Nordy Bank (novel)

Nordy Bank
First edition cover
Author(s)	Sheena Porter
Illustrator	Annette Macarthur-Onslow
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Children's novel
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Publication date	1964
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	144 pp

Nordy Bank is a children's novel by Sheena Porter, published in 1964. It was awarded the Carnegie Medal for that year.^[1]

Plot summary

Six children plan a camping trip in the Easter holidays, deciding on Brown Clee Hill as it is out of the way of summer visitors. They set up camp on the top of the hill, which turns out to be the site of an Iron Age hill fort, Nordy Bank. Bronwen is particularly susceptible to the atmosphere of the place, and shows unexpected knowledge about its construction. Her personality begins to change, as from a quiet good-natured girl she becomes argumentative, then increasingly withdrawn and sullen. Bron is aware of the change and frightened by it. Her friend Margery believes she is possessed by the spirit of an Iron Age woman.

Meanwhile an Alsatian dog of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps escapes while on his way to retraining by the National Canine Defence League after being retired due to partial deafness. Being muzzled, he is unable to hunt and becomes increasingly hungry. When the dog appears lurking round the camp, the dog-loving Bron reacts with fear and hostility, calling him a wolf. However, his forlorn state eventually rouses her true self and she befriends him.

Characters

The campers

• Peter Furness, a 15-year-old boy, clever, a natural leader and inclined to be sarcastic
• Margery Furness, Peter's younger sister, kind-hearted and a peace-maker
• Robin Furness, their 10-year-old brother, keen on fossils
• Anne Turner, their cousin, visiting from Bristol, a good cook but scared of dogs and worms
• Bronwen Owen (Bron), Margery's friend, an only child, a shy but sensible girl, who loves animals
• Joe Catlin, Peter's friend, a 15-year-old farmer's son, very competent and an experienced camper

The adults

• Dr. Furness, a busy GP
• Mrs. Furness, who breeds Dalmatians
• Mr. Owen, Bron's father, whose work forces his family to move frequently
• Mrs. Owen, Bron's over-protective mother
• Mr. Catlin, Joe's father, a farmer
• Arthur and Edward, farming brothers who give permission for the camp and supply the campers with milk and water
• Mrs. Pritchard, shopkeeper and postmistress of Clee St. Margaret
• Corporal Smythe of the RAVC, the Alsatian's handler
• Mr. Kirby of the National Canine Defence League

The animals

• Lucy, Margery's Dalmatian, who has puppies during the course of the book
• Spotted Dick, the smallest of Lucy's litter
• Griff (as named by Bron), an Alsatian, a former army dog

References to actual history and geography

The novel is set primarily in a precisely described location, Nordy Bank on Brown Clee Hill in Shropshire. The surrounding countryside, the Shropshire Hills, the village of Clee St. Margaret and the market town of Ludlow also feature prominently.^[2] The author lives in Ludlow.^[1]

Nordy Bank is the site of an ancient hill fort, designed for defence against attackers and wolves. The differences between Roman, Iron Age and Stone Age camps are described.

References to other works

Margery and Bron quote from A. E. Housman's poem "The Welsh Marches" while looking at the surrounding landscape. The theme of the poem, the long history of warfare in the region, the "war that sleeps" in the land itself, is echoed in the novel.

Bron takes Rosemary Sutcliff's Warrior Scarlet, about a Bronze Age boy, to read at camp, and is reading aloud to the others the chapter in which the wolves attack when the army dog first appears.

Literary significance

Nordy Bank received the Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's literature. In The Nesbit Tradition, Marcus Crouch calls it Sheena Porter's finest book. While he describes the camping scenes as beautifully done, conveying a sense of adventure and good companionship, he regards the novel as primarily concerned with the development of personality. "In Nordy Bank Sheena Porter shows how self-discovery can go hand-in-hand with the discovery of society. It is an effective lesson, the more so because the lesson is contained in an absorbing and dramatic story and the inner and outer themes are inseparable." ^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Carnegie Medal Living Archive
2. ^ Literary Heritage - West Midlands
3. ^ Marcus Crouch, The Nesbit Tradition: The Children's Novel in England 1945-1970, Ernest Benn, 1972, p. 210

Awards
Preceded by Time of Trial	Carnegie Medal recipient 1964	Succeeded by The Grange at High Force