Christmas with the Savages

by Mary Clive

  Mary belonged to a family of clever, argumentative children. Her mother favoured the eldest brother, Edward. Like Lionel in the story, he adored putting on plays and when he grew up he ran his own theatre company.

  The family lived mainly at North Aston, near Oxford, and partly in London, but in the summer they always went to Pakenham Hall in County Westmeath in Ireland, even though there was a civil war going on for much of her childhood.

  Where Did the Story Come From?

  The story is based on Mary’s memories of spending Christmas when she was little with her mother’s parents, the Earl and Countess of Jersey, at Middleton Park, near Bicester, which has now been demolished. Her grandmother Margaret Jersey was bossy and cultured like Lady Tamerlane. All the children are based on Mary’s real brothers, sisters and cousins, except Evelyn, who is invented. Mary herself is Betty, very shy with white-blonde hair. Harry is based on her brother Frank, later Earl of Longford, who was a Labour politician and a campaigner for prison reform. Little Tommy Howliboo is her cousin George, who became Earl of Jersey and gave his other house, Osterley Park, to the National Trust.

  The First World War brought huge changes to English life. For people like Mary who could just remember life before, it was like another world, one which her children could hardly imagine. She wrote this book to help them see it.

  Guess Who?

  A Although she was old she was brisk, and although she was not playful she sometimes gave me half-crowns.

  B … she was a poor, frightened creature whom I treated like mud, and who hardly spoke to anybody in any language.

  C … a fat little thing with very red cheeks and very white hair.

  D They were quite small, pretty little things but nervous …

  E … had long hair that she could sit on …

  ANSWERS:

  A) Lady Tamerlane

  B) Marguerite

  C) Betty

  D) the Howliboo children

  E) Peggy

  Words Glorious Words!

  Lots of words have several different meanings – here are a few you’ll find in this Puffin book. Use a dictionary or look them up online to find other definitions.

  half-crown a British coin that was used until 1967, and was worth one-eighth of a pound today

  ottoman a piece of furniture that served as a low seat without a back or arms, and also as a box since the seat could open to become a lid

  broderie anglaise the French term for English embroidery. It is a needlework technique that was most commonly used on women’s clothing

  odious extremely unpleasant and foul

  cruet small containers used to store salt, pepper, oil or vinegar on a dining table

  lumber room a room used to store big or unused objects. Similar to a storage room

  garret an attic or small space at the top of a house that is suitable for living purposes

  puce a dark red or purple-brown colour

  still room a room used by the housekeeper to store preserves, cakes and liqueurs and in which to prepare tea and coffee

  John Gilpin a leading English ballet dancer who died in 1983

  bonne a nursemaid or housemaid who was typically French

  bull’s-eyes large and round hardboiled peppermint sweets

  Quiz

  Thinking caps on – let’s see how much you can remember! Answers are on the next page. (No peeking!)

  1 What is the name of the painting in Evelyn’s room?

  a) Passing the Brook

  b) Crossing the Brook

  c) Crossing the Lake

  d) Passing the Stream

  2 What colour are the eyes of Mrs Peabody’s glass swan?

  a) Red

  b) Yellow

  c) Green

  d) Blue

  3 Where was the inkpot kept in the billiard room?

  a) The hoof of a racehorse

  b) A tiger’s head

  c) The tusk of an elephant

  d) An elephant’s foot

  4 What does Evelyn know how to draw?

  a) Trees

  b) Houses

  c) Flowers

  d) Fairies

  5 What do the children call Lionel’s Secret Place?

  a) The Hut in the Woods

  b) The Secret House

  c) The Little Trespassing House

  d) The Little Hidden House

  ANSWERS:

  1) b

  2) a

  3) a

  4) d

  5) c

  The very first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published and becomes a bestseller.

  African-American Rosa Parks is arrested after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person in Alabama, USA. Her brave act was a courageous step towards racial equality.

  Walt Disney releases The Lady and the Tramp.

  Make and Do

  A snowman Christmas-tree ornament!

  To celebrate an Edwardian Christmas, children like Evelyn would make their own decorations to create a festive atmosphere in their houses. Have a go at making your own snowman decoration to add a touch of Edwardian culture to your Christmas tree this year!

  YOU WILL NEED:

  ❋ 1 small piece of white felt

  ❋ 3 white two-hole buttons ranging in size

  ❋ White glue

  ❋ Scissors

  ❋ Pencil

  ❋ 1 small piece of coloured felt

  ❋ 2 short pieces of ribbon

  1 Glue the buttons on to the white felt, arranging them vertically in order from smallest at the top to largest at the bottom, and so that their edges are touching. Make sure the smallest top button is positioned so that its 2 holes are horizontal, and the other two buttons have their holes vertically placed. Leave for at least 15 minutes to dry.

  2 Use scissors to cut the white felt round the buttons, leaving a small gap between the edge of the buttons and where you are cutting.

