Page 24 | Books you thought no one else has read

tweetysylvester · 2025-03-07T20:00:12+00:00

It's so fun to find rare books to read, or just look up or hear about less known books, so thought I'd start a thread about this. Nostalgic novels, YA books, current titles you discovered very randomly...

Terpsichore · 10/03/2025 00:01

TakeMyLifeAndLetItBe · 09/03/2025 23:07

I really love old books and have enjoyed:

From Jest to Earnest by E. P. Roe
Red Dickon by Tom Bevan
Her Benny by Silas Hocking
From Death into Life by William Haslam

Has anyone else read any of those? I love nothing more than a good rifle through the vintage books in charity shops or second-hand book shops and have found some real gems.

Edited

Her Benny! That takes me back, @TakeMyLifeAndLetItBe, we had a copy of that at home, probably because my parents were both from Liverpool, where it’s set. I just googled and stumbled across an audiobook version of it on the Internet Archive, which is read by an American woman. Very odd hearing her try to render the dialect of two Victorian Scouse urchins….

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 09/03/2025 23:31

CordeliaNaismithVorkosigan · 09/03/2025 21:22

Meant to say earlier, I lovedTheLand of Green Ginger. The two unappealing princes (one was called Rub Dub Ben Thud, but I can’t remember the other) and the magic carpet. Alas, my copy is long gone - this thread has inspired me to buy it for DD.

From memory I think Tintac Ping Foo is the name of the other prince. Tried to find my copy to check but it seems to be mislaid in the house somewhere. Too many books, not enough organisation. 😁

TakeMyLifeAndLetItBe · 09/03/2025 23:07

I really love old books and have enjoyed:

From Jest to Earnest by E. P. Roe
Red Dickon by Tom Bevan
Her Benny by Silas Hocking
From Death into Life by William Haslam

Has anyone else read any of those? I love nothing more than a good rifle through the vintage books in charity shops or second-hand book shops and have found some real gems.

CordeliaNaismithVorkosigan · 09/03/2025 21:22

Meant to say earlier, I lovedTheLand of Green Ginger. The two unappealing princes (one was called Rub Dub Ben Thud, but I can’t remember the other) and the magic carpet. Alas, my copy is long gone - this thread has inspired me to buy it for DD.

Puppylucky · 09/03/2025 20:53

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 07/03/2025 21:49

The Land of Green Ginger, by Noel Langley.

Oh my god I loved this book as a kid! Can't remember anything about it now but seeing the title on this thread was a total flashback

Pianoaholic · 09/03/2025 20:41

horsesandponiesandfoalsOhMy · 08/03/2025 11:00

Love The Children who lived in a Barn - I read it to my 8yr old last year and she loved it too

Also loved the Monica Dickens "one pair of hands" etc. had forgotten about them, am inspired to re-read.

"Twopence to cross the Mersey" (Helen Forrester) was another book (first of a series) I was obsessed with as a teen alongside the Monica Dickens.

Other favourites that seem to be becoming less well known - Nancy Mitford books and E.F.Benson's Lucia.

I also loved all those Helen Forrester books as a teen, we must have had similar tastes!

Barbadossunset · 09/03/2025 20:23

@FlatErica thank you - it sounds excellent.

AsCoolAsKimDeal · 09/03/2025 20:23

BaMamma · 07/03/2025 20:09

I rarely meet anyone who reads Pynchon or Donald Barthelme

Pynchon can be hard work but Mason
& Dixon is one of my favourite books

AsCoolAsKimDeal · 09/03/2025 20:21

FrostyMorn · 07/03/2025 21:57

A children's series from me too: the Lone Pine adventures by Malcolm Saville. Out of print now, I'm sure. I read them in the 80s and they were quite old fashioned even then but vastly, vastly superior to Enid Blyton! Wonderful sense of place, including Rye and Dartmoor. And a truly menacing 'baddie'.

Also loved Hounds of the Morrigan and Alan Garner!

I loved the Lone Pine books, borrowed from the library in the late 70s. Malcolm Savile seems to have been completely forgotten.

TakeMyLifeAndLetItBe · 09/03/2025 20:14

SunnyWarrington · 09/03/2025 01:53

@TakeMyLifeAndLetItBe
I don't know that one, I'll check it out - Brendon Chase was my favourite as a child.

I've not heard of Brendan Chase, thanks for the recommendation 😀

shellyleppard · 09/03/2025 20:11

The dark tower series by Stephen king......horrendously long gap between publishing books though

JennyChawleigh · 09/03/2025 20:07

pollyhemlock · 09/03/2025 18:05

Eleanor Farjeon’s fairy tales have a particularly haunting quality. My favourite was Elsie Piddock Skips in her Sleep.

