Penelope Farmer
Author of Charlotte Sometimes
About the Author
Image credit: Picture of Penelope Farmer from the back panel of the First UK edition of The CHina People
Series
Works by Penelope Farmer
Heracles 1 copy
Associated Works
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Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1939-06-14
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Oxford (St. Anne's College)
University of London - Occupations
- teacher
fiction writer
anthologist
children's book author
novelist - Short biography
- Penelope Farmer was born in Westerham, Kent, one of twin sisters. She attended boarding school and read history at Oxford University. She did postgraduate work at Bedford College, University of London. Her first book, The China People, a collection of literary fairy tales for young people, was published in 1960. Her first novel for children was The Summer Birds (1963), which was followed by two sequels, Emma in Winter (1966) and the now classic Charlotte Sometimes (1969). Other notable books for young readers include A Castle of Bone (1972), Year King (1977), Thicker than Water (1989), Penelope: A Novel (1993), and Granny and Me (1998). She also writes fiction for adults.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Westerham, Kent, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Birmingham, England, UK
Lanzarote, Spain
London, England, UK - Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
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Discussions
2 girls from different times hiding letters to each other in bedpost in Name that Book (March 2013)
Reviews
Eighty myths from around the world are gathered in Penelope Farmer's Beginnings, which is divided into seven thematic sections, ranging from Earth, containing those tales which chronicle the creation of our world, to The End of the World, containing those which chronicle its destruction. In between are sections devoted to: Man, with tales of the creation of humanity; Flood, with stories concerning the ancient deluge said to have wiped the world clean; Fire, with tales in which this most show more important blessing must be won from the unwilling divinities; Death, with myths involving the coming of sorrow and death to humanity; and finally, Food Plants, with tales of the creation of crops vitally important to human survival. Also included, at the rear, are a list of sources for each section, and a bibliography.
The selections range from brief one or two-sentence snippets to page-long tales of a more involved nature, and are taken from all parts of the world. Refreshingly, Farmer does not rely upon the false "religion vs. mythology" distinction, treating all the mythological traditions - including the three Abrahamic faiths - as examples of the same kind of meaning-creation. I really appreciated the fact that a quotation from the Book of Genesis was included in the "Man" section, for instance.
But although I really like the idea of this book, and find comparative mythology fascinating, I have to admit that the experience of reading it was rather uneven. It cannot be an accident, after all, that I haven't found another soul online, who has reviewed this one. Some of the tales were quite engaging, and therefore easy to read, but others - particularly those from traditions with which I was mostly unfamiliar - were more difficult, as I wasn't entirely sure what to make of them, or how to locate them in a wider set of stories. Classical Greek mythology makes sense to me (relatively speaking), because I've read more of it. Babylonian mythology, on the other hand, isn't a subject in which I've read very widely, so the Lament for Tammuz, the Harvest God felt like a part of larger whole I wasn't really understanding.
Still, although I wouldn't describe this as a gripping read, nor one that really touched me - with the notable exception of the Hindu story in which Death does not wish to be Death, and goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid her fate - it was still quite interesting, particularly for anyone who enjoys comparing similar tales across diverse cultures. show less
The selections range from brief one or two-sentence snippets to page-long tales of a more involved nature, and are taken from all parts of the world. Refreshingly, Farmer does not rely upon the false "religion vs. mythology" distinction, treating all the mythological traditions - including the three Abrahamic faiths - as examples of the same kind of meaning-creation. I really appreciated the fact that a quotation from the Book of Genesis was included in the "Man" section, for instance.
But although I really like the idea of this book, and find comparative mythology fascinating, I have to admit that the experience of reading it was rather uneven. It cannot be an accident, after all, that I haven't found another soul online, who has reviewed this one. Some of the tales were quite engaging, and therefore easy to read, but others - particularly those from traditions with which I was mostly unfamiliar - were more difficult, as I wasn't entirely sure what to make of them, or how to locate them in a wider set of stories. Classical Greek mythology makes sense to me (relatively speaking), because I've read more of it. Babylonian mythology, on the other hand, isn't a subject in which I've read very widely, so the Lament for Tammuz, the Harvest God felt like a part of larger whole I wasn't really understanding.
Still, although I wouldn't describe this as a gripping read, nor one that really touched me - with the notable exception of the Hindu story in which Death does not wish to be Death, and goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid her fate - it was still quite interesting, particularly for anyone who enjoys comparing similar tales across diverse cultures. show less
School-story, time-slip novel, and third entry in Penelope Farmer's "Aviary Hall" series - a trilogy of loosely connected children's fantasies, following the fortunes of sisters Charlotte and Emma Makepeace as they learn to fly (The Summer Birds); travel, in Emma's case, back to the very beginning of life on earth (Emma in Winter); and, in Charlotte's, switch places with a fellow student from forty years before (here) - Charlotte Sometimes is a brilliant exploration of identity, and a show more sensitive depiction of a girl who feels somewhat out of place, even when not out of time. The tale of Charlotte's first term at boarding school, in which she alternately wakes up as herself, in the (then) current time, and as Clare Moby, a pupil at the same school, in 1918, it touches on issues of perception, of others and of self, and how the two are intertwined:
"Perhaps we never looks at people properly," muses Charlotte, as she considered how easy it has been for her to step into Clare's shoes (and for Clare to step into her shoes, in the present/future), asking: "what would happen if people did not recognize you? Would you know who you were yourself? If tomorrow they started to call her Vanessa or Janet or Elizabeth or Elizabeth, would she know how to be, how to feel, like Charlotte? Were you some particular person only because people recognized you as such?" These are questions that Charlotte struggles with, particularly when an unexpected turn of events strands her in 1918, and it begins to look like she might not get home to her own time. Just who is she, anyway? Charlotte? Clare? Or sometimes one or the other...?
