A young boy (Tolly) visiting his grandmother at Green Knowe, works with the ghosts of children who had once lived there, to discover the final resting place of a long lost family treasure. Two of the ghosts are of a blind girl (daughter of Captain Oldknow, who was a former owner of Green Knowe), and a young, rescued slave-boy (Jacob), who was eventually adopted by the Captain as his son. Warnings: some characters use extremely racist and vile language when referring to Jacob, and they treat him cruelly when the Captain is away. They are also cruel and callous in their treatment of the blind girl when her father is out of town. There is an episode when Green Knowe is on fire, and Jacob races into the burning building to rescue the blind girl, who is his dearest friend. ( )

I am not sure why I have never read these books before. I bought it after finding the film 'From Time to Time'. The whole concept is lovely and Lucy's story telling was superb. I don't seem to be reading the books in order but I will be reading them all. ( )

After a random rewatch of From Time to Time, with Maggie Smith and Dominic West, I thought I would try (one of) the Green Knowe books. Not really my style - very Enid Blyton, and horribly dated and racist - but a good story for children, based on the author's own house. Nine year old schoolboy Tolly goes to stay with his great-grandmother and visit with the 'ghosts' of children from another time. In between adventures reminscent of The Secret Garden, Mrs Oldknow recounts the story of Jacob, an African slave bought to be a companion to the blind daughter of the house. She talks like she was there at the time, which makes no sense, but perhaps she means that she was introduced to the children at a young age too.

Recommended, but I would perhaps suggest the adaptation over the books! ( )

Tolly spends his summer holiday at Green Knowe with his great-grandmother, befriends more of the house's ghosts and learns their stories.
I just love this series. So perfectly magic-in-the-everyday-ical. And I love that Charlie is enjoying it, too. ( )

When I first picked this up, many years ago, I discovered that Toby and Alexander and Linnet weren't in the story, and refused to read any further in a rage. However, having moved on a little since those days, I stuck it on my Christmas wishlist and gave it a try. Very similar in tone to ‘The Children of Green Knowe’, this time it's spring, and Tolly spends his Easter holiday learning about a Regency Oldknowe and her freed-slave companion. Unlike the Stuart Oldknowes, the children in this book aren't ghosts; Tolly and they simply pass into one another's times, and even interact and impact on one another. Tolly, incidentally, has managed to grow two years in one term at school, but let that pass. This was adapted in 2009 into a not-entirely-satisfactory film under the title 'From Time to Time'. ( )