Show quote history

Yes I agree - and I have a copy of Eleanor Farjeon's "om Tiddler's Ground". The whole story plays on London placenames - the Batter Sea, the Swiss Cottage etc.

marthasmum · 09/03/2025 19:38

Oh, I read I Never Promised You a Rose Garden too! My best friend was being diagnosed with schizophrenia around this time and it had a very powerful impact on me. I hadn’t read anything like it before. The whole theme about all her delusions having characters. Interesting, I remember reading recently that as part of therapy, people with psychosis were being encouraged to creat avatars for the voices they hear and that this was beneficial for them.

TwistedKeys · 09/03/2025 19:18

Pianoaholic · 07/03/2025 21:49

Monica Dickens books-My Turn to make the Tea. One Pair of Feet and Marianna were books I enjoyed, more so than Charles Dickens (her grandfather I think)
Not met anyone who has read these, would be interested to know if people on here have!

Haven't read those Marcel Pagnole books, but recently enjoyed re watching Jean de Florette and Manon de Source films.

I’ve read and reread both the Monica Dickens books. Not sure how I came across them - I recall I had second hand copies.

TwistedKeys · 09/03/2025 18:43

LoyalGreenHam · 07/03/2025 20:12

The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea. Gearing up to read it to my daughter but terrified it won’t be as magical as I remember it!

Oh I remember reading this! It was fantastic.

pollyhemlock · 09/03/2025 18:05

JennyChawleigh · 09/03/2025 15:06

I still have quite a few Puffin and Peacock paperbacks from the 60s - "Redcap Runs Away" about a boy who joins a travelling band of minstrels in medieval England is a favourite.

And did anyone read Eleanor Farjeon's fairy tales?

Eleanor Farjeon’s fairy tales have a particularly haunting quality. My favourite was Elsie Piddock Skips in her Sleep.

Boiledeggandtoast · 09/03/2025 17:38

EBearhug · 09/03/2025 15:21

Yes, i read Eleanor Farjeon. Also Ruth Manning-Sanders, illustrated by Robin Jacques.

Ooh, I loved those and the illustrations were fabulous. My favourite was The Book of Witches (I still have a treasured hardback copy.)

Tarkan · 09/03/2025 16:13

Oh Hannah Green definitely rings more of a bell than Joanne Greenberg does, thanks @Pemba

I didn't know there was a movie and I've just found out there was a play around 20 years ago as well. I'll have to keep an eye out for the movie though. Thanks!

Pemba · 09/03/2025 16:06

Tarkan · 08/03/2025 11:20

When I was at high school we had to pick a book to write a long discursive essay about. The teachers all basically begged us not to pick Trainspotting as it had been done to death by then. My parents ended up giving me a random book of theirs to write my essay on and I've never come across anyone else who's read it.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Had to Google for the author as I couldn't remember it but it's by Joanne Greenberg.

I ended up absolutely fascinated by schizophrenia and other mental health conditions at the time because of it.

@Tarkan I also read 'I Never Promised you a Rose Garden' and found it fascinating! As a teenager in about 1979. Maybe I've still got my old paperback around somewhere.. My copy gave the author's name as 'Hannah Green' but somehow I became aware this was the pen name of Joanne Greenberg.

But I just discovered that I can get it on Kindle, only £4.99.

Did you know that a film adaptation came out in 1977? About 3 or 4 years ago I bought it digitally on Prime, but I see it's no longer available there. But you can apparently stream it for free on something called Plex. Or the DVD is still available. The film was not bad but not a patch on the book, as often happens.

EBearhug · 09/03/2025 15:21

Yes, i read Eleanor Farjeon. Also Ruth Manning-Sanders, illustrated by Robin Jacques.

cheezncrackers · 09/03/2025 15:08

Enterthewolves · 07/03/2025 20:01

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy - it is well known, loads of people must have read it…but I haven’t met one

I've read it! I really enjoyed it.

JennyChawleigh · 09/03/2025 15:06

I still have quite a few Puffin and Peacock paperbacks from the 60s - "Redcap Runs Away" about a boy who joins a travelling band of minstrels in medieval England is a favourite.

And did anyone read Eleanor Farjeon's fairy tales?

YourAmplePlumPoster · 09/03/2025 14:53

Uncle Paul by Celia Fremlin.
The Good Companions by J.B.Priestley.

MementoMountain · 09/03/2025 13:43

Another great favourite was Satchkin Patchkin - a fairy story, lovely poetic language, with a memorable villain "a lean man, a mean man, a man without a smile". It deserves to be better known than it is.

"Satchkin Patchkin, come and lift the latchkin..."

I just "heard" that in my late mother's voice when I read your post. She was a drama teacher and her bedtime reading was brilliant when we were small.

Thank you.

LunaNorth · 09/03/2025 12:11

Me too with the crush on Deverill.