Jane Badger Books
They Rescued a Pony
Blackie, London, 1956, illus Geoffrey Whittam
Reprinted by Blackie in 1965, cover Harry Green
First of the Cuckoo Mill Farm series, in which the Marsham family decide to rescue
Punchinello, a skewbald pony in a circus who is illtreated. After they “rescue”
Punchinello, they then have to raise his purchase price.
Blackie, London, 1956, illus Geoffrey Whittam
Reprinted by Blackie in 1965, cover Harry Green
First of the Cuckoo Mill Farm series, in which the Marsham family decide to rescue
Punchinello, a skewbald pony in a circus who is illtreated. After they “rescue”
Punchinello, they then have to raise his purchase price.
We Started a Riding Club
Blackie, London, 1954 illus Maurice Tulloch
Reprinted by Blackie in 1966, cover Harry Green
Character list
Monica, her sister Simone and their brothers Dean and Charles decide the standard of
horsemanship in their area needs to be improved. The grandfather, who just happens
to be the local MFH, is a huge help, despite his habit of speaking his own mind with
incredible bluntness. After a lot of hard work, they run a mock Hunt and a competition.
Blackie, London, 1954 illus Maurice Tulloch
Reprinted by Blackie in 1966, cover Harry Green
Character list
Monica, her sister Simone and their brothers Dean and Charles decide the standard of
horsemanship in their area needs to be improved. The grandfather, who just happens
to be the local MFH, is a huge help, despite his habit of speaking his own mind with
incredible bluntness. After a lot of hard work, they run a mock Hunt and a competition.
Catherine Harris
The Cuckoo Mill Farm Series
They Rescued a Pony, 1956
The Ponies of Cuckoo Mill Farm, 1958
Riding for Ransom, 1960
To Horse and Away, 1962
They Rescued a Pony, 1956
The Ponies of Cuckoo Mill Farm, 1958
Riding for Ransom, 1960
To Horse and Away, 1962
Bibliography - pony books only
The Ponies of Cuckoo Mill Farm
Blackie, London, 1958, illus Geoffrey Whittam, 222 pp.
Reprinted by Blackie in 1965, cover Harry Green, 222 pp.
Old friends of Mrs Marsham, the Forrests, arrive from London to live on a barge near the
river. At first, it looks as if the two families have nothing in common at all: the Forrests
don’t know anything about ponies, and they don’t want to learn. However, they all
eventually learn to appreciate each other for what they are.
Blackie, London, 1958, illus Geoffrey Whittam, 222 pp.
Reprinted by Blackie in 1965, cover Harry Green, 222 pp.
Old friends of Mrs Marsham, the Forrests, arrive from London to live on a barge near the
river. At first, it looks as if the two families have nothing in common at all: the Forrests
don’t know anything about ponies, and they don’t want to learn. However, they all
eventually learn to appreciate each other for what they are.
Riding for Ransom (CMF)
Blackie, London, 1960, illus Joan Thompson
Reprinted by Blackie in 1965, cover Harry Green
The Marsham family are back for the Easter holidays, and there are yet more visitors:
this time a famous playwright, his film star wife and their young son. Then the youngest
Marsham, Timothy, is kidnapped, and the Marshams disguise themselves as the legendary
local ghostly hunt, and hound the kidnappers.
Blackie, London, 1960, illus Joan Thompson
Reprinted by Blackie in 1965, cover Harry Green
The Marsham family are back for the Easter holidays, and there are yet more visitors:
this time a famous playwright, his film star wife and their young son. Then the youngest
Marsham, Timothy, is kidnapped, and the Marshams disguise themselves as the legendary
local ghostly hunt, and hound the kidnappers.
If Wishes were Horses
Blackie, London, 1961, illus Constance Marshall
Prue Bellamy and her disabled father live in the village of Magpie. Prue dreams of having a pony of her own,
and then a riding school is opened in the village by Lady Sapphire Jordan. She comes to lodge with the
Bellamys. Prue’s cousin, Olivia, owns the beautiful show pony Leprechaun, but then she has a terrible
accident and it seems that Leprechaun will be ruined for the show ring forever. Prue, however, has other
ideas, and Leprechaun starts a new career as a show jumper.
Blackie, London, 1961, illus Constance Marshall
Prue Bellamy and her disabled father live in the village of Magpie. Prue dreams of having a pony of her own,
and then a riding school is opened in the village by Lady Sapphire Jordan. She comes to lodge with the
Bellamys. Prue’s cousin, Olivia, owns the beautiful show pony Leprechaun, but then she has a terrible
accident and it seems that Leprechaun will be ruined for the show ring forever. Prue, however, has other
ideas, and Leprechaun starts a new career as a show jumper.
To Horse and Away
Blackie, London, 1962, illus Lilian Buchanan
This is the last of the Marsham family books, and it’s quite hard to find as it wasn’t ever re-published in the
Blackie “orange” edition. In this book, they are on a riding holiday, going from Wales to Cuckoo Mill. As
You might expect, it is not exactly an ordinary riding tour, but they do of course make it home safely in the
end.
Blackie, London, 1962, illus Lilian Buchanan
This is the last of the Marsham family books, and it’s quite hard to find as it wasn’t ever re-
Blackie “orange” edition. In this book, they are on a riding holiday, going from Wales to Cuckoo Mill. As
end.
The Heronsbrook Gymkhana
Blackie, London, 1964, illus Geraldine Spence
Knight pb, 1978
Character list
Many thanks to Sarah Beasley for the picture of the hardback.
This is the story of the Heronsbrook Gymkhana, and the fortunes of several dlifferent
people and their ponies, all planning to compete. The action takes you from before the
Gymkhana, to during and after, and several of the characters have a bit of a voyage of
discovery.
Blackie, London, 1964, illus Geraldine Spence
Knight pb, 1978
Character list
Many thanks to Sarah Beasley for the picture of the hardback.
This is the story of the Heronsbrook Gymkhana, and the fortunes of several dlifferent
people and their ponies, all planning to compete. The action takes you from before the
Gymkhana, to during and after, and several of the characters have a bit of a voyage of
discovery.
Non Fiction
Practical Pony Keeping
Blackie, 1962, illus F Gettings, Anne Linton
Practical Pony Keeping
Blackie, 1962, illus F Gettings, Anne Linton
Catherine Harris (Catherine Anne Harris) was another in the fine tradition of those who started their pony book writing career early. We Started a Riding Club, her first book, published in 1954, was written in her teens. She wrote one series: Cuckoo Mill Farm, which features a farming family and their collection of animals. She isn’t as sought after as she perhaps she might be: I like her Cuckoo Mill series, which is full of sparky characters and whizzes along at a fine pace. The standalone stories I don’t think work so well, but they are still entertaining reads.
Finding the b ooks: the books are generally easy to find; in their Blackie orange reprint guise at any rate, but if you can find the first editions they have lovely dustjackets. I have a theory that the orange dustjackets put many people off discovering her, but she really is worth persevering with. Since I originally wrote this piece, If Wishes Were Horses has become harder to find; and expensive.
Many thanks to Hannah Fleetwood and Konstanze Allsopp for providing photos, and to
Sarah Beasley for the portrait to the right.
Finding the b ooks: the books are generally easy to find; in their Blackie orange reprint guise at any rate, but if you can find the first editions they have lovely dustjackets. I have a theory that the orange dustjackets put many people off discovering her, but she really is worth persevering with. Since I originally wrote this piece, If Wishes Were Horses has become harder to find; and expensive.
Many thanks to Hannah Fleetwood and Konstanze Allsopp for providing photos, and to
Sarah Beasley for the portrait to the right.