On a more mundane level Saville is always very careful in his use of the locales for his stories. “Mystery Mine” is prefaced by a detailed note that explains what is real and what is fictional. His dirty back alley off the main streets in Whitby, does not exist but the place on the steps where Jon and Penny had their momentous encounter certainly does.
It is important to remember that Malcolm Saville’s “Lone Pine” stories were written for both boys and girls for it is difficult to find another writer, apart from Arthur Ransome, who succeeded so well in maintaining his appeal to both genders for so long. “Lone Pine” clubs were formed all round the world and even today the “Malcolm Saville Society” goes from strength to strength. It is true that his plots may at times have been riddled with implausibility and stereotypical “criminal” behaviour but the settings, as indicated above, always felt real. More important than that is that bold decision that he took to allow the friendships between the young people to ripen and mature into a form of adult love that wasn’t without its problems but which was founded on solid principles and which had its very tender moments. “Mystery Mine”, set in Whitby and on the moors around, is thus a key book in this interesting saga.
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Whitby Steps
. All this now brings us to “Mystery Mine”(1959), the twelfth book in the “Lone Pine” series which is set in north Yorkshire and which has many key scenes in the town of Whitby. In particular it takes us to the heart of Saville’s presentation of the unfolding love between Jon and Penny.
Penny is red-headed, full of life and vitality, a natural mixer with a strong impetuous streak. Jon is more reserved, an intellectual who tries to think his way out of every situation. His apparent coldness and reserve towards her is something that Penny finds very frustrating. When he opts to go away on holiday with David she can’t help showing her anger. Later when most of the Lone Pine gang are together again at a small village near Goathland she finds that he is no friendlier towards her than towards any of the others. In fact he seems totally wrapped up in the details of the new mystery that they have come across. A trip to Whitby changes their lives for ever. It plants the seed that is seen to grow and mature in the later stories of “Rye Royal” and “Home to Witchend”.
Whilst Jon follows up a clue in Whitby public library Penny wanders the quayside and then the back streets of the town. She follows a suspect and ends up being imprisoned in the top room of a house up a dirty back alley. What started as an adventure turns into a nightmare from which she finally escapes when the crooks decide to clear out to another headquarters. Thoroughly shocked and frightened, Penny stumbles through the streets of the town desperately trying to find Jon. For a while they miss each other and then, finally, they meet on the steps leading up to the church on the edge of the cliff. She is staggering up whilst Jon is rushing down. She stands there waiting for him to speak. Instead of comfort she gets anger. Instead of understanding she gets accused of being untrustworthy. She has finally aroused some passion in him but it’s the very last emotion she actually wanted.
Her own anger comes to the rescue and she blurts out what has happened. He takes hold of her shoulders and won’t let go. When she looks in his eyes she realises that he wasn’t really angry with her – he was just frightened that he had lost her. He takes her by the hand and tells her that he has been a fool for a very long time. The word “love” isn’t mentioned but his feelings are implied. His affection for her is sealed by the way in which he takes her injured hand and kisses it gently – a remarkable step for this previously undemonstrative character. In the context of the immediate story it is important for the readers to know that Penny is still shocked and upset by her recent encounter with the crooks, but, in the framework of the entire series, Saville makes it clear that she feels a deeper happiness than she has known before.
It must be made clear that such moments of revelation and understanding are rare and that the main thrust of the plot is still around the mystery to be solved and the dangers to be gone through. However, the subtlety with which he writes scenes like this classic encounter on the steps in Whitby helps to underpin the essential reality of the relationships so that the implausible plot material can be more readily accepted. It also means that Saville’s readers are not just waiting for the next story to witness another adventure, they are also anxious to find out what happens next in the core relationships.
Penny is red-headed, full of life and vitality, a natural mixer with a strong impetuous streak. Jon is more reserved, an intellectual who tries to think his way out of every situation. His apparent coldness and reserve towards her is something that Penny finds very frustrating. When he opts to go away on holiday with David she can’t help showing her anger. Later when most of the Lone Pine gang are together again at a small village near Goathland she finds that he is no friendlier towards her than towards any of the others. In fact he seems totally wrapped up in the details of the new mystery that they have come across. A trip to Whitby changes their lives for ever. It plants the seed that is seen to grow and mature in the later stories of “Rye Royal” and “Home to Witchend”.