Although somewhat different in feeling, than the earlier two Aviary Hall books, whose strange, eldritch enchantment I found utterly absorbing, this time-slip fantasy is just as appealing, in its own way - its fantasy believable, not because of magical atmosphere or extraordinary character, but because of its matter-of-fact juxtaposition with reality. I appreciated the depiction of WWI England, and the way - in stark contrast to some of the children's novels (and school stories!) of that actual time - it refused to romanticize or glorify that conflict. I was engaged by Charlotte's struggle to remain herself, something made more difficult by her uncertainty as to just who that self was. Finally, I was reminded of my all-time favorite time-slip novel, Philippa Pearce's classic Tom's Midnight Garden, and was happily surprised (and terribly moved) by the differences in ending, with Clare's death, so soon after switching places, for the final time, with Charlotte; and the lack of meeting with the now grown-up Emily, whose communication with Charlotte is conducted through letter. All in all, an outstanding children's novel, one I would recommend to all school story lovers, and fans of time-slip adventures. I can see why The New York Review Children's Collection recently chose it to be reprinted! show less
"Perhaps we never looks at people properly," muses Charlotte, as she considered how easy it has been for her to step into Clare's shoes (and for Clare to step into her shoes, in the present/future), asking: "what would happen if people did not recognize you? Would you know who you were yourself? If tomorrow they started to call her Vanessa or Janet or Elizabeth or Elizabeth, would she know how to be, how to feel, like Charlotte? Were you some particular person only because people recognized you as such?" These are questions that Charlotte struggles with, particularly when an unexpected turn of events strands her in 1918, and it begins to look like she might not get home to her own time. Just who is she, anyway? Charlotte? Clare? Or sometimes one or the other...?
Although somewhat different in feeling, than the earlier two Aviary Hall books, whose strange, eldritch enchantment I found utterly absorbing, this time-slip fantasy is just as appealing, in its own way - its fantasy believable, not because of magical atmosphere or extraordinary character, but because of its matter-of-fact juxtaposition with reality. I appreciated the depiction of WWI England, and the way - in stark contrast to some of the children's novels (and school stories!) of that actual time - it refused to romanticize or glorify that conflict. I was engaged by Charlotte's struggle to remain herself, something made more difficult by her uncertainty as to just who that self was. Finally, I was reminded of my all-time favorite time-slip novel, Philippa Pearce's classic Tom's Midnight Garden, and was happily surprised (and terribly moved) by the differences in ending, with Clare's death, so soon after switching places, for the final time, with Charlotte; and the lack of meeting with the now grown-up Emily, whose communication with Charlotte is conducted through letter. All in all, an outstanding children's novel, one I would recommend to all school story lovers, and fans of time-slip adventures. I can see why The New York Review Children's Collection recently chose it to be reprinted! show less
Originally a short story, intended for inclusion in the author's first book, The China People, and then expanded into a novel in its own right, Penelope Farmer's The Summer Birds is a poignant, lyrically descriptive children's fantasy that addresses itself to the common childhood dream of learning to fly. Opening one summer morning, as sisters Charlotte and Emma Makepeace encounter a strange bird-like boy, on their way to school, it chronicles the magical season that follows, one in which show more the boy - never named - teaches the entire class how to fly, and leads them on a number of extraordinary adventures. From an idyllic Saturday at the nearby lake, in which the sisters and their schoolmates fly and play; to a deadly serious 'tournament,' in which the leader of the group - whether the boy, or Totty (Thomas) Feather - is to be chosen; the children are entirely engrossed in their new aerial activity, and, by the end of the summer, ready (almost) to follow the boy to a new world...
Farmer's sense of the ineffable here, of the deeper and truer meanings and feelings, running along beneath the surface of events - sometimes sensed, but so infrequently captured or expressed - is really quite astonishing! There is this lovely passage, toward the close of the book, that describes Charlotte's reaction to her first flight, in the style of a seagull, diving toward the sea: "Nothing would ever be as good as that. Not even the next fall, when she tried again to act as a gull, not even that was as good...Nothing would ever be like that first drop to the sea - down like a gull falling seaward from the cliff. It had been the best, yet somehow the saddest, happening of her whole life, but she could explain neither the happiness nor the sadness." - that perfectly captures the feeling of the book, for me. There is both joy and sadness here - the joy of a dream's fulfillment, and the sadness of that dream's fulfillment. And there is danger, and a worrying sense of disquietude, in the midst of the magic. This isn't a sweet story, but a strangely beautiful and sharp one, that haunts the reader long afterward.
