Kitty Barne (1882–1961)
Author of Elizabeth Fry
About the Author
Series
Works by Kitty Barne
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Barne, Kitty
- Legal name
- Streatfeild, Marion Catherine Barne
- Birthdate
- 1882-11-17
- Date of death
- 1961-02-03
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Royal College of Music
- Occupations
- author
screenwriter
biographer
novelist
children's book author - Organizations
- Girl Guides
Women's Voluntary Service - Awards and honors
- Carnegie Medal (1940)
- Relationships
- Streatfeild, Noel (cousin-in-law)
- Short biography
- Marion Catherine "Kitty" Barne was a British children's author and screenwriter, born and brought up in Sussex, England. She studied at the Royal College of Music. In 1912, she married Eric Streatfeild, a cousin of another children's author, Noel Streatfeild. During World War II, she was a member of the Women's Voluntary Service, responsible for helping children evacuated to Sussex.
Barne won the 1940 Carnegie Medal for her book Visitors from London, which tells the story of children evacuated to Sussex during World War II. She is best remembered today for her pony books Rosina Copper and its sequel Rosina and Son, about the true story of an Argentine polo pony mare. She also wrote some nonfiction books, including a biography of Elizabeth Fry (1950) and a history of the Girl Guides. Barne died in 1961. - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Petersham, Surrey, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Somerset, England, UK
Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK - Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
A group of siblings spend their summer holidays staying in the country with their very cool aunt Myra, whose favorite answer to their many requests is "Well, I don't see why not?" They get a surprise message that the country estate they're staying on will be home to a small group of London evacuees, and thus starts their adventures in fixing up the place in preparation and then all their hard work to keep their new guests healthy and happy.
What a lovely story this is: boisterous and show more generally happy and well-adjusted kiddos helping their London charges adjust and then thrive in their new country setting, with just the right amount of grumpy adults and childhood mischief mixed in. I absolutely loved it. show less
What a lovely story this is: boisterous and show more generally happy and well-adjusted kiddos helping their London charges adjust and then thrive in their new country setting, with just the right amount of grumpy adults and childhood mischief mixed in. I absolutely loved it. show less
This was a very enjoyable old fashioned book. I'll look for others by this author. I did sort of wonder where the Farrar's parents were and how the children came to be in Myra's care. Perhaps these things were explained in an earlier book. Things got tied up remarkably well in the end. I did wish for a little more of a comeuppance for one character than was forthcoming, but not a big deal. Lovely illustrations by Ruth Gervis. I think my Vintage Book Circle pals would love this one. Too bad show more it is so hard to come by. show less
A mildly enjoyable book. There are some real loose ends (so what happened when she lit up her candles again?), and it's rather conveniently shoehorned into the children's holidays, but overall a fun read. The characters are a little sketchy - I had real difficulty remembering which mother was Thompson and which was Johnson, for instance, or which children belonged to which family - but the Farrars are all distinct (very much so! especially Jimmy, managing fellow...), and several of the other show more children stood out (Lily, and Fred. And Steve, for the wrong reasons). The other thing that bothered me is that this is clearly the second or third in a series (LT tells me, second in a series of 4); there are a lot of references to their previous holidays with Aunt Myra, including Roly, who shows up only at the end here but is repeatedly referenced throughout the book (well, it's his house they're staying in). Now I'm on a quest to complete the series...I think knowing them for longer might make each story richer. And I did enjoy the story, it just felt a bit thin. show less
Like all Kitty Barne's books, I enjoyed this family adventure story where children fight against the smugglers, and naturally win. (with a twist...)
However, despite the whole focus of the book being keeping the windmill in the family so that Dusty can be a miller as all his ancestors have been, there is no further mention of the fact that this is becoming uneconomic. Early in the book, it mentions how it would be good if they had an electric motor for windless days but this isn't followed show more through. He is made slightly better fitted for modern life by also gaining a bakery to make bread with his grain but still, this could have been explored further.
Unlike most of her books I've read so far, there's no music in this one, just painting! show less
However, despite the whole focus of the book being keeping the windmill in the family so that Dusty can be a miller as all his ancestors have been, there is no further mention of the fact that this is becoming uneconomic. Early in the book, it mentions how it would be good if they had an electric motor for windless days but this isn't followed show more through. He is made slightly better fitted for modern life by also gaining a bakery to make bread with his grain but still, this could have been explored further.
Unlike most of her books I've read so far, there's no music in this one, just painting! show less
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 32
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 255
- Popularity
- #89,876
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 10
- ISBNs
- 23
- Languages
- 1