Book Review: Down to the Bonny Glen by Melissa Wiley

Down to the Bonny Glen by Melissa Wiley
Little House: The Martha Years Book 3
Paperback, 321 pages, Unabridged
HarperTrophy
May 8, 2001
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction, YA

Source: Personal collection

Martha is frustrated because Mum has said she's too old to be playing on the moors now, and she must have a governess. First there's Miss Norrie. All she must to do is teach Martha sewing and etiquette. But Martha's high spirits are too much for her, and she leaves in a hurry. Martha thinks that's the end of that, but then another governess shows up. Her name is Miss Crow, and Martha is sure she's going to be even worse!
Down To The Bonny Glen is the third book in The Martha Years, an ongoing series about another spirited girl from America's most beloved pioneer family.

In this third book of what is a four book series, we see Martha hitting that age where she is starting to grow up. She still loves to be outside and have fun instead of doing her lessons (like any child), but she starts to become aware of the world around her. She begins to see that her sister, Grisie, is of an age where she might be leaving home soon and what responsibilities growing up and becoming a woman entail. You can see a real difference between the reckless child of the beginning of the novel (or from the first two books) and the young girl who is taking her actions into account and starting to consider the future beyond five minutes away. This is certainly the theme of this novel and one that most of the age-appropriate readers will understand. Despite this growing up phase, there is still one rollicking adventure in the last quarter of the book!

We also see some set up in this novel for obviously book 4, but also for what will take us into the Charlotte years (Martha’s daughter). We first meet Lew Tucker, who will end up becoming Martha’s husband down the road and there is a lot of discussion regarding what lies beyond the glen that they live in – the big cities and America, where Martha will eventually travel.

There are still some Scottish traditions, dialogue, and stories here that we have grown to expect and enjoy from the earlier novels.

I look forward to seeing how this series concludes and how it will link into the next – the Charlotte Years. I have read widely from within the various parts of these series, but never completely through each to see how they connect.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Unofficial Book Reviewer

Please be aware that this series is currently out of print but can often be found on Ebay or Half.com - but you have to look often because they can be exorbitantly priced.  There was also an abridged version of many of these books released.  I would advise trying to check your local libraries for these books.  There was apparently some discussion at some point about bringing them back as e-books, so let the publisher know you are interested! Email, tweet, Facebook, etc!

Also by Melissa Wiley:

Melissa Wiley wrote both the Martha and Charlotte Years of the Little House series, the other books in the Martha Years are:

Little House in the Highlands (Book 1)
[My Review]

On the Far Side of the Loch (Book 2)

[My Review]

Beyond the Heather Hills (Book 4)

 
Find Melissa Wiley: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter


 


Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Little House in the Highlands by Melissa Wiley

Little House in the Highlands by Melissa Wiley
Little House: The Martha Years Book 1

Paperback, 271 pages, Unabridged

HarperTrophy

February 1999
★★★★½☆

Genre: Historical Fiction, YA

Source: Personal collection

“In Little House in the Highlands, we meet Martha Morse, a spirited six-year-old Scottish girl who will grow to be the great-grandmother of American pioneer and writer, Laura Ingalls Wilder. But, as a child, Martha’s main concern is how to cope with her life as a laird’s daughter. Martha has a restless spirit and would rather be running barefoot through the fields of heather and listening to magical tales about fairies and other Wee Folk than learning to sew like a proper young lady. 

Sprinkled with 18th-century Scottish vocabulary and filled with details of everyday life, Martha’s story will transport you to a time and place when fairies were rumored to roam the hills of Scotland and ever-curious little girls hoped to catch glimpses of them..”

This companion series to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House series is perfect for young girls or those who are still young at heart. The Marta Years is a four book series covering the young years of Martha Morse, Laura’s great grandmother, in her home in Scotland. I would style this as an introduction into the series. We really get to meet Martha, her family, and are introduced to the way of life in Scotland in the 1770’s.

Martha is a spirited young girl. She would rather play outside with the boys and get dirty than stay inside practicing sewing, embroidering etc. She wants to go to school and grow up faster so that she can be like her 15 year old sister. Martha’s character is something that many young children, especially today, can relate to at least to some extent. I loved seeing the world from her point of view.

Wiley also does a fantastic job of interweaving the culture and customs of the Scots into this YA novel. We learn about tales children were told, hear mythology about fairies, brownies and magic. The book leads up to the big celebration of Hogmanay and we get involved in all of the details from how food is prepared to the games and gifts given. The language used when the characters speak to each other evokes the feel of Scottish while still being words that a young reader would be able to grasp and understand. She also includes traditional Scottish terms, for example, haggis, and is always careful to explain these terms.

For a young reader this book has just enough excitement and adventure to keep them entertained while still teaching them about the Scottish culture and building up to the traditional Little House series. For an adult reader the pages will fly by and you will be done before you know it – but it is still quite an enjoyable read!

