Green Knowe | The View Outside

I came across an exercise recently in The Daily Writer which asked the following questions:

Think back to a favourite book from your childhood.
How did it affect you?
What did you learn?
Has it influenced your life?

I scoffed, I truly did! Yeah, like a book I read as a child could still be having an impact on me now? Ha ha ha, influenced my life? *mutter grumble* And then I wrote down in my notebook the 3 books that I loved the most in my childhood…

The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M Boston

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Toms Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce

I had to go and reacquaint my self with these books. Gawd, I haven’t read them for 30+years! So I checked them out on Amazon and Wikipedia….and wow, it all came flooding back!

Ok, you may not be familiar with these so I’ll give you a brief outline of each…

Green Knowe is about a young boy, Tolly, going to live with his grandmother in a big old stately home (Green Knowe) where he meets the ghosts of children who lived there before.

Secret Garden, written in 1910, is about a little orphan girl, Mary who goes to live with her uncle in a big old manor house, where she finds a secret garden and a cousin who lives in the attic.

Midnight Garden is about a boy, Tom, who goes to live with his aunt in a big manor house built in the 1880’s and when the clock strikes 13 he discovers a beautiful garden and a little girl to play with.

There is a lot more to these stories but I don’t want to bore you…..check out the links if you want to know more 🙂

Those who know me (in real life) will know the following about me:
1. I wasn’t brought up in a traditional family environment.
2. I’ve always had a fascination with big old houses and stately homes.
3. I love the whole idea of ghosts, I’m always watching documentaries or reading books about them. I love ghost story films especially!
4. I find myself drawn to anything Victorian or Edwardian. I can have a table full of items and always pick the Victorian or Edwardian one without even knowing it is, because I like it the most.
5. I LOVE walled gardens! The last couple of houses we’ve lived in have had them and it was one if the reasons I liked them enough to live there!

Spooky huh? I’m sorry I scoffed now! Lol.

As an adult I find myself drawn to books that are based on historical events, people and settings. A fictionalised account of something real, or someone that once lived. I really should try to write one! Lol. Or perhaps I should try my hand at a ghost story? This has given me lots to think about 😉

Has a book from your childhood influenced your life?