Patricia Leitch

[moonlight_bay]

Pat Leitch

I'm typically late to join this thread, but had to make some comments. Firstly, I love the Jinny series and read anything by Patricia Leitch. I've recently been collecting the full series of Jinny books - I have 1-11 now (and double copies of several of them because I've been trying to collect the same covers! Lol) but have never seen #12 anywhere

My favourite Jinny book is probably one of the least "Jinny" of the books to be honest, which is "Jump to the Moon". (I'm a showjumper at heart!) But I also love "Ride Like the Wind", "The Summer Riders" and "The Magic Pony" - the description of Easter, the first time Jinny sees her, brings a lump to my throat every single time.

Dream of Fair Horses is also excellent. I don't like the ending, because it's so uncompromising and not at all what I wanted to happen, but I think that's what makes it good.

I LOVED this book. I only read it recently (as an adult) and it blew me away. There are so many pony books about girls and their wonderful ponies who win Pony of the Year - but somehow, in this book, I believed it. The descriptions of the pony, Perdita, tugged at my heartstrings… I loved Gill's weird family and how proud she was of them. And I loved the ending. As I read it, I desperately wanted her to keep Perdita - no matter what, she would figure out a way, I was sure of it, this was a pony book after all, things always work out in the end… right? When she decided to sell the mare, I was heartbroken. But when I read it again, I realised that it made complete sense, and is a genuine life lesson. This has to be my all time favourite pony book - and I own 150 books and have read even more…!!

...I think it could have been the Jill series by Ruby Ferguson (?), where in the last book, someone says to Jill that it is time to put ponies behind her and go out and get a nice job as a secretary or something. And Jill agrees. This disappointed me so much at the time. Why was this huge brick of reality and sexism being dropped into such an escapist series of books for pony-mad youngsters? It just seemed to jar so badly.

Wasn't that awful? Yes it was the last book of the Jill series (Challenges for Jill/Pony Jobs for Jill). I was at a personal crossroads in my life when I read this - I had graduated University and was literally trying to decide whether to get an office job in the city, or go and work with horses. My parents favoured the office job, I wanted to follow my heart. I read this book, about the jobs and adventures Jill and Ann had, and it inspired me… up until the end. When I was utterly shocked to read the ending in which they decide to settle down. I can only assume that the author was made to write this ending - it seems to jar so badly, as Halo said, with what had come before in this series. I guess at the time, it wasn't a good idea to encourage impressionable young girls to forgo the benefits of an education and muck about with horses for the rest of their lives. (Personally, I found the balance - I worked in an office during the week, and taught riding on the weekends, and I still do. I'm just saving enough money now to pay off my debt and start riding and teaching professionally - only 18 months to go…).

I'd love to hear if anyone finds out how to contact Patricia… I'm trying to write pony books of my own… whenever I am lost for inspiration I pick up one of hers, and then I despair… will I ever be able to write anything this good?

 

[Sarah08]

I googled Patricia Leach and got sent here so I loved her books and got reading the Jinny books because my mum bought me one of the books because Jinny looked like me and Shantih looked like my Arab, whoes name was not half as romantic as that, it is Molly. But hi to you all anyway.

 

[Bramble]

^^^ I googled her too and got sent here as well . I love Patricia Leitch and have quite a collection. I've got all the Jinny ones but not all in the same editions . I've got Dream of Fair Horses, Riding Course Summer, Highland Pony Trek, Jackie Jumps to the Top, Robin Hood, To Save a Pony, Horse for the Holidays, Horse from Black Loch, and a few of the Kestrels series too. I got mine from Ebay, Garage Sales, Book Shops, Opp Shops (so lucky one time found Robin Hood, which can fetch a staggering $40.00Aus, for 20c!), friends and convinced Libraries to sell them to me. Has anyone found anything about her? I only know what is in the books about her.

 

[Sarah08]

I don't think any of it is all that unrealistic, although I did grow up in a bit of a "hippy" household, she has the priciples, but often gets sidetracked, I had no idea that there were like twelve books in the Jinny series now.. my advice to anyone looking is try Ebay, thats where I am getting them. Many of the other books, Jill ones included are very dated now, all Gosh and awfully, Mummee and Dadee what what!! The Jinny ones don't seem to have dated all that much.

 

[ginger_nut]

I loved these books! i think we ended up selling them at car boot sales...that makes me a bit sad!
Can anyone help me, I'm trying to remember the title of another book that i read as a kid, which involved a family moving from the city to a farm in the english countryside and their adventures there, including first harvest and sheep shearing and thingd. It might have been a series, i jsut remember it being really good! any ideas!?

)

 

[Ice]

It sounds familiar - it's not the Children of Cherry Tree Farm is it? (Although only the children go and live with relatives in that one, not the entire family moving).

Can you remember anything else about the book?

 

[ginger_nut]

Thank you Ice, you are a genius! that is exactly the one I was referring too, even if I was a little sketchy on the details!! :s

Thank you very much

 

[Ice]

You're welcome I remember enjoying that one as a child too

 

[Gemmalw]

My post is a bit late but better late than never!

I wrote to Patricia Leitch in 1994 when I was 12 to tell her how much I loved the 'Jinny' series. I sent my letter to her publishers (I believe it was Armada) and asked them to forward it on to her.

To my delight, she sent me a handwritten reply. She said it made the graft of sitting down and writing worthwhile when she received a letter from someone like me who had really read and enjoyed her books. I'd asked whether there would be any more Jinny books but she said no, no. 12 was the last and brought the series to a close.

She said Arab horses were her dream horses and suggested I find a book in my local library with pictures of Lady Wentworth's Arab horses. She said Bramble was based on a Highland pony she had owned called Kirsty, who was just as stubborn as Bramble. She gave me some tips on writing stories of my own, saying 'write what you really want to write about. Keep on keeping on and you'll succeed' and I know that's what she did with her books.

I've also found out from the internet that the 70's covers for the Jinny series featured a horse called the Prince of Orange, who perfectly fit my vision of Shantih! I was disappointed with the covers on the 90's reprints.

Fingers crossed a savvy TV producer decides to make the books into a televised series - it would be fantastic! Hope this helps!

 

[Lulu7]

I have only just joined and had to respond to this post because I LOVED Jinny so much. I started reading them when I was about 8 or 9 and still read them occasionally. I still read any pony book i can get my hands on and i'm rather fond of the 'Tweedy' ones but Jinny was always my fave. I wanted to be her so much (she even made me quite glad i had red hair!). One thing not mentioned though is how fantastic the writing is. Reading them now there are passages that are just so beautifully written, the descriptions of the landscape and the way she creates atmosphere! Leitch inspired me to write though i knew the jinny books so well that most of my stuff was just a pathetic imitation! I have never met anyone else who had read them so i was amazed when i googled patricia leitch and found this site.
I think they would make a great tv series or film and i hope they do re-print them!

 

[Lozzy]

Oh dear I'm seven years since the last thread here but couldn't help but comment.
Definitely it was her writing that made her books stand out. Loved the Jinny series and the sometimes mystical element but my all time favourite was Dream of Fair Horses. So beautifully written, such depth. Coming from a home without much money where we were constantly moving house I really identified with this story- it never failed to bring me to tears. For those who also felt let down by the ending of the Jill books I couldn't agree more! I can remember feeling quite angry about it as a child!