We Couldn't Leave Dinah
Encyclopedia
We Couldn't Leave Dinah is a children's novel by Mary Treadgold
, published in 1941. It is a contemporary adventure story set on a fictional island in the English Channel during a German occupation. The novel was awarded the 1941 Carnegie Medal
as an outstanding children's book.
It was published in 1941 in the United States as Left Till Called For.
. The children are all members of the local Pony Club
. Caroline rides the spirited Dinah, Mick the more placid Punch, and their little brother the chubby Bellman.
Meanwhile, there are rumours that the Germans who have occupied the nearby Channel Islands
may be planning to take over Clerinel too. The location and topography of the island are ideally suited as a platform for launching an invasion of the South Coast
. Mr. Templeton discusses leaving with the children, prompting Caroline's horrified response: "We couldn't leave Dinah".
The Pony Club's chairman, Peter Beaumarchais, has surprisingly opted for a fancy-dress carnival as their Anniversary Day celebration in mid-September. Caroline decides to go as Elaine the Lily Maid of Astolat
; Mick chooses to dress simply as a local fisherboy and borrows some clothes from Petit-Jean. During the celebration Caroline spots some unfamiliar riders in fancy dress. These riders turn out to be a party of German invaders taking advantage of the fancy dress to gain easy access to the Martello tower
.
The English residents hurriedly evacuate, but in the confusion Caroline and Mick are left behind. Their home having being requisitioned by the German general, they camp in some caves which have been fitted out as stables. With the help of Peter they manage to survive and stay hidden while planning their escape.
After Mick stumbles across a hidden message and decodes it, they realize there are spies on the English side working on the island. Believing he can help discover some useful information, Mick volunteers to coach Nannerl, the German general's granddaughter, in riding. Nannerl joins the Pony Club, and when Caroline leaves the island she feels Dinah is safe with the German girl until they can return.
The French/Islanders
The Germans
. "This was September 1940 and not being a knitter or caring for the sound of falling bombs, I occupied myself relatively painlessly in the air-raid shelter with trying to implement my own verdict, 'I could do better myself!'" It was her first book, and won the Carnegie Medal
. The award has been called "premature", as the book does not contain her best writing, and may have been partly owing to the poor competition during the war, but the novel remained in print for over four decades.
's Idylls of the King
, Caroline chooses to go to the fancy-dress as the romantic heroine Elaine. Later Caroline compares their gloomy attitude unfavorably to the adventurous spirits of two sets of children in popular books of the time, the Arthur Ransome
children (of the Swallows and Amazons series of books) and M. E. Atkinson's Lockett family (from August Adventure, Mystery Manor etc.): “each child brooded upon those fascinating, incredible spirits of the nursery bookshelf, each the irresistible magnet of adventure”.
Mary Treadgold
Mary Treadgold was a British author who won the Carnegie Medal in 1941 for her children's book We Couldn't Leave Dinah.Treadgold attended St Paul's Girls' School and Bedford College, London...
, published in 1941. It is a contemporary adventure story set on a fictional island in the English Channel during a German occupation. The novel was awarded the 1941 Carnegie Medal
Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
as an outstanding children's book.
It was published in 1941 in the United States as Left Till Called For.
Plot summary
The setting is the summer holidays early in the Second World War. The Templetons are English residents on the fictional island of Clerinel in the English ChannelEnglish Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. The children are all members of the local Pony Club
The Pony Club
The Pony Club is a voluntary organisation founded in England in 1929. It has now expanded internationally and Pony Club branches can be found worldwide...
. Caroline rides the spirited Dinah, Mick the more placid Punch, and their little brother the chubby Bellman.
Meanwhile, there are rumours that the Germans who have occupied the nearby Channel Islands
Occupation of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...
may be planning to take over Clerinel too. The location and topography of the island are ideally suited as a platform for launching an invasion of the South Coast
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
. Mr. Templeton discusses leaving with the children, prompting Caroline's horrified response: "We couldn't leave Dinah".
