Help: Lost book but y'all might know

Subject: Lost book - could be British
From: GUEST,Mrrzy-at-work
Date: 10 Apr 00 - 01:53 PM

This has nothing to do with music but I thought someone here might know. As a child overseas I read a lot of British children's books, one of which I lost behind a radiator on the Orient Express when the Serbian conductor threw out the Turks but the Englishman refused to leave. Great story, but I've never found the book again and by now have fogotten both author and title. It might be E. Nesbitt or Enid Blyton, and it might not. It might not even be British, but it had that flavor to me at that age. It was about a family, several siblings, who during a war or something are forced to live with relatives they can't stand somewhere, so they go to an island somewhere and live by themselves, no grownups. On one chapter they have to avoid some "day trippers" which is why I think it's British. The kids steal a cow and swim her to the island, and some chickens and stuff, and build a shelter, and basically live alone till the parents' return. It seemed a great adventure, and I'd love to read the ending... anyone know this book? Especially all you 'catters out in the UK?

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: sophocleese
Date: 10 Apr 00 - 01:59 PM

At first I thought Swallows and Amazons?But I think they have permission from their father from far away, not their mother who is with them, she notes sourly to go sailing on the nearby lake. I have read this book myself many years ago but am having difficulty remembering the title it give me a little time and I'll get there.

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: GUEST,James
Date: 10 Apr 00 - 02:05 PM

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: sophocleese
Date: 10 Apr 00 - 02:07 PM

Thanks James, That's it! grin....

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: GUEST,James
Date: 11 Apr 00 - 01:10 PM

Sorry, I thought I had cancelled my response. Didn't mean to get your hopes up. I thought it might have been the coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne. However, I realized that that storyline does not match your at all. Now I am as anxious as you are to find out what it is.

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: Willie-O
Date: 11 Apr 00 - 02:02 PM

Never mind the book (ok, I hope you find it, I have no idea), I want to hear the Orient Express story you threw in there...

Willie-O

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: GUEST,Mrrzy-at-work
Date: 11 Apr 00 - 05:05 PM

Mom is Hungarian by native language but Serbian according to where the border was on the day she was born (as a child, she used to have to climb to the roof to see what flag the bank was flying to find out whether school would be in Hungarian or Serbian that day, I kid you not). Anyway, we were on leave from Dad's post in West Africa, going through Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and so on over to Turkey. We were supposed to take the Orient Express to Istanbul for the last leg. We show up, 2 parents, 2 teenagers and one small child (me), and lo and behold, no seats, no available tickets. The conductor is very apologetic. Mom instantly recognizes his accent as Serbian, and speaks to him in that language, saying nothing more than Hello and What a shame. Suddenly we are being hustled into a couchette for 6, filled with a whole lot of Turkish soldiers and one poor lone English scholar. The conductor tried to throw them all out, even though they did have tickets, but the Englishman held fast. The poor Turks allowed themselves to be hustled out and, as far as we knew, right off the train. I don't know if we paid for tickets or just a bribe, but in the hubbub of shuffling all of us in and most of them and their rifles and machine guns and whatnot out, the book I'd been clutching fell behind the radiator. The Englishman is still a firm friend of the family (this happened nigh unto 20 years ago now). We never heard from the Turks again. I think Mom exchanged $mas cards with the conductor till he finally died a few years back...it was one of those Isn't it nice to run into a fellow countryman things that can make traveling so interesting!

And I am looking forward to somebody digging up the title of that book!

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: Crowhugger
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 06:59 AM

Gee, someone must know, no? In other words, "refresh." Any luck yet with your recall, Sophocleese?

CH

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: sophocleese
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 07:58 AM

No but the local library is trying to help as well.

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: Giac
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 12:24 PM

The U.S. Library of Congress shows no listings for E. Nesbitt, however, it gives 141 listings for books by Enid Blyton.

The first listing is in a language other than English and may, or may not have anything to do with Enid Blyton, but the next 140 are listings of her books, with publishers and so forth.

Way down the line are some books that sound possible. They concern "The Five," and are about four children and their dog. Two of them (from the titles)seem to involve adventures on islands.

Many of her books go back to the late 1940s and early '50s, which would lend them well to war-related settings.

Hope this helps:

Click Here

Good luck,

giac

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: Giac
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 12:39 PM

Sorry, I don't know what I did wrong, but the link doesn't work.

The site is:

http://lcweb.loc.gov/cgi-bin/zgate

I'll try the link again, but thought it prudent to just type in the site, so's not to keep popping this to the top with my inefficiency.

Subject: RE: Help: Lost book but y'all might know
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 01:31 PM

Giac, I saw your post in the help forum. The link you have given is part of a more complex expression for a query and was not an error in your HTML. Typing the address you have given in your second post here will yeild the same results.

I think that it will prove easier to provide this link: http://lcweb.loc.gov/catalog/ and let others select a seach engine from there.

Jon