These two authors cannot really be separated as their novels were all written by the pair of them in collaboration. Like so many pony book writers, these two started young and the publishing of their first book has an almost fairy tale quality. As teenagers they vowed to write a book together, and as their literary hero was Arthur Ransome of Swallows and Amazon fame, they decided to model their story on the holiday adventure theme. Each wrote an alternate chapter of the book and then revised each other's work. The finished article was sent to Arthur Ransome himself! Ransome loved the story and it was soon published, with the great man even writing a foreword to it! The book was The Far-Distant Oxus which is now once more in print over 70 years since it was written! Three more books followed the same characters. They were all illustrated by Pamela. Pamela also wrote some short pony stories on her own.
As an adult Pamela Whitlock worked as a publishing assistant for Jonathan Cape, was childrens book editor for Collins Books, then worked at Oxford University Press. She and her husband remained close friends with Arthur Ransome until his death.
Katherine was the daughter of Sir Hubert Hull, a prominent barrister and cabinet minister. Her mother died the year before she wrote Oxus. The setting of the Oxus books is similar to holidays the Hulls would spend, and clearly owes a debt to those experiences.
Sources: most of the info on the authors comes from the Fidra Books edition of The Far Distant Oxus.
Oxus Series: Holiday adventure series with ponies thrown in for good measure! The strange names of the titles come from the fantasy games the children play, pretending to be in far off lands, rather than the real-life Exmoor.
1) THE FAR DISTANT OXUS (JONATHAN CAPE 1937) ILLUSTRATED BY PAMELA WHITLOCK Reprinted by Jonathan Cape, and a couple of times by Collins in hardback. There was also a paperback Armada edition published in the 1970s. Most recently it has been republished in paperback by Fidra Books. It is at the moment of writing still in print and can be bought from the Fidra website or bookshops. There was also a US edition published by Macmillan. This was abridged.
SUMMARY:A party of children stay in a farmhouse on Exmoor, meet other like-minded children, and have all sorts of adventures, mostly on horseback but also on a raft. They have the sort of holiday that everybody would like to have if only they could!
For a taster of the first chapter please visit this page on the Fidra website. (You can also buy a copy from the website)
2) ESCAPE TO PERSIA (JONATHAN CAPE 1938) ILLUSTRATED BY PAMELA WHITLOCK There was also a US edition published by Macmillan. SUMMARY: The Hunterleys escape a dull holiday with an Aunt in London to re-enter their beloved 'Persia' (aka Exmoor!)
3) OXUS IN SUMMER (JONATHAN CAPE 1939) ILLUSTRATED BY PAMELA WHITLOCK There was also a US edition published by Macmillan. SUMMARY: More adventures for the children on Exmoor.
Collectors info: The Far Distant Oxus was the only one to be reprinted extensively and is thus by far the easiest of all of them to find. Even so, until the recent reprint by Fidra Books it was not particularly easy to come across. Now it is not hard to find at all in either the UK or the USA. The others can be quite rare and expensive to buy, although it is possible that Fidra will be reprinting the whole series in time.
Other Books:
CROWNS (JONATHAN CAPE 1947) ILLUSTRATED BY PAMELA WHITLOCK SUMMARY: Four children enter a world of fantasy forged by their own imaginations.
Collectors info: Hard to find and can be expensive, especially with jacket.
Short stories in other books & collections:
By Pamela Whitlock only:
CATSMEAT PONY in PONY CLUB ANNUAL No. 1 (NALDRETT 1950) ILLUSTRATED BY JOAN WANKLYN SUMMARY: Set on Dartmoor. Marty and Dan try and save a scrawny unwanted Dartmoor pony from being sold for meat.
RARE BRIDGET in PONY CLUB ANNUAL No. 2 (NALDRETT 1951) ILLUSTRATED BY MARGERY GILL
THE GREAT DESIRE in PONY CLUB ANNUAL No. 5 (NALDRETT 1954) ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE BOWE Also in THE SECOND BOOK OF PONY STORIES (Edited by Christine Pullein-Thompson) (PAN PB 1977) ILLUSTRATED BY RON STENBERG SUMMARY: Pony story with a twist in the tale. Set on Dartmoor. Elizabeth's 'great desire' is to buy a Dartmoor foal and train him from young. But when she gets to the auction with her money, things don't go quite to plan… PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES
Collectors info: The annuals can be quite hard to find, especially outside the UK. The Pullein-Thompson edited paperback story collection is easier to come across, although even this is not common outside the UK.
