''Lone Pine'' is a series of

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

written by English author

Malcolm Saville Leonard Malcolm Saville (21 February 1901–30 June 1982)
Retrieved 16 July 2016 was an English writer best known for the ...

. Although they were written over a 35-year timespan, between 1943 and 1978, the characters only age by a few years in the course of the series. The earlier books evoke visions of an outdoor 1940s and '50s childhood reminiscent of

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...

's ''Famous Five'' books, in which children are allowed to have adventures, explore strange places and encounter villains without adult supervision. These ''Lone Pine'' books were illustrated by

Bertram Prance Bertram Stanley Prance (5 December 1889 – 9 August 1958) was a British artist, poster artist and illustrator who worked as a cartoonist for ''Punch'' magazine among others. Early life Prance was born in Bideford in Devon in 1889, one of f ...

(1889-1958). Bertram Prance - illustrator of the ''Lone Pine'' series - Malcolm Saville website
/ref> The later books adjust to the mood of the 1960s and '70s, as the older characters grow into their late teens and new characters join the Lone Pine Club. Many of the books are set on or around the

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and

Stiperstones The Stiperstones ( cy, Carneddau Teon) is a distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. The quartzite rock of the ridge formed some 480 million years ago. During the last Ice Age Stiperstones lay on the eastern margin of the Welsh i ...

hills in south

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England, but some are based in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

(centred on

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

, the

Goathland Goathland is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is in the North York Moors national park due north of Pickering, off the A169 to Whitby. I ...

and

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

area of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and the

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is a ...

and

Walberswick Walberswick is a village and civil parish on the Suffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of the River Blyth on the south side of the river. The town of Southwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, around ...

area of the

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

coast. One book is set in London, the self-explanatory ''Lone Pine London''. The books reflect Saville's

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and moral values, and the phrase "From Loyalty to Love", which is the Lone Pine Club's motto, is a signifier of his beliefs.

Characters

The Lone Pine Club's members are: David Morton (Captain), Petronella "Peter" Sterling (Vice Captain), Richard "Dickie" and Mary Morton, Thomas "Tom" Ingles, Jenny Harman, Jonathan "Jon" Warrender, Penelope "Penny" Warrender and Harriet Sparrow. Macbeth, or "Mackie", is the Morton's Scottish terrier and is present in all books.

Books

*''Mystery at Witchend'' (1943) *''Seven White Gates'' (1944) *''The Gay Dolphin Adventure'' (1945) *''The Secret of Grey Walls'' (1947) *''Lone Pine Five'' (1949) *''The Elusive Grasshopper'' (1951) *''The Neglected Mountain'' (1953) *''Saucers Over The Moor'' (1955) *''Wings Over Witchend'' (1956) *''Lone Pine London'' (1957) *''The Secret of the Gorge'' (1958) *''Mystery Mine'' (1959) *''Sea Witch Comes Home'' (1960) *''Not Scarlet But Gold'' (1962) *''Treasure at Amorys'' (1964) *''Man With Three Fingers'' (1966) *''Rye Royal'' (1969) *''Strangers at Witchend'' (1970) *''Where's My Girl?'' (1972) *''Home to Witchend'' (1978)

References

Notes Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lone Pine British children's novels Children's mystery novels Series of children's books Shropshire