  3 Use a pencil to trace a small hat on to the piece of coloured felt. Then cut out the hat using scissors.

  4 Attach the hat on to the small top button using the glue, and leave to dry.

  5 Then wrap a piece of flat ribbon round the snowman’s neck (between the top and middle button) to be its scarf.

  6 Glue the other piece of ribbon into a looped position behind the hat. Leave to dry before you hang it on the tree.

  Did You Know?

  Mary had three sisters and two of them were also writers! Pansy was a novelist and Violet was a biographer.

  During her time as a debutante, Mary Clive spent time modelling for Pond’s beauty products.

  Mary went on a secret trip all by herself, cycling across France and Switzerland!

  Without technology, children in the Edwardian era would use their imagination a lot when they played. A common playtime activity would be hosting a tea party for their dolls.

  Hopscotch was played even in Edwardian times, and without the traffic of today it was easy to mark out the gridded numbers and play on the street.

  Puffin Writing Tips

  Make a storyboard! This will help you organize all your ideas and plan your story.

  Keep a diary! Writing daily will help improve your writing skills and give you ideas for a story. Plus you’ll have lots of fun reading it once a few years have passed!

  Keep your eyes open! New ideas are everywhere around you, so pick something that interests you and start writing!

  If you have enjoyed reading Christmas with the Savages you may like to read Bogwoppit, written by Ursula Moray Williams, in which Samantha meets a most unusual creature …

  Ursula Moray

  BOGWOPPIT

  4. Bogwoppits

  To see Samantha and her Aunt Daisy Clandorris drinking a cup of tea together on the same bed, one would have imagined they had been the best of friends all their lives. Instead of which they were arguing hotly about whether they were going to live the rest of their days together or apart.

  ‘I can’t have you. You must
go,’ said Lady Clandorris, sipping her tea.

  ‘I have nowhere to go to,’ said Samantha stubbornly, sipping hers.

  ‘Back to your house,’ said Lady Clandorris.

  ‘The house is sold.’

  ‘Back to your Aunt Lily.’

  ‘She’s flying to America.’

  ‘Go and catch up with her!’

  Their voices grew louder and louder. ‘I can’t! She’s on the plane by now,’ said Samantha. ‘And her husband is. He won’t have me either,’ she explained.

  ‘You’ll have to work if you stay here!’ snapped Lady Clandorris after a long and angry pause.

  Samantha’s eyes gleamed. She pictured herself as Sara Crewe and Cinderella all rolled into one.

  ‘I have to work!’ said Lady Clandorris, spoiling the effect, ‘and I can’t possibly work for both of us.’

  ‘I will work!’ said Samantha meekly.

  ‘And live in the kitchen!’ said Lady Clandorris.

  ‘Oh yes!’ said Samantha gladly.

  ‘I live in the kitchen!’ cried Lady Clandorris, ‘and I cannot bear to have anyone at my heels all day long! You can only live in the kitchen when I am not living in the kitchen, and that’s for certain!’

  ‘I can stay in my bedroom, in between,’ Samantha offered agreeably.

  ‘What bedroom? I haven’t got a bedroom for you!’ shouted Lady Clandorris. ‘I don’t want you next to my bedroom! You probably snore!’

  ‘Could I have an attic, or something?’ Samantha asked cheerfully.

  ‘You can have any room you please as long as you keep it tidy and stay away from me!’ Lady Clandorris conceded. ‘Can you cook?’

  ‘Oh yes!’ said Samantha, ‘I can cook.’

  ‘Then you can look after yourself!’ said her Aunt Daisy with relief. ‘I eat very little myself – mostly spinach and herbs and things out of tins.’

  ‘Ugh!’ said Samantha unguardedly. She added hastily: ‘I’m afraid there is a rat in your kitchen.’

  ‘There is not!’ yelled Lady Clandorris. ‘No rat at all! Never has been. You don’t know what you are talking about! It is probably a bogwoppit.’

  ‘A what ?’ exclaimed Samantha.

  ‘You’ll see soon enough!’ her aunt returned, ‘and the very first thing you can do for your keep is take it down to the marshes and put it back into the pool. I do it twenty times a day. I can’t think how it got here. And after that,’ her aunt added, ‘you can make some plans for your future. I can’t bear the sight of you, and shan’t keep you here a moment longer than the weekend.’

  Samantha did not reply. She collected both teacups and saucers, put them on to her tray, and carried them downstairs to the kitchen, leaving Lady Clandorris to get on with her dressing.

  So far so good, Samantha thought. It was very much the kind of welcome she had imagined, and everything was working out according to all the stories she had ever read. Lady Clandorris was perhaps a little bit more excitable than the aunts of fiction, but no worse than Aunt Lily in a temper, and not half so noisy as the lodger, when he answered her back. She was used to being shouted at and ordered about. She had not the slightest intention of doing all the things Lady Clandorris told her to do. But she decided to begin by appearing to be obedient, and as for moving on after the weekend, she took that for one of the empty threats grownups held over children’s heads, like Aunt Lily, when she said she would give her away to a home for wicked girls at the North Pole.

