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Collins 1954 First Edition

illustrated by Geoffrey Whittam Set around Rye Harbour, Sussex. Castle Farm is threatened by Foot and Mouth Disease. As is the summer camp planned by the four friends. First edition: 'small' overall; dark green boards with silver lettering on spine; 130x190mm; 256pp; title page vignette and 12 line illustrations; no map. Dustwrapper features Meryon riding the boundaries of Castle Farm; cover price 8s 6d; rear advertises eight of her other books, rear flap advertises the Young Elizabethan magazine.

Reprinted:

Collins 'six shilling edition' 1957:
Red boards, the same size as the first edition; black lettering; dustwrapper as first but with review quotes for the four Punchbowl Farm books on back; cover price 6s.

Other Editions:

BBC Radio serial 1955
Serialised on Children's Hour according to ME's list. (also mentioned on rear of The Nightbird's 6s edn d/w)

Collins serial 1953-4 Serialised in the Young Elizabethan Magazine before publication. The serial ran in seven episodes; the first being in the issue for October 1953 and the final appeared in the April 1954 issue. Illustrations by Geoffrey Whittam accompanied the text in each episode.

serialisation in Collins Young Elizabethan magazine

The Children's Book Club edition

Children's Book Club 1956: The book is the same size as the first, though marginally thicker. It is in green cloth, black lettering on spine only; 256pp; title page has The Children's Book Club on front, rear has 'THIS EDITION 1956'; title page vignette and twelve line illustrations; no maps. Dustwrapper front as first edition, spine base has a white band where 'Collins' appears on first (just visible in the illustration); front flap blurb as first edition.

Armada 1964: Abridged paperback edition, Armada number C95; 158pp; title page vignette and 6 of the original b/w illustrations by Whittam; cover by Peter Archer; cover price 2/6.

Armada 1964 cover

Collins Pony Library cover

Collins Pony Library 1972: New edition, abridged; pictorial boards, artist not credited; 125x190mm; 158pp; cheap paper; 5 of original illustrations. Reprinted 1973: ISBN 0 00 164303 7

Girls Gone By 2005:
Published November 2005.
A new paperback impression; full text and Geoffrey Whittam illustrations of the original book with the addition of two from the serialisation mentioned above but not seen again until now; 19x13mm (7.5x5 inches); 262pp.
As with their first reprint, 'Storm Ahead' the publishers have used full colour for the cover, reproducing the front of the first edition wrapper; the rear is a plain light blue showing the first edition spine on the left of a story summary from the front flap of the dustwrapper.

Girls Gone By edition 2005

A new preface by Shelley, Monica's daughter, introduces the book, intriguing snippets of memory from the days of her mother's writing. This is illustrated by five family photographs taken at the farm. Dingle, Bellybody and Cuss are revealed at last ! This is followed by a twenty page introduction to the author, the places and the books of Monica Edwards by Joy Wotton, illustrated throughout with photographs both of Farm and Rye Harbour. A mention of the Society and a short piece on the publication history of the book follow, and then the second title-page appears before the story really begins. I'm delighted that it reinstates the illustrator to his honoured place, omitted from the first title page to save confusion for Public Lending Rights purposes I'm told.

rear cover

It is a lovely book and will be a delight for those many who have been unable to get hold of a copy of this title.
ISBN 1-904417-72-8; published at £9.99, now £10.99 including postage from the publishers.
(Copies can be ordered from the Girls Gone By website, see 'Links' above.)