Monica Edwards
Twenty-seven years ago, this month (January 2025) Monica Edwards died aged 85. Over a period of almost 30 years she had published 35 books, including her two best known series of novels the ‘Romney Marsh’ and ‘Punchbowl’ books.
It was 1947 when Monica wrote her first book and the first of her ‘Romney Marsh’ series ‘Wish for a Pony’. It was marketed as a ‘pony’ book by her publisher Collins and illustrated by Anne Bullen, a leading pony book illustrator. Collins seemed to want to market her as a ‘pony’ author, maybe trying to capitalise on the success pony authors like Ruby Ferguson and Lorna Hill were having at the time. But in 1949 Monica wrote ‘The Midnight Horse’ introducing two boys into the story and made a determined effort to break away from her ‘pony’ author image. When ‘The White Riders’ was published in 1950 the front cover had a very different image, as the horses were ghost-like wraiths from a different artist, Geoffrey Whittam. From then on, he became Edwards' chief illustrator and continued to illustrate most of her future books.
Monica was born a vicar’s daughter and barely went to school. She wrote her books based on her experiences and the areas where she lived. Some of her characters were apparently based on individuals or composites of individuals she knew. She grew up in Rye Harbour (her fictional Westling) and worked briefly with horses which is where the ‘Romney Marsh’ of her books is based.
When she was 21 Monica married a local man, Bill Edwards. Living in various locations they eventually bought a near-derelict farm called Pitlands Farm in Thursley, Surrey, renamed it Punch Bowl Farm and spent the next 20 years building it into a thriving dairy with pedigree Jersey Cattle. During this time she wrote 10 Punchbowl books.
The books from both series are becoming harder to find and a very good copy with a very good dust-wrapper can be worth £40-£110 depending on the title. Scarcer titles may go for more. Publishers including ‘The Children’s Book Club’ and ‘Girls Gone By’ have reprinted most of Monica Edwards series books both in soft back and hard back copies.
Although Girls Gone By are re-publishing her books, even these titles go out of print, so it’s best to purchase them immediately they’re published. Girls Gone By Publishers have published all Monica Edwards’ Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm titles, as well as a Companion to each series and a biography. They plan to re-print ‘The Unsought Farm’ in early 2025.
In 1968 Monica and Bill left the farm after Bill suffered a near fatal tractor accident and they retired nearby. Monica kept her contact with the farm and the animals especially the badgers. Animals featured prominently in all her books, as Monica loved animals especially cats and badgers. In her later years Monica wrote several non-fiction adult books, all published by Michael Joseph, who was also an animal lover. The books were illustrated throughout with Monica’s stunning black and white photographs.
Monica died in 1998 having published 35 books for adults and children, as well as many short stories and articles. She is remembered as a conservationist and also celebrated for her ‘Romney Marsh’ and ‘Punchbowl Farm’ books.
Photos
The ‘Punchbowl Farm’ and ‘Monica and her granddaughter’ photos are reprinted with the very kind courtesy of The Thursley History Society https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/post/monica-edwards
Sources
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Edwards
Book and Magazine Collector (Feb. 2000), No. 191
https://janebadgerbooks.co.uk/british-authors/edwards-monica/
http://monicaedwards.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/
Girls Gone By publishers https://www.ggbp.co.uk
Contributed by Alison
(Published on 1st Jan 2025)