Whilst Jon follows up a clue in Whitby public library Penny wanders the quayside and then the back streets of the town. She follows a suspect and ends up being imprisoned in the top room of a house up a dirty back alley. What started as an adventure turns into a nightmare from which she finally escapes when the crooks decide to clear out to another headquarters. Thoroughly shocked and frightened, Penny stumbles through the streets of the town desperately trying to find Jon. For a while they miss each other and then, finally, they meet on the steps leading up to the church on the edge of the cliff. She is staggering up whilst Jon is rushing down. She stands there waiting for him to speak. Instead of comfort she gets anger. Instead of understanding she gets accused of being untrustworthy. She has finally aroused some passion in him but it’s the very last emotion she actually wanted.
Her own anger comes to the rescue and she blurts out what has happened. He takes hold of her shoulders and won’t let go. When she looks in his eyes she realises that he wasn’t really angry with her – he was just frightened that he had lost her. He takes her by the hand and tells her that he has been a fool for a very long time. The word “love” isn’t mentioned but his feelings are implied. His affection for her is sealed by the way in which he takes her injured hand and kisses it gently – a remarkable step for this previously undemonstrative character. In the context of the immediate story it is important for the readers to know that Penny is still shocked and upset by her recent encounter with the crooks, but, in the framework of the entire series, Saville makes it clear that she feels a deeper happiness than she has known before.
It must be made clear that such moments of revelation and understanding are rare and that the main thrust of the plot is still around the mystery to be solved and the dangers to be gone through. However, the subtlety with which he writes scenes like this classic encounter on the steps in Whitby helps to underpin the essential reality of the relationships so that the implausible plot material can be more readily accepted. It also means that Saville’s readers are not just waiting for the next story to witness another adventure, they are also anxious to find out what happens next in the core relationships.
Oxenham and Whitby and Saltburn
However, “Finding her family” (1915) is very clearly tied to real places that Elsie J. Oxenham found exciting and interesting. An Oxenham fan declared of this story that the “plot and the action go all over the place but I love it.” In fact another literary standby, familiar even nearly 100 years ago, the babies swapped at birth, provides the framework for this book with a very complicated plot. However, there is nothing like a quest with false leads and misunderstandings and dramatic revelations for putting an emotional hook into the dedicated reader. Once again the author makes many attempts at simulating a Yorkshire accent with the frequent use of “champion” to establish the dialect of the more humble and even the middle-class characters in the book. Rather patronisingly, people from the “south” are shown to find this manner of speech to be outlandish and queer and a suitable subject for mockery. However, landmarks like St. Hilda’s Abbey at Whitby and the little harbour at Sleights had clearly both captured the author’s affection and stimulated her imagination so that they became the locations for suitable scenes at crucial moments in the story line of the great search. The Whitby connection is explored again when three of the young characters organise a pageant on the beach at Saltburn, which celebrates the story of the famous abbey in order to raise money for the charitable Beach Missions.
Further details also confirm this sense of the story happening in a real place. The Allerby family live in reasonable circumstances in Amethyst Street, a suggestion of one of the many streets still named after precious jewels in Saltburn today and, again very plausibly, one of the sons goes to school in Middlesborough. There are also many railway and cart journeys round the moors near Saltburn and Whitby which members of the modern Abbey Club have attempted with some success to reproduce.
The length and longevity of her “Abbey” series which actually began to germinate around about the time Elsie J. Oxenham was penning these three Yorkshire stories owes much to regular features which are only partly suggested in these early tales. Music and Morris dancing, girls growing up and finding partners in marriage, problems with money and snobbery, difficult moral and religious questions and above all an intricate network of friends and relations, all play their part in creating the author’s continued appeal. Her drawing power, even more than 40 years after her death, should not be underestimated and it is a sobering thought that in order to obtain a first-class edition of the three books which constitute the subject of this account you would need to contemplate an outlay of at least one thousand pounds. Your money, however, would be very safe, for you would be very unlikely to find someone willing to part with them even at that extraordinary price. Such is the grip of this strange domain over those who have fallen under its spell.
