Adaptational Attractiveness: In the book, Sir Benjamin Merriweather is described as fat, bowlegged, and past his prime. In its film adaptation, he's played by the lean, sinewy Ioan Gruffudd, who's also considerably younger than the character. Bradshaw, Peter (6 February 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 September 2019. To be fair, however, the original book really doesn't lend itself that well to a cinematic adaptation. Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the movie, Maria clearly has a hard time coping with her fathers death and moving out of her home in London as opposed to the Angst? What Angst? of the book. Cogle, Fleur (5 October 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved 20 September 2019.

The little white horse by Elizabeth Goudge is a book that I have read once every year or two since I was 10. It is old-fashioned, romantic with lashings of fantasy. It is a fun adventure, set in a pure and innocent world where good overcomes evil, enemies reconcile and hope is restored. Maria Merryweather, who recently became an orphan, is sent to live with her cousin Sir Benjamen with her governess and stubborn dog. She is instantly captivated by the magical beauty of Moonacre Manor and feels right at home the moment she enters the castle. But beneath all the whimsical beauty, Maria starts to unravel the strange history of the manor--something much darker and more mysterious than could ever be believed of her new, picturesque home. She will soon learn that everything is not what it seems in this beautiful world of hers...

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Winning the Carnegie Medal in 1946, The Little White Horse went on to be translated into many languages. In 1994, it was adapted into the television mini-series Moonacre, and in 2008 into the film The Secret of Moonacre Filming began in September 2007. [6] While a few scenes were filmed in London, England, most of the film was shot in Hungary. [5] Locations included Dobogókő, Alcsútdoboz, Csesznek and Budapest. The Csesznek Castle was one of main outdoor locations, [6] while the director Gábor Csupó chose Schossberger Castle to "embody" the Moonacre mansion.

Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on 24 April 1900 in Wells, Somerset, in Tower House close by the cathedral in an area known as The Liberty, Her father, the Reverend Henry Leighton Goudge, taught in the cathedral school. Her mother was Miss Ida Collenette from the Channel Isles. Elizabeth was an only child. The family moved to Ely for a Canonry as Principal of the theological college. Later, when her father was made Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, they moved to Christ Church, Oxford.Goudge is also an expert at transporting her readers into an enchanting land; one with lush landscapes, tunnels that twist into the oddest of places, a moon that casts a silvery glow and has a story of it's own, and a village that possesses legends of old. Legends, that it seems, had not yet reached their final chapter ... until Maria entered the scene. The manor house is in fact a Norman castle, set in a valley, surrounded by green rounded hills, with the village of Silverydew at the foot of the cone of Paradise hill. The house is inhabited by her cousin, his male cook Marmaduke Scarlett and the coachman Digweed. It is the proud boast of them all that “You (Miss Heliotrope) and Maria are the first members of the fair sex to set foot in this house for twenty years.”(Goudge 1946 p26) Some may find the Christian themes of the book rather strong, or old fashioned, but they come at one less aggressively on rereading and are mostly inoffensive and gentle. I personally, never liked the Old Parson much, but as I love all the other characters I am willing to forgive him.

There are no servants to be seen, and Sir Benjamin declares that no woman has set foot on the house for twenty years! And the foil character of Maria's "blameworthy" ancestress who was too "proud" to forgive her husband for little offenses like, oh, pretending to be in love with her when he really was after her inheritance, and then probably killing her father and infant brother to secure them. And in real life there is no way a man who had successfully battled through the feudal system to become a lord decided to just go live in a cave and not tell anyone, and if he did he was an asshole for abandoning his wife and daughter. She is definitely presented as more culpable than her husband, who was only really blamed for taking away property from monks. I felt like the women were always blamed more. Except for the governess, because she was pious, modest, and obedient. Of course, that resulted in her losing the man she loved and becoming a servant so are you sure you want us to take this to its logical conclusion, Ms. Goudge? The writing is completely charming --in the sense that great charm is always allied to intelligence and wit. All of the sentences are beautifully wrought, and the magical setting ("Moonacre")is so lovingly described that the reader can perfectly imagine it. The third strike is the language. It's as contrived as an imitation of Jane Austen or the Brontes; it has the tone and diction of someone who is desperately trying to tell a fairy tale. Also, instead of saying that a character "exclaims" something, she says "ejaculated." I know, I should be more mature, but it was distracting. Everybody going around ejaculating all the time... it's just jarring. OH, and Maria [Sue] keeps going through all the book's events "with a beating heart." ...well, she's alive isn't she? Admittedly, the third strike is really against the editor who should've caught the vanity-pressness of the language. The Secret of Moonacre was met with a mixed reception from critics. Some criticized the film's script and acting. [13] [14] Philip French of The Observer called it "A film about magic that remains obdurately unmagical." [15] Rating the film one out of five stars, The Independent's Anthony Quinn wrote that it had a "sluggish narrative" and accused it of "trying to hitch a lift on the Potter gravy train." [16] Simon Reynolds of Digital Spy wrote that the film was "let down by a script with tin-eared dialogue" and "laboured direction", but found the cast's "hilarious acting misjudgements" enjoyable nonetheless. [17] Kevin Maher of The National referred to the film as "bargain-basement fantasy", complaining that its plot was too predictable. [4]Age Lift: In the movie Benjamin and Miss Heliotrope are younger than in the book, while Robin who is implied to be the same age as Maria is noticeably older. a b "The Secret of Moonacre, aka The Moon Princess". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. 8 September 2008 . Retrieved 2 October 2020.

Goudge won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject. [2] It has been adapted for film and television. Rudkin, Francesca (24 September 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 20 September 2019. Babies Ever After: Averted with Sir Benjamin and Loveday and Miss Heliotrope and Old Parson. Due to their ages, they are all wed without issue. Played straight with Robin and Maria as they have ten children. Has been adapted into both a live-action TV series, Moonacre, and a movie, The Secret of Moonacre. The latter was directed by Gabor Csupo of Bridge to Terabithia fame, and while it is an enjoyable movie in its own right, it plays up the more overt fantasy elements of the book with Maria now having to force the two families together, before the 5000th moon since the curse was laid upon the family destroys Moonacre Valley. It also eliminates any reference to Old Parson (or the surrounding village) and re-tools the character of Robin into being the Big Bad's son. Oh, and it has Tim Curry as the Big Bad, Coeur de Noir. Damsel in Distress: Maria gets captured by the De Noirs in the forest several times, and Wrolf saves the day whenever she's in danger. During the climax, she becomes too helpless, leaving the good guys to try and rescue her. While underwater, the unicorn saves her from drowning.I think that this is a book that would work best read in childhood – and I do wish I had discovered it as a child – but it still has a great deal to offer to the grown-up reader who is still in touch with her inner child who loved books. Marmaduke Scarlett is described as often wearing a red hat and scarlett refers to a type of fabric that was frequently dyed red. I had never heard of this classic English book until a friend said it was the favourite book of her childhood . . . and, indeed, a "comfort read" well into adulthood. Now I see it everywhere -- and I marvel that I could have been unaware of it for so long.