  ‘They wouldn’t have me!’ Samantha invariably retorted.

  She washed up the teacups, hung them on hooks, and looked about for some breakfast that she could eat before her aunt came downstairs. To her surprise the cupboards were well stocked. She ate two bowls of cornflakes and a slice of ham, and was pouring out a mug of milk when she heard a kitten mewing at the cellar door.

  Samantha opened the door, and something hopped and shuffled into the room, something round and black and furry, with large, round, blue appealing eyes and a long furry tail. It had only two legs. These ended in wet rubbery feet with webbed toes, that seemed to join its furry legs like boots at some upper joint. Instead of forepaws it wore feathered wings, like a pair of short sleeves, and a fringe of fur or feathers fell over its eyes, giving it a fierce and furtive look. Its tail, of which it seemed supremely conscious since it never stopped swishing it to and fro, was thin like a rat’s, but capable of fluffing out and stiffening like a bristle when the creature became startled or surprised.

  When Samantha turned the handle of the door it had just opened its mouth (or was it a beak?) for a second mew, and she saw that the mouth was pink inside.

  ‘Hull … oo … oo!’ said Samantha, surprised.

  The bogwoppit, if this is what it was, came flopping and shuffling into the room, leaving a damp trail of webbed footprints which Samantha instantly recognized, because she had seen them that morning on the top of the cellar stairs.

  ‘So you’re a bogwoppit!’ Samantha said, rather attracted by the strange little object. ‘I don’t believe you are allowed to come into the kitchen, you know!’

  The small creature began to hunt around the room in some anxiety, while a subdued whimpering shook its tiny frame. It searched round the table legs, bent down and frantically gobbled up some morsels of cereal Samantha had dropped. It then stood on tiptoe beside the sink, gazing upwards, and after rising and falling two or three times on the tips of its webbed feet, it rose like a small helicopter into the air, landed noisily in the porcelain sink, and began to rummage in the sink basket. Its head emerged with a frond of carrot sticking out of the side of its bill. This it chewed and spat out, looking beseechingly at Samantha.

  ‘You’re hungry!’ she cried in astonishment, but from its perch on the sink the bogwoppit had already seen her breakfast plates on the table. Scattering the sink basket with a kick of its webbed feet, it flew into the air to land with a wallop beside the milk jug. Within seconds the milk jug was dry, and it was homing in on the box of cereals.

  ‘Oh no you don’t!’ said Samantha, snatching the box away. She locked up the cereals in the cupboard and removed the milk jug.

  The bogwoppit screamed with frustration, stamping round and round the table top, leaving angry, milky footmarks wherever it went, and flapping its short wings.

  ‘Back to the cellar you go!’ Samantha ordered, but when she tried to pick it up and stuff it through the door the bogwoppit bit her. Not a hard or vicious bite, but a firm, sharp, mind- your- own- business nip that made Samantha suck her fingers and eye it with indignation.

  ‘You horrible, horrible little object!’ she cried angrily, looking round for a duster to throw over the top of its head. ‘You wait till I get hold of you! I’ll take you straight back to the marshes where you belong!’

  To her surprise the bogwoppit began to cry. It bowed its furry head almost as low as its webbed feet and sobbed aloud. When at last it raised its face large tears were running out of its eyes and its fur was sticky with them.

  Samantha put out a hand to stroke and comfort it, risking a further bite, but the bogwoppit crept closer and closer till it was leaning against her knees. It licked her fingers with a warm, wet repentant tongue, and she felt the glow of its feathers against her palm.

  ‘Poor!’ she murmured kindly. ‘Poor! Poor! Was it hungry then?’

  The creature uttered a sobbing shriek of suffering. It raised its head in the air like a dog howling, making a small O of the end of its beak, and wailed aloud.

  Samantha rushed for the cupboard. She filled a bowl with raisins, cereals, nuts and anything she could find. She placed the bowl on the floor, and while the bogwoppit, still choking with sobs, ate its fill, she scrubbed the dirty footmarks off the kitchen floor.

  ‘It’s rather sweet!’ Samantha thought as she scrubbed. ‘But I daresay Aunt Daisy has had enough of it. All the same, I’m not going to be ordered around just like that. I’ll take it down to the marshes when I feel like it.’ And she called out to the bogwoppit: ‘Fini
shed? Right then! Back to the cellar with you. Back!’

  Opening the cellar door she pointed very firmly down the cellar stairs.

  The bogwoppit began to whimper and growl. It would not go near the cellar door, though Samantha chased it all round the kitchen. Instead, it rushed at the door that led into the garden, and begged to be let out. Samantha refused to take any notice, so the creature was sick on the floor.

  Furiously she turned the door handle and almost pushed the bogwoppit outside. The last she saw of it was its capering and swaggering gait as it bounced out into Lady Clandorris’s herb garden.

  ‘I hope it never comes back!’ said Samantha.

  Bogwoppit by Ursula Moray Williams is available in A Puffin Book.

  puffin.co.uk

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