Further details also confirm this sense of the story happening in a real place. The Allerby family live in reasonable circumstances in Amethyst Street, a suggestion of one of the many streets still named after precious jewels in Saltburn today and, again very plausibly, one of the sons goes to school in Middlesborough. There are also many railway and cart journeys round the moors near Saltburn and Whitby which members of the modern Abbey Club have attempted with some success to reproduce.
The length and longevity of her “Abbey” series which actually began to germinate around about the time Elsie J. Oxenham was penning these three Yorkshire stories owes much to regular features which are only partly suggested in these early tales. Music and Morris dancing, girls growing up and finding partners in marriage, problems with money and snobbery, difficult moral and religious questions and above all an intricate network of friends and relations, all play their part in creating the author’s continued appeal. Her drawing power, even more than 40 years after her death, should not be underestimated and it is a sobering thought that in order to obtain a first-class edition of the three books which constitute the subject of this account you would need to contemplate an outlay of at least one thousand pounds. Your money, however, would be very safe, for you would be very unlikely to find someone willing to part with them even at that extraordinary price. Such is the grip of this strange domain over those who have fallen under its spell.
Hull
The Voyage of the "Dauntless" - J.C.Western Holt
When his livelihood is threatened by the unscrupulous dealings of a ship-owner the captain of a small cargo vessel decides to take action. The owner pays him off in Hull and then replaces him with a captain who is prepared to see one of his ships turned into a "coffin ship" for the insurance money. A stowaway intervenes and saves the captain's life and the two of them steer the ship back to Hull and rejoin the original
crew. At this point the good captain decides to take advantage of the crook's plans and take over the ship himself. Believing it is lost, the world does not realise that the honest crew have set out for Africa under false colours.
When his livelihood is threatened by the unscrupulous dealings of a ship-owner the captain of a small cargo vessel decides to take action. The owner pays him off in Hull and then replaces him with a captain who is prepared to see one of his ships turned into a "coffin ship" for the insurance money. A stowaway intervenes and saves the captain's life and the two of them steer the ship back to Hull and rejoin the original
crew. At this point the good captain decides to take advantage of the crook's plans and take over the ship himself. Believing it is lost, the world does not realise that the honest crew have set out for Africa under false colours.
Whitby2
Wolf Girl - Theresa Tomlinson,
This story is set in Whitby Abbey in the year before the Synod of Whitby. Cwen, the weaver, is accused of stealing a valuable necklace. That in itself would merit a severe penalty but there is worse. It could be a royal necklace and in that case stealing it would be treason and the punishment would be slow death. But Cwen's daughter
Wulfrun is determined to prove her mother innocent. And she finds some surprising allies in the Princess Elfled, the novice monk Adfrith and the cowherd/poet Cadmon. Their quest takes them to a small fishing village and then to a hermit in a forest. But there are those who do not want the truth uncovered and Wulfrun and her friends
eventually find themselves on a wild desperate flight to Bamburgh. Whitby Abbey and its community are brought vividly to life both by the author's descriptions and also by the useful little plan at the beginning of the book. Right away this makes it quite clear that thisis a Celtic Abbey and not one of the better known medieval Roman
ones. For a start Hild's community contains both monks and nuns. The everyday work of the little community can be easily imagined by the reader. There is Adfrith in the scriptorium, Fridgyth with her herb garden, Cadmon with his calves – and we share his pain when the blood month arrives and they are killed. The book just abounds with strong, independent female characters. To name but a few: there is the Princess Elfled, wilful and imperious but also courageous and determined, Wulfrun, courageous and
responsible beyond her fourteen years, and the abbess Hild herself
who rules her little community wisely and who wields power among the
greatest kings and princes in the land.This story brings to life a period of English history which, sadly, is too often neglected –– Anglo-Saxon times. The book has been
thoroughly researched and there is a note on the sources used –– including of course Bede's History of the English Church and People.
