The Far-Distant Oxus
The Far-Distant Oxus is a 1937 British children’s novel by Katharine Hull (1921–1977) and Pamela Whitlock (1920–1982), written while they were still children themselves.[1][2] The title is taken from Matthew Arnold's poem Sohrab and Rustum, and the characters in the story choose names from it for the places around them in the north coast of Devon; the real Oxus is a river in Central Asia.
 | |
| Author | Katharine Hull & Pamela Whitlock |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Pamela Whitlock |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
Publication date | 1937 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Followed by | Escape to Persia |
Ponies and Exmoor
Hull and Whitlock met when they were pupils (of 14 and 15 respectively) at St Mary's School, Ascot, whilst sheltering from a thunderstorm. They discovered shared interests and decided to write a story about ponies set on Exmoor. They planned out the entire book and wrote alternate chapters, exchanging them afterwards for editing.[3]
Ransome and Cape
The story follows the model of the books of Arthur Ransome, describing the school holiday adventures of children of active, adventurous families, centred on outdoor activity and a vivid landscape soaked in imagination. Ransome had boats and Windermere, The Far-Distant Oxus ponies and the moors.
Whitlock sent the manuscript to Ransome in March 1937; he in turn brought it to his publisher Jonathan Cape, saying that he had "the best children's book of 1937" for him.[4] Cape published the book in the Swallows and Amazons format and persuaded Ransome to write an introduction.
Success
The book, illustrated by Whitlock, was successful; contemporary reviewers were impressed and critics today remain positive. The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books comments that it is "as absorbing as Ransome at his best".[5] The two authors followed it with sequels Escape to Persia (1938), and The Oxus in Summer (1939). They wrote an unrelated book called Crowns (1947).[6]
Fidra Books reissued the novel in August 2008.[7]
Further reading
- Eve Bearne and Victor Watson: Where Texts and Children Meet, London: Routledge, 1999, p. 56
- Hugh Brogan: The Life of Arthur Ransome, London: Jonathan Cape, 1984
- Humphrey Carpenter and Mari Prichard:The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature, Oxford: OUP, 1984
- Victor Watson: The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001
References
- Carpenter and Prichard, 182.
- Carpenter and Prichard, p. 569.
- Bearne and Watson.
- Brogan, p. 353.
- Watson, p. 1121
- "Katharine Hull & Pamela Whitlock". www.janebadgerbooks.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- "Fidra Books – Katharine Hull and Pamela Whitlock". www.fidrabooks.com. Retrieved 20 March 2018.