Excellent colourful period piece cover design for a story that provides a potted history of certain places in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire with other parts of the country thrown in rather clumsily. The device used is a 'famous five' but in this case 'four' approach in the form of a family from South Africa excited about coming to England and finding more about the history of parts of southern England.

Another re-read of one of my childhood favourites! This lovely gem was written by Barbara Euphan Todd (author of Worzel Gummidge and Miss Ranskill Comes Home) and her husband. It's ostensibly the story of four British children seeing England for the first time as they arrive by ship from South Africa. But it's really a faintly disguised history book. The children decide to become 'explorers,' and learn as much about the south of England as they can. Staying with their grandmother in Wickham, they befriend Joe (Commander Parsons) who teaches them all about the Romans, the Saxons, the Vikings, smugglers, etc. It's all done in a thoroughly charming and entertaining way, so the reader never feels he's being given a lesson. It also has the benefit of delightful illustrations by William Grimmond, who provided cover illustrations for many Penguin and Puffin books.

My favourite passage is this:

"What else is there in Bath?" asked Maureen.

"Aunts!" was the rather surprising answer. "Quantities and quantities and quantities of aunts. Nearly everyone I've ever met has an aunt who lives in Bath."

(I just included that in a letter to my Aunt who lives in Bath.)