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Carrigmore Castle #5
The Tobermillin Oracle
Continues the adventures of the McKean children, their cousin Charlotte, and their remarkable cat Tiff. Here, they come to the assistance of a young English girl with amnesia who turns out to be the sole survivor of a wrecked air-liner.
184 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1962
6 people want to read
About the author
Meta Mayne Reid
41 books5 followersMeta Mayne Reid (1905–1991) was a Northern Irish children's writer.
Meta Mayne Reid was born to Marcus and Elvina Hopkins in Woodlesford, Yorkshire in 1905 and grew up there although her family was from Ulster in Ireland. She had one sister, Audrey. She was educated at home through governesses before going to Leeds Girls' High School. Mayne Reid went on to attend Manchester University. Later she moved to Crawfordsburn in County Down when her parents returned to the north of Ireland and there she was married to Dr E. Mayne Reid.
It was in Ulster that she set most of her novels, both historical fiction and modern settings with a fantasy side. She wrote more than twenty children's novels as well as two novels for adults and one collection of poetry. Reid was involved with the Belfast chapter of PEN as both secretary and, from 1970 to 1972, president.
Meta Mayne Reid was born to Marcus and Elvina Hopkins in Woodlesford, Yorkshire in 1905 and grew up there although her family was from Ulster in Ireland. She had one sister, Audrey. She was educated at home through governesses before going to Leeds Girls' High School. Mayne Reid went on to attend Manchester University. Later she moved to Crawfordsburn in County Down when her parents returned to the north of Ireland and there she was married to Dr E. Mayne Reid.
It was in Ulster that she set most of her novels, both historical fiction and modern settings with a fantasy side. She wrote more than twenty children's novels as well as two novels for adults and one collection of poetry. Reid was involved with the Belfast chapter of PEN as both secretary and, from 1970 to 1972, president.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 27, 2023
This final installment of the Carrigmore Castle series was published in 1962 and features an ever-so-slightly grittier plot than the preceding books, though not by a lot.
Half-Swiss, musical Rosa is completely out of the story for this one, out of town for piano purposes ("away on musical business" - Reid didn't put any effort into that aspect) and accompanied by her Uncle Richard and Charlotte's mum, Aunt Jane.
And indeed not. Tiffany had just recently given birth to a black kitten, sorry, a fierce, black Tiffany kitten, and is keen to show it off to the family. Mrs. McKean has just received a new mechanical washing machine as a 14th wedding anniversary present. There is an unfortunate situation when a cattle tick is torn from the neck of the kitten by Mr. McKean, the ferocious little beast bites one of the boys and runs for safety - into the mechanism of the washing machine. It is rescued, uninjured, but then bolts out of the home.... and goes properly missing. Throughout this story, there's a timer on in finding that kitten before it starves to death, and our magical talking Tiffany cat is almost entirely removed from the story as a result of her preoccupation and heartbreak over her missing baby.
And then there's a plane crash in a neighbouring field. 30 people on board, 29 burn to death, 1 is miraculously thrown free - a red-headed girl in a British school uniform, staggering out of the hedgerow, utterly shocked but unscathed, and completely amnesiac. Not knowing what to do with this person, Colly, Kay and Charlotte (staying with the McKeans at present) take her back home instead of the black kitten they sought.
The comparative grittiness of this one is mostly in the adult world: . Also a little sad is the identification of one of the other passengers on the doomed flight from Athens to Liverpool. 'Sunday', who in time and in fits and starts recovers her memory and identity, had been in Greece, though the circumstances are mysterious and slowly revealed throughout the story.
Hazel magic-wise, this story has the usual elements: time-slip (this time alllll the way back to ancient Greece and the Oracle at Delphi), transmutation (sparrows, foxes), and in lost recent memories (who 'Sunday' is, why she was in Greece, where she was going, if she was accompanied on the wrecked plane or not). But sadly we have a mourning Tiffany to contend with, when she makes an appearance, and Kay in particular is quite poorly disposed towards 'Sunday' - by the end, all of the Tobermillin children are fairly intolerant of her (understandable and circumstantial) self-centeredness, leading to major friction and further crisis (even Mrs. McKean ticks her off pretty sharply, and, to my mind, unfairly).
It's an odd one to end the series on. I almost had the feeling that Meta Mayne Reid was tired of the series and feeling rather jaded when she wrote it. Her dedication reads:
Did she intend to carry on the series? Having a rare black 'Tiffany' cat born might have left room for further sequels (this kitten seemed to be more highly valued than Coffeekitten or the other fluff balls of earlier books), and none of the children foreswore the magic or aged beyond it... I can't be sure. I didn't need the series to wrap up cleanly anyway, but I'm not sure that she didn't leave the door open for another installment, should inspiration strike. As each of these books were all so wonderfully varied from the one before, it may be wrong of me to attempt to draw conclusions on the series as a whole based on what happened to become the final book. There were also two typos (punctuation), which were unheard of in the earlier books. Maybe they portend nothing at all. I can't say this story was untidy or poorly crafted (I'm not sure Reid could write a bad book!), but it did seem less magically radiant than the early installments.
An excellent series. I saw that Meta Mayne Reid was discussed somewhere other than in the "Forgotten Vintage Children's Lit We Want Republished!" group (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...) - it was in a Fantasy group, on the thread asking which book or books got you hooked on the genre. A lone voice mentioned that her Aunt had given her Meta Mayne Reid books as a young reader, all those years ago... It was lovely to read that someone found their niche as a result of this very series. I can see why my Goodreads friend Len recommended it to me (thanks again, Len!). This series will be passed onto the next generation in our household, and hopefully cherished long after.