And yet although so many scholarly works have been used the writing
is eminently readable. In her note at the end the author has said that she decided to try
some mystery/adventure stories using Hild's abbey at Whitby for the setting.
This story is set in Whitby Abbey in the year before the Synod of Whitby. Cwen, the weaver, is accused of stealing a valuable necklace. That in itself would merit a severe penalty but there is worse. It could be a royal necklace and in that case stealing it would be treason and the punishment would be slow death. But Cwen's daughter
Wulfrun is determined to prove her mother innocent. And she finds some surprising allies in the Princess Elfled, the novice monk Adfrith and the cowherd/poet Cadmon. Their quest takes them to a small fishing village and then to a hermit in a forest. But there are those who do not want the truth uncovered and Wulfrun and her friends
eventually find themselves on a wild desperate flight to Bamburgh. Whitby Abbey and its community are brought vividly to life both by the author's descriptions and also by the useful little plan at the beginning of the book. Right away this makes it quite clear that thisis a Celtic Abbey and not one of the better known medieval Roman
ones. For a start Hild's community contains both monks and nuns. The everyday work of the little community can be easily imagined by the reader. There is Adfrith in the scriptorium, Fridgyth with her herb garden, Cadmon with his calves – and we share his pain when the blood month arrives and they are killed. The book just abounds with strong, independent female characters. To name but a few: there is the Princess Elfled, wilful and imperious but also courageous and determined, Wulfrun, courageous and
responsible beyond her fourteen years, and the abbess Hild herself
who rules her little community wisely and who wields power among the
greatest kings and princes in the land.This story brings to life a period of English history which, sadly, is too often neglected –– Anglo-Saxon times. The book has been
thoroughly researched and there is a note on the sources used –– including of course Bede's History of the English Church and People.
And yet although so many scholarly works have been used the writing
is eminently readable. In her note at the end the author has said that she decided to try
some mystery/adventure stories using Hild's abbey at Whitby for the setting.
Whitby
Room 13 - Robert Swindells
This is mostly set in Whitby. It gives an account of a week's holiday spent in the seaside town by a party of 31 pupils from a school in Bradford. The story is mostly told from the point of view of Fliss or Felicity who has a bad dream the night before
she goes on the trip and a nightmare experience during the week that she is there. During the week various Yorkshire locations are visited includings Staithes, Robin Hood's Bay and many well-known Whitby landmarks including the Abbey and the famous steps.
This is mostly set in Whitby. It gives an account of a week's holiday spent in the seaside town by a party of 31 pupils from a school in Bradford. The story is mostly told from the point of view of Fliss or Felicity who has a bad dream the night before
she goes on the trip and a nightmare experience during the week that she is there. During the week various Yorkshire locations are visited includings Staithes, Robin Hood's Bay and many well-known Whitby landmarks including the Abbey and the famous steps.
Flamborough
The Tale of Robin Lyth – Christine A. Jones
A young child is found on the beach near some fishing boats at the North Landing of Flamborough, Yorkshire. Who he is or where he came from no-one knows. He is taken in and raised by a fishing family and becomes a notorious but brave and generous smuggler. He falls in love with a pretty farmer's daughter whose family is reluctant to encourage the match because of Robin's trade and unknown origins. Robin promises to reform and prove himself worthy of her -- but too late, he is framed
for the murder of a coast guard and has to flee for his life. How he is exonerated, the mystery of his birth and his quest to live "happily ever after" is Robin Lyth's tale.
A young child is found on the beach near some fishing boats at the North Landing of Flamborough, Yorkshire. Who he is or where he came from no-one knows. He is taken in and raised by a fishing family and becomes a notorious but brave and generous smuggler. He falls in love with a pretty farmer's daughter whose family is reluctant to encourage the match because of Robin's trade and unknown origins. Robin promises to reform and prove himself worthy of her -- but too late, he is framed
for the murder of a coast guard and has to flee for his life. How he is exonerated, the mystery of his birth and his quest to live "happily ever after" is Robin Lyth's tale.
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