The Girl Who Wouldn’t Make Friends, Elsie J Oxenham

huskyteer had a great find at the weekend and presented me with a copy of The Girl Who Wouldn’t Make Friends, one of the harder to find books by Elsie J. I was keen to read it to get the back story of Robinetta (Robin) Brent. EJO had a habit of mixing characters from different series and Robin appears in several later books. I don’t have most of those so followed up with the end of Robin’s story in Robins in the Abbey. Robin is twelve in the first book, published in 1909 and twenty when she meets the Abbey crowd in 1947; her transition from Edwardian schoolgirl to post-war young woman is seamless, if ridiculous. Reading these two books back to back was an excellent idea as it demonstrated perfectly why EJO’s early books are so enjoyable while her late ones make you want to scream.

Robin Brent lives with her mother and two brothers while their father is abroad. One day, she receives a solicitor’s letter telling her that she has inherited the estate of Plas Quellyn in North Wales. It turns out that the late owner, the artist Robert Quellyn, had once been in love with Mrs Brent, had made the will in favour of her daughter and never changed it. When the family travel to Wales to visit the estate they find a delightful spot but trouble in the form of young Gwyneth. She had been unofficially adopted by Robert Quellyn and his wife and is now left with nothing. As a result, she refuses all overtures of friendship from the Brents and hides herself away. Gwyneth is a good example of EJO’s tendency to excuse inexcusable behaviour. Theft? Attempted murder? Gwyneth is guilty of both but is just silly and naughty, apparently. All ends well, as you’d expect, and the book is very enjoyable apart from a ludicrous set-to with some would-be burglars. EJO excelled at writing about place and the descriptions of Wales are really beautiful. She was also very good at writing about boys. Robin’s brothers Cuthbert and Dicky are believable and there’s a lot of lively dialogue. It’s a pity she stopped writing this sort of family story and limited herself to writing about girls.
( the Abbey )