Please be aware that this series is currently out of print, but can often be found on Ebay or Half.com - but you have to look often because they can be exorbitantly priced.  There was also an abridged version of many of these books released (but really how do you abridge a less than 300 page YA book!).  I would advise trying to check your local libraries for these books.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• My Domestic Church

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia
**Please note that the version available for purchase is not the same one I read, but an abridged version**

Also in the Little House Series:

There are 5 series of books within the Little House Series each focusing on a different family member of Laura’s.  They are not all written by the same author.

The Far Side of the Loch (Martha #2)
[My Review]

Down to the Bonny Glen (Martha #3)
[My Review]

Beyond the Heather Hills (Martha #4)

Little House by Boston Bay (Charlotte #1)

On Tide Mill Lane (Charlotte #2)

The Road from Roxbury (Charlotte #3)

Across the Puddingstone Dam (Charlotte #4)

Little House in Brookfield (Caroline #1)

Little Town at the Crossroads (Caroline #2)

Little Clearing in the Woods (Caroline #3)

On Top of Concord Hill (Caroline #4)

Across the Rolling River (Caroline #5)

Little City by the Lake (Caroline #6)

A Little House of Their Own (Caroline #7)

Little House in the Big Woods (Laura #1)

Little House on the Prairie (Laura #2)

Farmer Boy (Laura #3)

On the Banks of Plum Creek (Laura #4)

By the Shores of Silver Lake (Laura #5)

The Long Winter (Laura #6)

Little Town on the Prairie (Laura #7)

These Happy Golden Years (Laura #8)

The First Four Years (Laura #9)

On the Way Home (Laura #10)

West from Home (Laura #11)

Little House on Rocky Ridge (Rose #1)

Little Farm in the Ozarks (Rose #2)

In the Land of the Big Red Apple (Rose #3)

On the Other Side of the Hill (Rose #4)

Little Town in the Ozarks (Rose #5)

New Dawn on Rocky Ridge (Rose #6)

On the Banks of the Bayou (Rose #7)

Bachelor Girl (Rose #8)

Find Melissa Wiley: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest 

 
Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Introducing The Martha Years of the Little House Saga

I’m sure many of you have read at least one book from the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It is almost a rite of passage or required reading for a young girl. I haven’t read all of the books, maybe 3, but I always enjoyed reading them. Did you know that there are several companion series to the Laura Years based on the other women in her family? There are the Martha Years (about her great-grandmother Martha Morse), the Charlotte Years (about her grandmother Charlotte Tucker), the Caroline Years (about her mother Caroline Quinner) and the Rose Years (about her daughter Rose Wilder). I have read a couple of these as well and have heartily enjoyed them and am now making it my mission to finish reading/reviewing the whole collection – now that I own them all. I wanted to take this time to introduce you to the Martha Years – as this will be the first series I will be reading.

The Martha Years cover the childhood (age 6-10) of Martha Morse in Scotland and is written by Melissa Wiley (pen name for author Melissa Peterson, will go into that a little later). Martha is the youngest daughter of the Laird and we get to explore all different aspects of life in Scotland in the late 1770’s to early 1780’s. She is quite the little spitfire.

I know several of you have asked it the past about how historical these books are and if they are really about members of Laura’s family. I was able to ferret out some information at Melissa Wiley’s website about this. Here is a Q&A answer from Wiley’s site about the historical information:

“Martha Morse and Charlotte Tucker were real people. We don't know much about the real Martha; what little we do know is from a letter written by Laura's sister, Grace Ingalls Dow. Grace wrote that her great-grandmother, Martha Morse, was the daughter of a Scottish laird who married someone the family considered beneath her station. We know that Martha and Lew married in Boston on Jan. 1, 1799. 

For Martha's childhood I had to do even more imagining! That's why these books are historical fiction, not biography. We didn't know much about her family except that bit about her father being a laird. I had a wonderful researcher in Edinburgh who helped me look up the details big and small that would bring Martha's story to life. I worked hard to present an accurate picture of what life in that time, place, and situation might have been like for her. 

Loch Caraid and Glencaraid are fictional places. I could show you on a map exactly where I imagine them to be! Look for the town of Crieff: that's a real village I mention several times in Martha's stories.” (from Melissa Wiley’s website).

There are four books in the Martha Years series – it sounds like there were supposed to be more but the publisher “decided to go a different way”. The books are: Little House in the Highlands Book 1, On the Far Side of the Loch Book 2, Down to the Bonny Glen Book 3, and Beyond the Heather Hills Book 4.

A bit of trivia for you – the Martha, Charlotte, and Caroline Years are all written under pen names whose last names begin with “Wil” – Wiley, Wilkins, and Wilkes. This was done so that they would be shelved right near the Wilder authored books and the rest of the Little House girls. The Rose Years were authored by Macbride so I’m not sure what happed to the trend.

It is unfortunately difficult to get your hands on any of these companion series books for a reasonable price. They are currently out of print, so none of the booksellers (big name or indie that I contacted) can get them. If you keep your eye out on Ebay, Half.com, Alibris, etc you can find them – sometimes reasonably priced. I just finished acquiring all my own. I hope they will be put back in print at some future date. But if you can get your hands on them they are a real treat.




Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court