- The Far-Distant Oxus
"The Far-Distant Oxus" is a children’s novel of 1937, written by Katharine Hull (1921-1977) [Carpenter and Prichard, 182.] and Pamela Whitlock (1920-1982) [Carpenter and Prichard, 569.] . The title is taken 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 [Bearne and Watson, 56.] . They discovered shared interests and decided to write a story about ponies set on
Exmoor [Bearne and Watson, 56.] . They planned out the entire book and wrote alternate chapters, exchanging them afterwards to edit [Bearne and Watson, 56.] . The story follows the model of the books ofArthur Ransome , describing the school holiday adventures of children of prosperous families, centred on outdoor activity and a vividly imagined landscape: Ransome had boats andWindermere , "The Far-Distant Oxus" had ponies and Exmoor. Whitlock sent the manuscript to Ransome in March 1937; he in turn brought it to his publisherJonathan Cape , saying that he had "the best children's book of 1937" for him. [Brogan, 353.] Cape published the book in the same format asSwallows and Amazons , and persuadedArthur Ransome 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' [Watson, 1121] . The two authors followed it with "Escape to Persia" (1938), "The Oxus in Summer" (1939) and "Crowns" (1947). [Carpenter and Prichard, 182.]Fidra Books reissued the novel in August, 2008. [ [http://www.fidrabooks.com/publishing/hull-whitlock.shtml Fidra Books page on the book] ]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 Humprey Carpenter and Mari Prichard, Oxford: OUP, 1984
*"Where Texts and Children Meet", by Eve Bearne and Victor Watson, Routledge, 1999Notes
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