The Pony Club's chairman, Peter Beaumarchais, has surprisingly opted for a fancy-dress carnival as their Anniversary Day celebration in mid-September. Caroline decides to go as Elaine the Lily Maid of Astolat
Elaine of Astolat
Elaine of Astolat or Ascolat is a figure in Arthurian legend who dies of her unrequited love for Lancelot. Also referred to as Elaine the White and Elaine the Fair, she is the daughter of Bernard of Astolat. Versions of her story appear in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and Alfred Tennyson's...
; Mick chooses to dress simply as a local fisherboy and borrows some clothes from Petit-Jean. During the celebration Caroline spots some unfamiliar riders in fancy dress. These riders turn out to be a party of German invaders taking advantage of the fancy dress to gain easy access to the Martello tower
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....
.
The English residents hurriedly evacuate, but in the confusion Caroline and Mick are left behind. Their home having being requisitioned by the German general, they camp in some caves which have been fitted out as stables. With the help of Peter they manage to survive and stay hidden while planning their escape.
After Mick stumbles across a hidden message and decodes it, they realize there are spies on the English side working on the island. Believing he can help discover some useful information, Mick volunteers to coach Nannerl, the German general's granddaughter, in riding. Nannerl joins the Pony Club, and when Caroline leaves the island she feels Dinah is safe with the German girl until they can return.
Characters
The English- Caroline Templeton, thirteen-year-old girl
- Mick Templeton, her fourteen-year-old brother
- Thomas Templeton, their seven-year-old brother
- Mr. Templeton, their father (their mother is at this time stranded in Africa by the war)
- Alison & Nicholas Lindsay, Pam Lawrence, Rosemary Ellis, Richard Penfold and others, Pony Club members
- Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence, Pam's parents
- Commander Seymour, naval officer
The French/Islanders
- Peter Beaumarchais, president of the Pony Club
- Monsieur Beaumarchais, his father
- Petit-Jean, the Templetons' stable-boy
- Meurice & Pierre le Mesurier, fishermen
- Jacques Dupuy, their cousin
The Germans
- General Schleicher, leader of the occupation force
- Nannerl Schleicher, his eight-year-old granddaughter
- Karl Muller, Nannerl's "Cousin Karl", aka "Blue Feather" who led the fancy dress riders
- Friedel & Heidi, the Schleichers' maids
Sequel
Caroline and Mick Templeton appear again in The Polly Harris (1949), without ponies. Sent to summer school to improve their grades, they dread being cooped up in London, but they soon find Prettyman's Hard, a little community hidden away on the edge of the river in a very old part of the city, which is anything but dull. Mick and Caroline are thrilled when their new friends the Gotchkisses plan a trip to Australia on the Polly Harris. They also uncover a case of fraud.Origins
Although itself far more than a conventional pony book, We Couldn't Leave Dinah had its origin in Mary Treadgold's dismay at the many "quite frightful" examples of horse and pony books she saw as children's editor at HeinemannHeinemann (book publisher)
Heinemann is a UK publishing house founded by William Heinemann in Covent Garden, London in 1890. On William Heinemann's death in 1920 a majority stake was purchased by U.S. publisher Doubleday. It was later acquired by commemorate Thomas Tilling in 1961...
. "This was September 1940 and not being a knitter or caring for the sound of falling bombs, I occupied myself relatively painlessly in the air-raid shelter with trying to implement my own verdict, 'I could do better myself!'" It was her first book, and won the Carnegie Medal
Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
. The award has been called "premature", as the book does not contain her best writing, and may have been partly owing to the poor competition during the war, but the novel remained in print for over four decades.
Allusions to other works
Having read TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
's Idylls of the King
Idylls of the King
Idylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom...
, Caroline chooses to go to the fancy-dress as the romantic heroine Elaine. Later Caroline compares their gloomy attitude unfavorably to the adventurous spirits of two sets of children in popular books of the time, the Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
children (of the Swallows and Amazons series of books) and M. E. Atkinson's Lockett family (from August Adventure, Mystery Manor etc.): “each child brooded upon those fascinating, incredible spirits of the nursery bookshelf, each the irresistible magnet of adventure”.