The family moved to Ely for a Canonry as Principal of the theological college. Her mother was Miss Ida Collenette from the Channel Isles. (The 1994 mini-series 'Moonacre' and 2008 movie 'The Secret of Moonacre' and the are both based on this book.)Įlizabeth Goudge was an English author of novels, short stories and children's books.Įlizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on 24 April 1900 in Wells, Somerset, in Tower House close by the cathedral in an area known as The Liberty, Her father, the Reverend Henry Leighton Goudge, taught in the cathedral school. But what can one solitary girl do?Ī new-fashioned fantasy story that is as wonderful as the best classic fairy tales. Determined to restore peace and happiness to the whole of Moonacre Valley, Maria finds herself involved with an ancient feud, and she discovers it is her destiny to end it and right the wrongs of her ancestors.

The enchanted valley of Moonacre is shadowed by a tragedy that happened years ago, and the memory of the Moon Princess and the mysterious little white horse. Maria is determined to learn about it, change it, and give her own life story a happy ending. But there is something incredibly sad beneath all of this beauty and comfort, that shadowing Moonacre Manor and the town around it. Her new guardian, her uncle Sir Benjamin, is kind and funny the Manor itself feels like home right away and every person and animal she meets is like an old friend.

In 1842, thirteen-year-old orphan Maria Merryweather arrives at Moonacre Manor, her family's ancestral home in an charmed village in England's West Country, and she feels as if she’s entered Paradise.

The little white horse