An Episode of Sparrows

Two Under the Indian Sun

In November 1914 two small sisters, Jon and Rumer Godden, returned to India. They had spent a year in London being "brought up" by austere aunts, but now the zeppelins were expected, and so they were summoned back to their home in East Bengal. Jon was onl

Thursday's Children

"Thursday's child has far to go" says the nursery rhyme, and never was the saying more apt than it was for Doone Penny, sixth and youngest child of a London greengrocer. In this fine and involving novel Rumer Godden writes of Doone's determination against

Miss Happiness and Miss Flower

When Nona is sent from her home in India to live with her relatives in England, she is miserable. Then a box arrives for her and inside are two little Japanese dolls. Nona thinks that they must feel lonely too, so far away from home. Then, Nona has an ide

The Dolls' House

Tottie is a loving little wooden doll who lives with her family in a shoebox. The doll family are owned by two sisters, Emily and Charlotte, and are very happy, except for one thing: they long for a proper home. To their delight, their wish comes true whe

China Court: The Hours of a Country House

For more than half a century, Rumer Godden has been known as one of the finest and subtlest writers of our day (Saturday Review). Now one of her most endearing classics is being reissued for a new generation of readers. China Court is the story of the hou

The Story of Holly and Ivy

Ivy, Holly, and Mr. and Mrs. Jones all have one Christmas wish. Ivy, an orphan, wishes for a real home and sets out in search of the grandmother she's sure she can find. Holly, a doll, wishes for a child to bring her to life. And the Joneses wish more tha

Kingfishers Catch Fire

Listen to the Nightingale (Madame Holbein's, #2)

When she wins a scholarship to a famous ballet school, Lottie, an orphan reared by the costume mistress for a London ballet company, is torn between her lifelong dream and her love for a puppy.

In This House of Brede

This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community.