The Little White Horse

The Little White Horse
Author(s)	Elizabeth Goudge
Illustrator	C. Walter Hodges
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Publisher	University of London
Publication date	June 1946
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	286 pp

The Little White Horse is a children's fantasy novel by Elizabeth Goudge which won the 1946 Carnegie Medal for children's literature. The original edition was illustrated by C. Walter Hodges. It has been adapted for film and television.

Plot summary

It is 1842 and Maria Merryweather, a thirteen-year-old orphan, is on a journey to the mysterious Moonacre Manor somewhere in the west of England after the death of her Father, accompanied by her governess Miss Heliotrope and dog Wiggins. There she finds herself in a world out of time. Maria meets her cousin, Sir Benjamin Merryweather, one of the "sun" Merryweathers, and finds that she loves him right away - the "sun" and the "moon" Merryweathers always take to each other - for a while. Maria discovers that there is an ancient story around founding of the estate that will have a great effect on her future....

Although she is aided by a stable of wonderful characters and magical beasts (including the unicorn of the title), it is only by self-sacrifice and perseverance that she will be able to succeed in bringing wholeness back to Moonacre. And of course, with a pinch of magic, Maria is able to save Moonacre, right the wrongs, reunite lost loves and finally bring peace to the valley, and there is the happiest of happy endings.

Characters

• Maria Merryweather - A smart, quick-thinking thirteen-year-old orphan with red hair and freckles.
• Robin - The child of Loveday Minette. He is later married to Maria and they have 10 children.
• Loveday Minette - Robin's mother and Sir Benjamin's ex-fiancee. She is known in the book to have a passion for pink geraniums. When their argument broke out about the geraniums, she left Moonacre and went and got married in town to a lawyer.
• Sir Benjamin Merryweather - Maria's second cousin and guardian.
• Old Parson - The parson who helps Maria give Paradise Hill back to God. His real name is Louis de Fontenelle.
• Miss Heliotrope - Maria's governess. She eventually marries the parson, who was her childhood sweetheart. She is very tall, with forget-me-not blue eyes. She suffers from indigestion at the beginning.
• Marmaduke Scarlet - Sir Benjamin's cook and housekeeper. Also the owner of Zacharia the cat. He doesn't like feminine curiosity and sees his kitchen as a private domain. He is a wonderful chef though.
• Digweed - Sir Benjamin's coachman and gardener.
• Zachariah - Marmaduke's special cat. He helps out Maria and Robin. He writes messages in the ashes in the kitchen fireplace.
• Wrolf (pronounced Rolf) - a lion. He acts as Maria's special protector, called a dog by Sir Benjamin and others.
• Serena - A hare that Maria saved from the Men from the Dark Woods.
• Wiggins - Maria's greedy dog.
• Periwinkle - Maria's gray pony whose other name is joy-of-the-ground.

Adaptations

The 1994 television mini-series Moonacre was based on The Little White Horse.

In 2008, the book was adapted into a film called The Secret of Moonacre, written by Lucy Shuttleworth and Graham Alborough and directed by Gabor Csupo. Starring Dakota Blue Richards as Maria, the movie was mostly shot in Hungary and released in February 2009.

Praises

Harry Potter author JK Rowling mentioned that The Little White Horse was among her favourite books while in school.

Sources

• Official web site for the movie.
• The Secret of Moonacre at the Internet Movie Database
• Elizabeth Goudge Society page and reader forum

Edition

• 1st edition, London, University of London Press Ltd. [1946]; LCCN 47018596

Awards
Preceded by The Wind on the Moon	Carnegie Medal recipient 1946	Succeeded by Collected Stories for Children