Violet Needham

The House of the Paladin

The House of the Paladin is the tale of a lovely medieval castle and its chatelaine, the beautiful little Duchess Anastasia of Ornawitza, the boy-king Alexander, and the young English boy, Hugh Vallence, descendant of the House of Valens whose motto so aptly was "Quit you like men." Click here to see some pages from The House of the Paladin. When the story opens the two friends Henry Hillman and Hugh Vallence are travelling together during their school holidays. The sudden and unexpected recall of Henry leaves Hugh alone and open to all the exciting adventures which befall him. The account of the trials of Anastasia, her courage and resourcefulness in the face of the devilish schemes of her wicked uncle the Marquis Miglione and the part played by the romantic figure Dick Fauconbois, "The Stormy Petrel," are full of excitement and thrills and the suspense is sustained until the very end. The GGBP edition has an introduction by Hilary Clare, who has also written the publishing history. GGBP published The House of the Paladin in December 2006. The House of the Paladin went out of print in February 2011.

The Secret of the White Peacock

When Laurette is left an orphan and taken to live with her rich, surly guardian, Count Schillinger, the one really precious possession that she takes with her is a white china peacock that belonged to her scientist father. At her new home there is a real white peacock who preens himself on the terrace, as well as everything else, ponies, party frocks, pearl necklaces, that the Count can think of to spoil her with. Laurette finds her guardian a fierce, lonely man, with only one great desire in life. This is to discover a mysterious formula that would make him, as he tells her, 'master of the world'. It is only gradually that Laurette discovers how her precious white peacock could help him in his search. What happens when she reveals her secret, how she is involved with plots about which she never guessed, and how she is helped and befriended by some of the delightful characters who come into earlier books about The Stormy Petrel, makes another wonderful story set in Violet Needham's unique, romantic world of make-believe. Click here to see some pages from The Secret of the White Peacock. The GGBP edition has a preface by Gerald Harford, great nephew of the author, an introduction by Hilary Clare, and an article by Richard Cheffins on Religion in the Works of Violet Needham. GGBP published The Secret of the White Peacock in July 2008. The Secret of the White Peacock went out of print in January 2011.

The Red Rose of Ruvina

It was only by chance that young Rose Ruvina discovered that her name was the same as that used by a secret society. With her new friend Tony, she overhears the leaders of the society making plans, and finds in the woods near her home, their cache of hand grenades. Whether they are plotting good or bad, it is difficult to decide. Someone must be told, something must be done; but who and what ? The children's summery school days become oppressive with their anxiety. How Rose and Tony are thrust deep into the conspirator's plot, how they are captured and escape, how they carry messages to the right people at last, makes another of the romantic, exciting stories for which Miss Needham is already well known. The setting is the Duchy of Ornowitza, with its forests and mountains( and rambling country houses, already familiar to readers of earlier books. Here again too, are some of the same characters — the Stormy Petrel, for instance, and Anastasia, and Duke Tancrec — whose lives are so rich with high drama and great deeds. Click here to see some pages from The Red Rose of Ruvina. The GGBP edition has a preface by Gerald Harford, great nephew of the author, an introduction by Hilary Clare, who has also written an extra piece on the artist, Richard Kennedy, and an article by Norman C Thomas who knew Violet Needham. GGBP published The Red Rose of Ruvina in February 2009. The Red Rose of Ruvina went out of print in January 2012.