This is the first volume of Noel Streatfeild's autobiography - but, unusually, it's written as a children's novel. While the details are (mostly) accurate, the characters have fictional names, so that Noel herself is thinly disguised as Vicky, the rebellious second child of a Vicar. Her older sister is quite frail, with regular asthma attacks, and her younger sister a somewhat precocious and very attractive little girl.

I very much liked the way it was written, showing Vicky's perspective on school (which, for the most part, she found tedious), on church and spirituality, on family life, and on the general unfairness of humanity. She manages to pick out interesting anecdotes and events in her life, and while inevitably other people's thoughts and feelings are invented, to some extent, they make her life seem well-rounded and a great deal more interesting than many factual biographies.

Definitely recommended to anyone - adult or older child - who has enjoyed Streatfeild's books for children. ( )

Fictionalized memoir by Noel Streatfeild, author of the beloved Shoes books, about growing up a vicar's daughter before the first world war. She tells the story of Vicky, the difficult middle daughter, and steps back to talk about social mores, her mother's attitudes about her daughters, and other interesting things. I read this about 30 years ago and remember liking it then.

Some very sad stuff, as books set around the first world war tend to have, but worth it.

I'm about to read her other autobiographical book and have found out there's a third one that I don't have. I really want to read that one too. ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/may06.html#streatfeildv ( )