Falconer's Lure
Encyclopedia
Falconer's Lure is the 1957 falconry based novel by Antonia Forest
.
Falconer's Lure is the third book in the series, between The Marlows and the Traitor
and End of Term
.
In the 1950s pony
books were very popular among young girls. Antonia Forest
's publishers wanted something different so she wrote a book about falconry instead. Falconer's Lure features the Marlow family during the summer holidays at their cousin's farm, Trennels, and was published in 1957 (although set in 1948). It was republished by Girls Gone by Press in 2002.
, as well as its thrills, its demands and its sorrows are made very evident. The reader, like Nicola Marlow, is entranced by the falcons and Patrick's evident expertise.
While they are out with the hawks that afternoon, Patrick and Nicola feel something a bit like an earthquake. When they get back, they find out that it was her cousin Jon's plane crashing and he is dead. Nicola's father inherits the farm and the family will not be returning to London. Neither Captain Marlow, nor his eldest son Giles, want to leave the Navy to run the farm. Nicola suggests by accident that her sister Rowan should do it. She offers and eventually her parents agree that she can leave school to become a farmer.
Nicola and Patrick spend most of their time with the hawks over the summer. While they are teaching Jael to catch rabbits, Peter who is out shooting rabbits, shoots Jael and kills her. Later, Regina rakes away and, although Patrick later finds her caught in some netting, she has forgotten him so he lets her go. Only Sprog, the little merlin who Patrick thinks of as a joke, is left.
The other big event of the summer is the Colebridge Festival. Nicola comes second in the singing competition, despite stopping in the middle of her song because it reminds her of Jael. Her twin Lawrie is sent out of the elocution competition for unconsciously mimicking another contestant. Later, however, she follows the adjudicator and persuades her to let Lawrie say her piece again. She agrees that Lawrie has real talent and introduces her to another actor.
Peter and Patrick compete against each other in the diving competition which, in the end, Peter wins and the two of them become friends again. For Nicola, the gymkhana is a crucial competition in which she might win enough money to enable her to keep Sprog at school. Unfortunately, the other contestants think she is Lawrie and want to get their own back at her for Lawrie's performance in the elocution comp. She is knocked and bumped and falls off her horse. Later, Rowan offers her half of whatever she wins in the showjumping, but she is beaten by Patrick.
When Nicola arrives home with Patrick she is greeted by his father who has a large cheque for Nicola from the sale of a secondhand book on hawking she bought earlier that summer. Amazed, Nicola admits to Patrick that she had been worried about the money for Sprog.
Antonia Forest
Antonia Forest was the pseudonym of a British children's author who was christened Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein...
.
Falconer's Lure is the third book in the series, between The Marlows and the Traitor
The Marlows and the Traitor
In the introduction to the Girls Gone By edition of The Marlows and the Traitor, Antonia Forest admits she never intended to write a series of books about the Marlows. At the time of writing the Nuremberg Trials were happening and Forest decided to write a book about a traitor. Only then did it...
and End of Term
End of Term
End of Term is a book by British children's author Antonia Forest, published in 1959. End of Term is the fourth Marlow book, between Falconer's Lure and Peter's Room.-Plot introduction:...
.
In the 1950s pony
Pony
A pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
books were very popular among young girls. Antonia Forest
Antonia Forest
Antonia Forest was the pseudonym of a British children's author who was christened Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein...
's publishers wanted something different so she wrote a book about falconry instead. Falconer's Lure features the Marlow family during the summer holidays at their cousin's farm, Trennels, and was published in 1957 (although set in 1948). It was republished by Girls Gone by Press in 2002.
Plot introduction
Falconer's Lure introduces Patrick Merrick, a key character in most of the ensuing Marlow books. Living on the neighbouring estate he was a childhood friend of Peter Marlow before WWII. He has spent the last two years at home, recovering from serious injuries sustained by falling off a cliff in search of baby falcons. The dangers of falconryFalconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
, as well as its thrills, its demands and its sorrows are made very evident. The reader, like Nicola Marlow, is entranced by the falcons and Patrick's evident expertise.
Plot summary
The Marlow family are staying at their cousin Jon's farm during the school holidays. Out collecting eggs early one morning, Nicola Marlow hears what she thinks is a cat caught in the top of a tree. She climbs up to rescue it, only to find that it is a bird, wearing leather thongs. Before she can make any attempt to save it, its owner climbs up beside her. He tells her that the bird is a falcon called Jael and its thongs, or jesses, have broken loose. Nicola recognises him as Patrick Merrick and tells him who she is. He asks if she would like to help with the hawks over the summer.While they are out with the hawks that afternoon, Patrick and Nicola feel something a bit like an earthquake. When they get back, they find out that it was her cousin Jon's plane crashing and he is dead. Nicola's father inherits the farm and the family will not be returning to London. Neither Captain Marlow, nor his eldest son Giles, want to leave the Navy to run the farm. Nicola suggests by accident that her sister Rowan should do it. She offers and eventually her parents agree that she can leave school to become a farmer.
Nicola and Patrick spend most of their time with the hawks over the summer. While they are teaching Jael to catch rabbits, Peter who is out shooting rabbits, shoots Jael and kills her. Later, Regina rakes away and, although Patrick later finds her caught in some netting, she has forgotten him so he lets her go. Only Sprog, the little merlin who Patrick thinks of as a joke, is left.
The other big event of the summer is the Colebridge Festival. Nicola comes second in the singing competition, despite stopping in the middle of her song because it reminds her of Jael. Her twin Lawrie is sent out of the elocution competition for unconsciously mimicking another contestant. Later, however, she follows the adjudicator and persuades her to let Lawrie say her piece again. She agrees that Lawrie has real talent and introduces her to another actor.
Peter and Patrick compete against each other in the diving competition which, in the end, Peter wins and the two of them become friends again. For Nicola, the gymkhana is a crucial competition in which she might win enough money to enable her to keep Sprog at school. Unfortunately, the other contestants think she is Lawrie and want to get their own back at her for Lawrie's performance in the elocution comp. She is knocked and bumped and falls off her horse. Later, Rowan offers her half of whatever she wins in the showjumping, but she is beaten by Patrick.
When Nicola arrives home with Patrick she is greeted by his father who has a large cheque for Nicola from the sale of a secondhand book on hawking she bought earlier that summer. Amazed, Nicola admits to Patrick that she had been worried about the money for Sprog.
Characters in Falconer's Lure
- Nicola Marlow – main character
- Patrick Merrick – owner of the bird "Jael"
- Peter Marlow – Nicola's older brother
- Giles Marlow – Nicola's eldest brother
- Lawrie Marlow - Nicola's identical twin sister
- Rowan Marlow - one of Nicola's older sisters