The Far-Distant Oxus
 | |
| Author | Katharine Hull & Pamela Whitlock |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Pamela Whitlock |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
Publication date | 1937 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Followed by | Escape to Persia |
The Far-Distant Oxus is a children’s novel of 1937, written by Katharine Hull (1921–1977)[1] and Pamela Whitlock (1920–1982).[2] The title comes from Matthew Arnold's poem Sohrab and Rustum.
Hull and Whitlock met when they were schoolchildren (fourteen and fifteen respectively), whilst sheltering from a thunderstorm.[3] They discovered shared interests and decided to write a story about ponies set on Exmoor.[3] They planned out the entire book and wrote alternate chapters, exchanging them afterwards to edit.[3] The story follows the model of the books of Arthur Ransome, describing the school holiday adventures of children of prosperous families, centred on outdoor activity and a vividly imagined landscape: Ransome had boats and Windermere, The Far-Distant Oxus had ponies and Exmoor.
Whitlock sent the manuscript to Ransome in March 1937; he in turn brought it to his publisher Jonathan Cape, saying that he had "the best children's book of 1937" for him.[4] Cape published the book in the same format as Swallows and Amazons, and persuaded Ransome to write the introduction. The book, with illustrations by Whitlock, was indeed successful; contemporary reviewers were impressed and critics today are still positive. The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books comments that it is "as absorbing as Ransome at his best".[5] The two authors followed it with Escape to Persia (1938), The Oxus in Summer (1939) and Crowns (1947).[6]
Fidra Books reissued the novel in August, 2008.[7]
References
- The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English, by Victor Watson, Cambridge University Press, 2001
- The Life of Arthur Ransome, by Hugh Brogan, Jonathan Cape, 1984
- The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature, by Humphrey Carpenter and Mari Prichard, Oxford: OUP, 1984
- Where Texts and Children Meet, by Eve Bearne and Victor Watson, Routledge, 1999