Green Knowe
Encyclopedia
Green Knowe is a series of six books written by Lucy M. Boston
, published between 1954 and 1976. They feature a very old house, Green Knowe, which is based on Boston's then-residence, The Manor
in Hemingford Grey
, Cambridgeshire
. Some books in the series feature a boy called Toseland (Tolly for short) and his great-grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow. The house is inhabited by the spirits of children who lived there in ages past. More than one of these spirits that Tolly knows as children later grow into adults. Other supernatural entities which appear in the series include the demonic tree-spirit, Green Noah (manifesting as a large tree on the grounds of the manor house), and an animated statue of St. Christopher.
of Green Knowe.
The novel concerns the visit of a young boy, Toseland, to the magical house of Green Knowe. The house is tremendously old, dating from the Norman Conquest, and has been continually inhabited by Toseland's ancestors, the d'Aulneaux, later Oldknowe or Oldknow, family. Toseland crosses floodwaters by night to reach the house and his great-grandmother, Linnet Oldknow, who addresses him as Tolly.
Over the course of the novel, Tolly explores the rich history of his family, which pervades the house like magic
. He begins to encounter what appear to be the spirits of three of his forebearsan earlier Toseland (nicknamed Toby), Alexander, and an earlier Linnetwho lived in the reign of Charles II
. These meetings are for the most part not frightening to Tolly; they continually reinforce the sense of belonging that the house embodies. In the evenings, Mrs. Oldknow entertains Tolly with stories about the house and the children who lived and live there. Surrounded by the rivers and the floodwater, sealed within its ancient walls, Green Knowe is a sanctuary of peace and stability in a world of unnerving change.
The book was adapted for television in 1986 in the BBC production The Children of Green Knowe, starring Alec Christie
as Tolly, Daphne Oxenford
as Mrs. Oldknow and Polly Maberly as Linnet Oldknow.
holidays. As she mends a patchwork
quilt, Mrs. Oldknow continues telling Tolly stories about the previous inhabitants of the house. This time, her stories concern Susan Oldknow, a blind girl who lived at Green Knowe during the English Regency
, and the close bond of friendship that developed between her and a young black page
, Jacob, brought back from the West Indies by Susan's father, Captain Oldknowe. The plot also concerns the whereabouts of the jewels of Maria Oldknowe, which may or may not have been stolen by the unscrupulous butler
Caxton.
This book was published in the United States as The Treasure of Green Knowe and was adapted for film in 2009 as From Time to Time
, with Maggie Smith
as Mrs. Oldknow and Alex Etel as Tolly.
The children arrive and begin to explore the river and canals round Green Knowe by canoe
. The magic of Green Knowe is much more fantasy-based in this novel: the children see flying horses, meet a giant, and witness a Bronze Age
moon ceremony. The subtext
, of homeless children being protected and healed by the house and its enchantments, is particularly strong.
Hanno, with whom he, as a refugee, feels a powerful bond. After Hanno escapes from the zoo and makes his way to Green Knowe, Ping befriends him. The early chapters of the book detail Hanno's life as a young gorilla in Africa
and the trauma and cruelty of his capture with great compassion and finesse. A Stranger At Green Knowe was awarded the 1961 Carnegie Medal in Literature.
papers. Professor Powers' interest is far from academic, however, and a mounting confrontation between the holy magic of Green Knowe and the forces of Evil, represented by Melanie Powers, commences.
settler who built the manor house of Green Knowe. Whilst exploring the overgrown countryside, Roger discovers two throne-like stones that allow him to access, first the turbulent time of the Conquest, then the later periods of Linnet, Susan and Tolly, and they to visit him in turn.
praised the first novel as "sheer literary magic: subtle, tenuous, enchanting and wholly convincing."
drama serial comprising 4 episodes in 1986. It was broadcast on BBC 1 between 26 November and 17 December 1986. The dramatisation was adapted from Boston's novel by John Stadelman.
Based on The Chimneys of Green Knowe a film, From Time to Time
, was produced in 2009.
Lucy M. Boston
Lucy M. Boston was an English children's writer. She is best known for the six books in the Green Knowe series .-Biography:Boston was born in Southport in Lancashire in 1892 and died in 1990...
, published between 1954 and 1976. They feature a very old house, Green Knowe, which is based on Boston's then-residence, The Manor
The Manor (Cambridgeshire)
The Manor is a house in the village of Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire . It was built in the 1130s and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in Britain — often claimed as the oldest, although this is disputed...
in Hemingford Grey
Hemingford Grey
- Location:It is situated on the southern bank of the River Great Ouse in the county of Cambridgeshire, with the northern bank occupied by the flood meadow. Until 1965 it was in Huntingdonshire and between 1965 and 1974 it was in the short-lived county of Huntingdon and Peterborough...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. Some books in the series feature a boy called Toseland (Tolly for short) and his great-grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow. The house is inhabited by the spirits of children who lived there in ages past. More than one of these spirits that Tolly knows as children later grow into adults. Other supernatural entities which appear in the series include the demonic tree-spirit, Green Noah (manifesting as a large tree on the grounds of the manor house), and an animated statue of St. Christopher.
The Children of Green Knowe (1954)
The Children of Green Knowe is the first of the six books written by Boston about the fictional manor houseManor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
of Green Knowe.
The novel concerns the visit of a young boy, Toseland, to the magical house of Green Knowe. The house is tremendously old, dating from the Norman Conquest, and has been continually inhabited by Toseland's ancestors, the d'Aulneaux, later Oldknowe or Oldknow, family. Toseland crosses floodwaters by night to reach the house and his great-grandmother, Linnet Oldknow, who addresses him as Tolly.
