Castle Merlin

Young Susie Dixon, willful and self-involved, is determined to go away to holiday-camp, despite the objections of her family. Unable to explain just why it is that she MUST go on this holiday, Susie nevertheless carries the day, and soon finds herself at Castle Merlin, a fortified manor in northern England, lying close to Hadrian's Wall. Here she has a series of extraordinary encounters with Dame Alys, a medieval lady - famed for her merlin hawking and for the rare "Book of Merlins" that she authored - in whose honor Castle Merlin was named. As Susie struggles to understand her odd experiences, and to relate to her fellow-camper, Bryan, she gradually gains a new awareness and empathy for those around her.

In this time-slip adventure, show more reminiscent in many ways of Philippa Pearce's classic Tom's Midnight Garden, or some of the works of Ruth M. Arthur, the echoes of the past resurface in the present, precipitating change and growth on the part of the protagonist. Of all the Ursula Moray Williams titles I have read thus far, this has by far been the most enjoyable. Thankfully, it has none of the somewhat cloying sentimentality of her earlier works, perhaps best typified by Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse. show less