Half-Swiss, musical Rosa is completely out of the story for this one, out of town for piano purposes ("away on musical business" - Reid didn't put any effort into that aspect) and accompanied by her Uncle Richard and Charlotte's mum, Aunt Jane.
This sounds rather complicated, so must be explained at once. The McKeans lived at Tobermillin, overlooking Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. The three children were Colly (or Colin), Kay (or Kenneth) and Baby Janet. Mrs. McKean's sister was Aunt Jane, and Charlotte was her daughter, but after Charlotte's father died, Aunt Jane married Richard Galloway and now they lived not very far up the valley at Coolnean. Rosa, Uncle Richard's half-Swiss niece, lived with them, for her father and mother had died some years before.The story opens with a Sign - the Northern Lights in the night, something only Kay sees with Tiffany. Tiffany is vague or uncertain about what the Aurora portents, but whatever it is won't be trivial.
This time, however, if there was going to be an adventure, Rosa would be out of it, and it would all have to be shared between Colly and Kay and their cousin, Charlotte - for baby Janet was still too small to come out without Mother.
And indeed not. Tiffany had just recently given birth to a black kitten, sorry, a fierce, black Tiffany kitten, and is keen to show it off to the family. Mrs. McKean has just received a new mechanical washing machine as a 14th wedding anniversary present. There is an unfortunate situation when a cattle tick is torn from the neck of the kitten by Mr. McKean, the ferocious little beast bites one of the boys and runs for safety - into the mechanism of the washing machine. It is rescued, uninjured, but then bolts out of the home.... and goes properly missing. Throughout this story, there's a timer on in finding that kitten before it starves to death, and our magical talking Tiffany cat is almost entirely removed from the story as a result of her preoccupation and heartbreak over her missing baby.
And then there's a plane crash in a neighbouring field. 30 people on board, 29 burn to death, 1 is miraculously thrown free - a red-headed girl in a British school uniform, staggering out of the hedgerow, utterly shocked but unscathed, and completely amnesiac. Not knowing what to do with this person, Colly, Kay and Charlotte (staying with the McKeans at present) take her back home instead of the black kitten they sought.
The comparative grittiness of this one is mostly in the adult world: . Also a little sad is the identification of one of the other passengers on the doomed flight from Athens to Liverpool. 'Sunday', who in time and in fits and starts recovers her memory and identity, had been in Greece, though the circumstances are mysterious and slowly revealed throughout the story.
Hazel magic-wise, this story has the usual elements: time-slip (this time alllll the way back to ancient Greece and the Oracle at Delphi), transmutation (sparrows, foxes), and in lost recent memories (who 'Sunday' is, why she was in Greece, where she was going, if she was accompanied on the wrecked plane or not). But sadly we have a mourning Tiffany to contend with, when she makes an appearance, and Kay in particular is quite poorly disposed towards 'Sunday' - by the end, all of the Tobermillin children are fairly intolerant of her (understandable and circumstantial) self-centeredness, leading to major friction and further crisis (even Mrs. McKean ticks her off pretty sharply, and, to my mind, unfairly).
It's an odd one to end the series on. I almost had the feeling that Meta Mayne Reid was tired of the series and feeling rather jaded when she wrote it. Her dedication reads:
For E. M. R. - remembering the cagebirds in the Sophokleous, and the Castalian SpringI rather wonder if she was captivated by ancient Greece and simultaneously tired of the McKeans. I wish she had written more of the book to be set in Greece, though there are two separate timelines that are visited in that setting: one on 'Terenos', an island reached by ferry from Athens, and the other in ancient Delphi. Can't reasonably ask for much more, I suppose. But her cursory dismissal of Rosa and guardians, and the way 'Sunday' finds the letter sent from Rosa to Charlotte to be a bore - I almost felt that Reid had inserted much of herself into 'Sunday', who was juxtaposed to (and somewhat trapped with) the Tobermillin crew.
Did she intend to carry on the series? Having a rare black 'Tiffany' cat born might have left room for further sequels (this kitten seemed to be more highly valued than Coffeekitten or the other fluff balls of earlier books), and none of the children foreswore the magic or aged beyond it... I can't be sure. I didn't need the series to wrap up cleanly anyway, but I'm not sure that she didn't leave the door open for another installment, should inspiration strike. As each of these books were all so wonderfully varied from the one before, it may be wrong of me to attempt to draw conclusions on the series as a whole based on what happened to become the final book. There were also two typos (punctuation), which were unheard of in the earlier books. Maybe they portend nothing at all. I can't say this story was untidy or poorly crafted (I'm not sure Reid could write a bad book!), but it did seem less magically radiant than the early installments.
An excellent series. I saw that Meta Mayne Reid was discussed somewhere other than in the "Forgotten Vintage Children's Lit We Want Republished!" group (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...) - it was in a Fantasy group, on the thread asking which book or books got you hooked on the genre. A lone voice mentioned that her Aunt had given her Meta Mayne Reid books as a young reader, all those years ago... It was lovely to read that someone found their niche as a result of this very series. I can see why my Goodreads friend Len recommended it to me (thanks again, Len!). This series will be passed onto the next generation in our household, and hopefully cherished long after.
Displaying 1 of 1 review