Over the course of the novel, Tolly explores the rich history of his family, which pervades the house like magic
Magic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
. He begins to encounter what appear to be the spirits of three of his forebearsan earlier Toseland (nicknamed Toby), Alexander, and an earlier Linnetwho lived in the reign of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. These meetings are for the most part not frightening to Tolly; they continually reinforce the sense of belonging that the house embodies. In the evenings, Mrs. Oldknow entertains Tolly with stories about the house and the children who lived and live there. Surrounded by the rivers and the floodwater, sealed within its ancient walls, Green Knowe is a sanctuary of peace and stability in a world of unnerving change.
The book was adapted for television in 1986 in the BBC production The Children of Green Knowe, starring Alec Christie
Alec Christie
Alec Christie is a British actor.Alec Christie started acting at the age of ten appearing on stage at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre as young Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations. At the age of twelve he was cast as Tolly in the BBC adaptation of Lucy M. Boston's The Children of Green Knowe...
as Tolly, Daphne Oxenford
Daphne Oxenford
Daphne M. Oxenford is an English actress known for her television and radio work.She is possibly best known for being the voice for BBC radio's Listen with Mother from 1950 to 1971, and for being one of the readers on newspaper review programme What the Papers Say for over thirty years...
as Mrs. Oldknow and Polly Maberly as Linnet Oldknow.
The Chimneys of Green Knowe (1958)
The Chimneys of Green Knowe also features Tolly, who has returned to Green Knowe for the EasterEaster
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
holidays. As she mends a patchwork
Patchwork
Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeat patterns built up with different colored shapes. These shapes are carefully measured and cut, straight-sided, basic geometric shapes...
quilt, Mrs. Oldknow continues telling Tolly stories about the previous inhabitants of the house. This time, her stories concern Susan Oldknow, a blind girl who lived at Green Knowe during the English Regency
English Regency
The Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811—when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent—and 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father....
, and the close bond of friendship that developed between her and a young black page
Page (servant)
A page or page boy is a traditionally young male servant, a messenger at the service of a nobleman or royal.-The medieval page:In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire...
, Jacob, brought back from the West Indies by Susan's father, Captain Oldknowe. The plot also concerns the whereabouts of the jewels of Maria Oldknowe, which may or may not have been stolen by the unscrupulous butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
Caxton.
This book was published in the United States as The Treasure of Green Knowe and was adapted for film in 2009 as From Time to Time
From Time to Time (film)
From Time to Time is a 2009 British adventure film directed by Julian Fellowes and starring Maggie Smith, Carice van Houten, Alex Etel, Eliza Bennett, Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh, Dominic West, Hugh Bonneville, Kwayedza Kureya and Pauline Collins. It was adapted from the children's novel The Chimneys of...
, with Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
as Mrs. Oldknow and Alex Etel as Tolly.
The River at Green Knowe (1959)
In The River at Green Knowe, Mrs. Oldknow and Tolly are absent. It is summer, and the house has been rented by two old ladies: the archaeologist Doctor Biggin and her friend, Miss Bun. Doctor Biggin has invited her niece Ida and two "displaced" refugee children, Oskar and Ping, to stay with her at Green Knowe.The children arrive and begin to explore the river and canals round Green Knowe by canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
. The magic of Green Knowe is much more fantasy-based in this novel: the children see flying horses, meet a giant, and witness a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
moon ceremony. The subtext
Subtext
Subtext or undertone is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game, or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds. Subtext can also refer to the thoughts...
, of homeless children being protected and healed by the house and its enchantments, is particularly strong.
A Stranger at Green Knowe (1961)
The Chinese boy, Ping, has returned to Green Knowe alone to stay with Mrs. Oldknow. During a visit to a zoo in London prior to his arrival at Green Knowe, he is fascinated by the giant gorillaGorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
Hanno, with whom he, as a refugee, feels a powerful bond. After Hanno escapes from the zoo and makes his way to Green Knowe, Ping befriends him. The early chapters of the book detail Hanno's life as a young gorilla in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the trauma and cruelty of his capture with great compassion and finesse. A Stranger At Green Knowe was awarded the 1961 Carnegie Medal in Literature.
An Enemy at Green Knowe (1964)
This novel takes a darker turn than previous novels in the series. Both Tolly and Ping are staying at Green Knowe. Mrs. Oldknow tells them the story of Doctor Vogel, a tutor and necromancer who came to a diabolical end at Green Knowe centuries before. The next day, Professor Melanie D. Powers appears, hunting for Vogel's occultOccult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
papers. Professor Powers' interest is far from academic, however, and a mounting confrontation between the holy magic of Green Knowe and the forces of Evil, represented by Melanie Powers, commences.
The Stones of Green Knowe (1976)
This novel, the last in the sequence, tells the story of Roger d'Aulneaux, the son of the original NormanNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
settler who built the manor house of Green Knowe. Whilst exploring the overgrown countryside, Roger discovers two throne-like stones that allow him to access, first the turbulent time of the Conquest, then the later periods of Linnet, Susan and Tolly, and they to visit him in turn.
Reception
Anthony BoucherAnthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
praised the first novel as "sheer literary magic: subtle, tenuous, enchanting and wholly convincing."
Adaptations
The Children of Green Knowe was adapted into a BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama serial comprising 4 episodes in 1986. It was broadcast on BBC 1 between 26 November and 17 December 1986. The dramatisation was adapted from Boston's novel by John Stadelman.
Based on The Chimneys of Green Knowe a film, From Time to Time
From Time to Time (film)
From Time to Time is a 2009 British adventure film directed by Julian Fellowes and starring Maggie Smith, Carice van Houten, Alex Etel, Eliza Bennett, Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh, Dominic West, Hugh Bonneville, Kwayedza Kureya and Pauline Collins. It was adapted from the children's novel The Chimneys of...
, was produced in 2009.