posted on 27 Nov 2018

Caldicott Place by Noel Streatfeild

Any book written by Noel Streatfeild immediately makes me feel safe and cosy. A lot of this is down to nostalgia because, like many other girls of my generation, I absolutely loved reading Ballet Shoes when I was about ten years old. Just how does this well -loved author continue to cast a spell over me now that I am now well into my sixties?

A lot of the charm lies in the way she creates a range of child characters who are fiercely independent, idealistic, brave and principled, despite living in often difficult circumstances. She uses this tried and tested formula in this romantic tale which has strong echoes of The Railway Children by E.Nesbit, another  book in which a happy family is traumatised by the father’s changed circumstances that pitches them into relative poverty.

In this story set in the 1960s, the three Johnstone children live an ordinary but very pleasant life with their parents in a house with a garden and a garage in a new town. Their father travels into nearby London each day where he works as a foreman of a factory.  He sounds like the most delightful parent who is good humoured, creative, can mend almost anything, loves gardening, and who comes up with lots of exciting ideas and treats for every occasion.  Everything changes when he has a car accident and suffers serious head injuries that mean he has to stay in hospital for a long time. As a result, twelve year old Bill has to grow up very quickly and takes his responsibilities as the eldest son extremely seriously. His sister Carol is a year younger and, although she is obviously devastated by the accident, she is obsessed with dancing and is very worried that she won’t get the chance to continue her classes. The central character is seven year old Tim who rather reminds me of William Brown as he carries out his various complicated plans and adventures usually accompanied by his mongrel dog, Jelly.  He is an imaginative and resourceful child who is generally puzzled by the way adults make decisions:   

‘Tim had never been able to understand grown-ups. Most of the time they were sensible and ordinary and then suddenly they behaved as if they had gone mad’.

Their mother is distressed at her husband’s slow recovery and his seeming lack of interest in the world around him and decides that Carol and Tim mustn’t see him in such a state. But Tim is determined to visit his dad in hospital so that he can cheer him up and this leads him to meet the very elderly Lady Paine, one of the other car crash victims who is also a patient there. And so his destiny is forever changed because when she dies as a result of her injuries, she leaves him her stately home in Sussex ( the county where Streatfeid lived throughout her childhood). This is a fortunate turn of events because, despite being very well treated by Mr Johnstone’s employers who offer exemplary support and care, the family has been forced to move out of their house into a small flat in London, which means going to different schools, losing their garden and, horror of horrors, leaving Jelly in the care of their old house’s  tenants as dogs aren’t allowed in their new home.

Mr Johnstone has by now made a good physical recovery but the doctors at the hospital have recommended a long convalescence period because he is severely depressed. This should ideally include plenty of quiet, fresh air and the chance for him to do some fishing. So when Tim learns that Caldicott Place has a lodge where he could be temporarily away from the hurly burly of family life plus beautiful extensive grounds including a stream where his father can fish, he decides that this is the solution to all their problems. This seems a ridiculous idea to all the adults at first, but Tim sticks to his guns. With excellent advice from Lady Paine’s solicitors, Mrs Johnstone eventually agrees to move into the huge tumble down house and to make some money by having paying guests who are three rich children, wards of the solicitors, with nowhere else to live.

These visiting children from privileged backgrounds give Streatfeild the chance to explore notions of class, the importance of financial wealth weighed against the unconditional love and attention of parents, the benefits of having siblings and a permanent place to live.  All three all have their idiosyncrasies but eventually fit in well with the Johnstones, although the rebellious and unhappy Sophie takes some getting used to.

As ever, this story is packed with plenty of sub plots involving all the children. It presents a tender glimpse into the stress of living with a father who has lost everything that defined him before his accident. His slow recovery is painful but is largely down to the absolute faith of Tim who seems to instinctively know what he needs, even though everyone else in the family thinks that they have protected him from seeing his very damaged father.

I sort of guessed how the story might unfold but was genuinely sad when I came to the last few pages. My only solace is that there are plenty more children’s books by this wonderful author who never fails to please.  

 Karen Argent

November 2018