A Grass Rope by William Mayne
"A Grass Rope" by William Mayne is a captivating children's novel that intertwines contemporary life with ancient legend in the Yorkshire Dales. The story follows four schoolchildren, led by Adam Forrest, who embark on a quest to unravel a medieval mystery involving a Dyson ancestor, an elopement, and a lost treasure. Set in the idyllic yet remote valleys of Vendale and Thoradale, the narrative explores themes of friendship, adventure, and the blending of myth with reality. The main characters, including the imaginative Mary Owland and her practical sister Nan, navigate their community's folklore while discovering hidden truths about their past.
The plot unfolds through a series of episodes that reveal the children's interactions with local lore, culminating in a dramatic discovery connected to a mythical unicorn. Illustrated by Lynton Lamb, the book not only captivates with its enchanting story but also with its vivid descriptions of the Yorkshire landscape. Lauded for its rich character development and atmospheric storytelling, "A Grass Rope" solidified Mayne's reputation as an influential figure in British children's literature, earning him the prestigious Carnegie Medal in 1957. The book's blend of fantasy elements and exploration of human relationships resonates with readers, making it an enduring piece within the genre.
Subject Terms
A Grass Rope by William Mayne
First published: 1957; illustrated
Subjects: Animals, family, nature, and the supernatural
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Domestic realism and mystery
Time of work: The mid-twentieth century
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: The Yorkshire Dales, in northern England
Principal Characters:
Mary Owland , a small girl who believes implicitly in the truth of fairy storiesNan Owland , her older sister, who is in her first year of high schoolPeter Dyson , a boy of Mary’s age, the owner of a dog named HewlinAdam Forrest , the head boy of the local high schoolMr. Owland , andMrs. Owland , the owners of Lew FarmMrs. Dyson , the landlady of The Unicorn, an innCharley , an old farmhand of Mr. Owland
Form and Content
This charming story of the solving of an ancient mystery by four schoolchildren is set in one of the more remote areas of England. The continuity of life in the two valleys, Vendale and Thoradale, is shown by the fact that forebears of the two families depicted in the novel are part of a legend from medieval times. The families live in exactly the same places in the present as in the legend and bear the same names, even down to the dog, Hewlin.
Into this quiet, hill-farming community rides Adam Forrest on his bicycle, ostensibly to earn some money by repainting The Unicorn Inn, which is run by the Dysons, one of the families of the legend. He has another mission, however, set him by the headmaster of the local high school, where he is head boy: to “solve” or explain the ancient legend that involves a Dyson ancestor eloping with an Owland heiress. He was drowned and the Owland treasure was lost, along with a pack of hunting dogs and a mythical unicorn.
In the course of eighteen short chapters, the mystery unfolds gradually to its conclusion. Mary Owland believes the legend quite literally and is prepared to discover for herself the fairyland where the unicorn supposedly dwells. Her sister, Nan, both wants to protect her and is embarrassed by her naïveté in front of Adam. In fact, although Adam is considerably older than the other children, including Peter Dyson, he treats them with great ease as equals.
The ancient sign on the inn offers them the most clues, including an ancient hunting horn that they clean and blow. While Mary believes that it will summon the dogs from fairyland, the others work out the echo effects of the sound and fit this into the solution to the mystery. It is Mary, however, in search of the gates of fairyland with her grass rope—believed in the legend to be the only way to capture the unicorn—who brings the story to a climax. She sneaks out of her farm one night and discovers a tunnel beneath a waterfall called Dysons Dig. Her parents discover that she is missing and, fearing that she may have fallen down an old mineshaft, go searching for her. Her discovery provides the remaining clues to the mystery of the legend. The hunting dog that she believes she has captured turns out to be a fox cub, which she is allowed to keep as her reward. Honor is maintained by all parties in the solution.
A Grass Rope is illustrated with line drawings by Lynton Lamb and a much-needed map. Lamb’s buildings and landscapes capture their stony texture, but his figure drawing is woefully disproportioned.
Critical Context
The publication of A Grass Rope firmly sealed William Mayne’s reputation as a gifted and sensitive children’s writer, especially with the awarding of the Carnegie Medal for the book in 1957. Like many of Mayne’s novels, it derives its strength from a detailed portraiture and the love of a specific Yorkshire locale. Such atmosphere and careful scenic painting are not always seen as virtues in children’s literature; neither is the elliptical, often tangential style or the unspecific sense of audience. His prolific output—forty books in twenty years—and his typically careful and intelligent writing helped raise the status of children’s literature in the 1950’s and 1960’s and established him firmly in the canon of British children’s literature.
A Grass Rope is perhaps, in its near fantasy elements, more akin to Earthfasts (1966) rather than Mayne’s better-known school stories, such as A Swarm in May (1955). Both Earthfasts and A Grass Rope are set in the Yorkshire Dales, show a fascination with a fairy world underground and the characters’ attempts to enter a magic gate to attain it, and share a sense of the solidity of history and the living past. More important, both conduct a debate on the limits of scientific methodology as a way of knowing truth. Mayne handles the personal and family relationships far more successfully here, however, than in the later book.
Among other writers, perhaps the closest to Mayne in style is a Yorkshire compatriot, Jane Gardam. Her book The Hollow Land (1981) has a similar feel to A Grass Rope: The younger children are seen exploring a similar northern landscape full of the living past, dialect language and local customs are used to create a keenly experienced setting, and, out of this setting, plots naturally develop in a relatively leisurely way.