Marlena Frick

Author about whom I know very little. I think she was British, she certainly lived in Britain, although was married to a Polish man, and her books were published in the UK also. She only wrote a handful of books, including an adult novel about the relationship between an old man and a horse, and a memoir of her husband's death from cancer. The Homecoming, her horse story, is her most well-known and widely published work. It is a poignant tale set in Provence, and was also made into a French film in 1970.

Pony Books:

THE HOMECOMING
(HODDER AND STOUGHTON 1964)
ILLUSTRATED BY RITA PARSONS
This also had American editions published by David McKay
SUMMARY: Adult fiction set in France. Valentin works for the farmer Pascal. As he has a good eye for a horse he is sent to the sales to buy a hunter and comes back with a beautiful Carmargue horse called Pompidou. Over the years the horse becomes like a son to him. But when he and the horse are both old and tired Pascal tells him to sell Pompidou to the bull ring. Appalled at the horrible death that would await his old friend, Valentin steals the horse and sets off to the swamps of Carmargue to set him free.
MINI REVIEW: This is a sad and mainly downbeat novel but it has some amusing characters to add some lightness and humour. The contrast of one attitude towards animals: that they are expendable and only of use to humans (seen in both the casting away of Pompidou when he gets too old to work and in the theme of the bull ring itself) with the opposite view that animals can be friends and deserving of our respect and love, shown by Valentin, is central to the book. It has also been suggested that the novel is allegorical in that the harsh treatment of the horse when he is no longer of use is paralleled by that of society to the elderly. Certainly both the fate of the old man and old horse are deeply entwined.
The relationship between man and horse is poignant and affecting. Although the ending could have been overly sentimental it manages to escape that fate through the simple writing style. Not a book to cheer one up, but in my mind, the fact that Valentin does not choose to accept his and the horse's fate, makes it ultimately positive rather than negative. Not really suitable for younger children, this is an adult story which would also be appreciated by thoughtful older children.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

The book was adapted for film in 1970. See link.

Collector's Info:
Reasonably easy to find in both the UK and the USA. Harder in Australia although there may be a few copies to be found there.