First published in 1954, this is one of my favourite children’s stories. I have visited the beautiful old house in Hemingford Grey several times with its exquisite garden leading down to the river. The story was adapted for television a long while ago, and visiting the house brings the story back to life: the old chest containing Toby’s coat and sword, Alexander’s flute, the rocking horse, Linnet’s birdcage and a little Japanese wooden mouse are all items left behind by the children died in the Plague, who return to befriend Tolly, staying with his grandmother for Christmas while his parents are abroad.
Over the fireplace hung a large oil painting of a family, three children and two ladies. There were two handsome boys, wearing lace collars and dark green silk suits... and a little girl holdings a chaffinch, and beside her on the ground was an open wicker cage.
They all had large dark eyes and all their eyes seemed fixed on Tolly. If he moved to the side all the eyes moved after him.
As they rested there, tired and dreamy and content, a woman’s voice began to sing very softly a cradle song...
‘It’s the grandmother rocking the cradle, ‘ said Mrs. Oldknow, and her eyes were full of tears....while four hundred years ago, a baby went to sleep.
The house is beautifully eccentric:
There were vases everywhere filled with queer flowers - branches of dry winter twigs out of which little tassels and rosettes of flower petals were bursting, some yellow, some white, some purple.
The room seemed to be the ground floor of a castle... its thick stone walls were strong, warm and lively. It was furnished with comfortable polished old-fashioned things as though living in castles was quite ordinary.
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