
The Messenger (1985)
Ballad of Favour (1985)
Cry of a Seagull (1986)
The Haunting of Bellamy 4 (1986) Non-series:
The Great Escape (1975)
Mrs C says
You are a complete star! Thank you so much – youve saved me loads of effort.