Ruby Ferguson

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Ruby Ferguson, nee Ashby, (born Reeth, West Yorkshire, UK 1899-1966), was a British writer of children's pony stories in the same vein as the Pullein-Thompson sisters. She also wrote many novels for adults.

Ferguson received her education at Bradford Girls' Grammar School and then St Hilda's College, Oxford where she obtained a Master of Arts degree.

1 The "Jill" Books
2 Other Works
3 Bibliography
- 3.1 Jill Series
- 3.2 Other works
4 External links

[edit] The "Jill" Books

Ferguson is most famous for the "Jill" books, a perennially popular series about young equestrienne Jill Crewe and her adventures with her two ponies. This series was illustrated with line drawings by Caney, and has remained continually in print until recently.

In the first book in the series, Jill's Gymkhana, Jill is eleven years old and her father has recently died (the later books take her to the age of sixteen). Jill's mother moves to a small cottage near the fictional village of Chatton, where she hopes to support them both as a children's author. Jill is at first a social outcast in "horsy" Chatton because she doesn't own a pony and can't ride. When her mother's stories finally begin to sell, however, the first thing she buys is a pony for her daughter. With hard work, Jill soon becomes a star of Chatton equitation.

Jill is grateful for her mother's success; however, as she says repeatedly throughout the series, she "can't get on" with her mother's books at all, finding them impossibly sweet and whimsical (very likely a veiled criticism of the works of Enid Blyton). In contrast, Ferguson's Jill is an active, independent and witty character who scorns ladylike pursuits and who defies post-war expectations for English girls. This makes Ferguson's writing outstanding not only in the pony stories genre, but in children's literature generally.

[edit] Other Works

Ferguson's novel for adults, Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary has recently been republished, and in 2005 it was listed as one of the "Books of the Year" by The Spectator. At its original publication, The Queen Mother is reported to have enjoyed the book so much that she invited Ruby Ferguson to dinner at Buckingham Palace.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Jill Series

Jill's Gymkhana (1947)
A Stable for Jill (1951)
Jill has Two Ponies (1952)
Jill Enjoys her Ponies (1954)
Jill's Riding Club (1956)
Rosettes for Jill (1957)
Jill and the Perfect Pony (1959)
Pony Jobs for Jill (1960)
Jill's Pony Trek (1962)

[edit] Other works

Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary (1937)
The Moment of Truth (1944)
Turn Agin Home (1951)
Apricot Sky (1952)
A Paintbox for Pauline (1953)
The Leopard's Coast (1954)
For Every Favour (1956)
Doves in My Fig-tree (1957)
The Cousins of Colonel Ivy (1959)
The Wakeful Guest (1962)
A Woman With a Secret (1965)
Children at the Shop: The Charming Autobiography of Childhood (1967)
Our Dreaming Done
Moment of Truth
The Queen's Book of the Red Cross. With a message from Her Majesty the Queen and contributions by fifty British authors and artists. In aid of the Lord Mayor of London's Fund for the Red Cross and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1939) (contributor)