In The River at Green Knowe (1959), Mrs. Oldknow and Tolly are absent. It is summer, and the house has been rented by two old ladies: the archaeologist Doctor Biggin and her friend, Miss Bun. Doctor Biggin has invited her niece Ida and two "displaced" refugee children, Oskar and Ping, to stay with her.
The children arrive and begin to explore the river and canals round Green Knowe by canoe. The magic of Green Knowe is much more evidently fantastic in this novel: the children see flying horses, meet a giant, and witness a Bronze Age moon ceremony. The subtext, of homeless children being protected and healed by the house and its enchantments, is particularly strong.
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