My first foray into the work of Penelope Farmer, The Summer Birds most assuredly will not be my last! Recommended to young readers who dream of flying, and who have a taste for stories with an odd, eldritch flavor. show less
Farmer's sense of the ineffable here, of the deeper and truer meanings and feelings, running along beneath the surface of events - sometimes sensed, but so infrequently captured or expressed - is really quite astonishing! There is this lovely passage, toward the close of the book, that describes Charlotte's reaction to her first flight, in the style of a seagull, diving toward the sea: "Nothing would ever be as good as that. Not even the next fall, when she tried again to act as a gull, not even that was as good...Nothing would ever be like that first drop to the sea - down like a gull falling seaward from the cliff. It had been the best, yet somehow the saddest, happening of her whole life, but she could explain neither the happiness nor the sadness." - that perfectly captures the feeling of the book, for me. There is both joy and sadness here - the joy of a dream's fulfillment, and the sadness of that dream's fulfillment. And there is danger, and a worrying sense of disquietude, in the midst of the magic. This isn't a sweet story, but a strangely beautiful and sharp one, that haunts the reader long afterward.
My first foray into the work of Penelope Farmer, The Summer Birds most assuredly will not be my last! Recommended to young readers who dream of flying, and who have a taste for stories with an odd, eldritch flavor. show less
Set a year or two after the events of The Summer Birds, this second children's novel concerning the strange and fantastical adventures of the Makepeace sisters follows Emma - the younger of the two, terribly lonely since Charlotte went off to boarding school, and her friend, Marly Scragg, left the village school to work in her father's shop - through a particularly fierce and snowy winter term. Haunted by a recurring dream, in which she is flying high above a strangely familiar landscape, show more Emma finds that she is joined, on her nighttime journeys, by Bobby Fumpkins, the chubby and much-ridiculed school outcast, to whom Emma herself has been none too kind. Slowly, with stops and starts, the two dreamers become friends. But where will their shared dreams, which seem to be taking them further and further back in time, lead them? And what will they find, once there...?
With the same feeling of strange and disquieting enchantment as its predecessor, and a similarly haunting exploration of conflicted, but deeply-felt emotions, Emma in Winter is a powerful book. I found Farmer's language in this one particularly beautiful, and had to stop, from time to time, and reread certain passages. The scene in which she describes the changing landscape beneath the dream-flying Emma and Bobby in particular, has a power that is difficult to capture, save by quotation:
"As they flew, they saw deserts replaces seas, seas replace deserts, water flowing in and out like enormous tides. There were green seas, brown seas, gray seas, blue seas, calm and wild ones, small and big ones. But every desert burned orange and tawny, their sands ebbing and flowing like water, their rocks shifting like roses back to bud, or like onions forming, skin on skin.
Until suddenly, not merely sand or sea but the whole land seemed to move, to rock like a million cradles. Mountains rose, rocked there, and sank back. They heaved up thickly like the bubbles in boiling porridge. But where those bubbles burst in the boiling, their centers were filled with a white-hot fire, and a heavy liquid melted from the land to flow upwards, darkly, to the bubbles' crests and vanish into these white-hot pits of fire."
Just lovely! I'm not sure why I never got around to Penelope Farmer's books, when a younger reader, but I'm glad I've finally rectified that omission. I look forward to the final volume about the Makepeace sisters, Charlotte Sometimes, and after that, to exploring more of Farmer's work! show less
With the same feeling of strange and disquieting enchantment as its predecessor, and a similarly haunting exploration of conflicted, but deeply-felt emotions, Emma in Winter is a powerful book. I found Farmer's language in this one particularly beautiful, and had to stop, from time to time, and reread certain passages. The scene in which she describes the changing landscape beneath the dream-flying Emma and Bobby in particular, has a power that is difficult to capture, save by quotation:
"As they flew, they saw deserts replaces seas, seas replace deserts, water flowing in and out like enormous tides. There were green seas, brown seas, gray seas, blue seas, calm and wild ones, small and big ones. But every desert burned orange and tawny, their sands ebbing and flowing like water, their rocks shifting like roses back to bud, or like onions forming, skin on skin.
Until suddenly, not merely sand or sea but the whole land seemed to move, to rock like a million cradles. Mountains rose, rocked there, and sank back. They heaved up thickly like the bubbles in boiling porridge. But where those bubbles burst in the boiling, their centers were filled with a white-hot fire, and a heavy liquid melted from the land to flow upwards, darkly, to the bubbles' crests and vanish into these white-hot pits of fire."
Just lovely! I'm not sure why I never got around to Penelope Farmer's books, when a younger reader, but I'm glad I've finally rectified that omission. I look forward to the final volume about the Makepeace sisters, Charlotte Sometimes, and after that, to exploring more of Farmer's work! show less
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