Trusting the locals…
Can you believe my Mum lives in a community which was declared a market town in 1227?
Not such a big deal to my Brit friends who are used to being surrounded by so much ancient history, but for those on the other side of the Atlantic it can be a bit of a shock to hear of a community first recorded in AD 780 that is still going strong!
When the Northleach parish magazine offered to interview Mum to share her story about writing the Henry books, I had some initial reservations. As a self-proclaimed ‘expert’ writer and editor, I can be somewhat critical of others’ writing styles and wondered about the writing skills of this small rural community. Concerned to show Mum and her writing endeavors in the best light, I asked if I might review the article before publication. They kindly agreed and the interview date was set.
In the meantime, I did some internet snooping and discovered the interviewer was a longtime Times correspondent and author of seven of his own books (including titles about Hemingway and DH Lawrence). Oh, and he has a PHD in Russian Political History! Yes, the tiny Gloucestershire town of Northleach is home to some talented folk!
Thank you Richard Owen for graciously indulging me and for writing such a delightful article about Mum and her countryside friends!
Here’s Richard’s article- fully approved and endorsed by me and courtesy of the Northleach Benefice magazine.
When Jo Coker started writing stories to send to her grandchildren in Hong Kong just over twenty years ago, she had no idea they would one day be published. “I knew how much children love to receive letters through the post and just wanted to make sure the children stayed connected with England and the English countryside, where their Grandma lived. So I wrote stories for them, about Henry the Field Mouse”.
Henry lived under her garden shed, an idea which came to her when she saw her “rather old and slightly overweight Jack Russell terrier” barking furiously at something under its “dusty floorboards”. Jo's intention was simply for the tales – written on her old Imperial typewriter - to be read aloud to the children of her daughter Sue, a lawyer who later moved with her husband and their family from Hong Kong to the United States.
But thanks to Sue, three of the Henry stories have now been published, with the latest one out just in time for Christmas. The stories, beautifully illustrated by the American artist Barbara Richards, are aimed at 3-7 year olds. They tell the tales of the companionable and curious Henry and a growing number of his animal friends in the village, from fellow mice Jake and Jim to Bertie the Hedgehog, Charlie the Water Vole and Ben, the show-jumping horse.
Henry makes friends with almost everyone he meets, though as Jo points out he “steers clear of anyone who might like him for their supper!”. In the first story a worldly mouse called Sam persuades the friends to hitch a ride in a car to the nearest market town, where they experience the wonders of a ballet performance in the theatre.
In the second story the friends return to their village garden to experience snow and Christmas, while in the third they visit the seaside and a stately home and meet yet more friendly animals, including a squirrel, a fox, a mole, a donkey and a rabbit.
Jo did not want her characters to be “comic”, so she made them “realistic animals”, carefully researching their habitats, food and even predators so that the stories would be “reasonably authentic”, with Bertie the Hedgehog, for example, revealing in the first volume why it is that he hibernates.
Then three years ago Sue presented her with a printed copy. “She had found an illustrator, and they had printed a handful of books for the family”, Jo says. “It totally took me by surprise”. As interest grew more copies were printed for a wider public, and now there is even a Henry website, www.adventuresofhenryfieldmouse.com.
When she started writing the stories Jo was living in Norfolk, but eight years ago she moved to Northleach, to be closer to her son and his family, who live near Moreton in Marsh. “I could see at once that Northleach was so hospitable, with a tremendous sense of community”.
Jo, a florist by training, is a keen member of several local groups in Northleach, including the Mothers Union, the Church Flower Rota, the Historical Society and the WI, as well as being a Welcomer at the church where – in normal times at least – volunteers greet visitors to the town. So, will she find the time to write a fourth Henry book?
“Well, I have already started to make notes. Book publishing can be complicated and time consuming, but with self-publishing anyone can be an author – just don't expect it to make any money! So my message to anyone with an idea is ‘give it a go’ – whatever your age”.
Richard Owen
The Adventures of Henry the Field Mouse by Josephine Coker are on sale at £12 each at the Black Cat Cafe, the Post Office and the Cotswold Pharmacy, and in Moreton in Marsh at Beatons Tearooms and Bookshop.