Book Review: Pastures of the Blue Crane

Title: Pastures of the Blue Crane

Author: Hesba Fay Brinsmead

Date: 1964 (Australia), 1966 (U.S.)

Publisher: Coward-McCann (U.S.)

ISBN: none

Length: 250 pages

Quote: “‘A grandfather?’ She sounded incredulous. ‘A--? But where could he have come form?’”

Newly orphaned, sixteen-year-old Amaryllis can’t remember her mother at all, wasn’t close enough to her father to miss him, and didn’t know she had a living grandfather. Int he first scene of Pastures of the Blue Crane she learns that she and the grandfather have inherited a farm that’s been unsold for years. It’s summer and Ryl has finished prep school while too young to go to university, since she’s stayed at school all year, every year—so she and the grandfather decide to see whether improving the old house will help it sell faster.

What you need to know about this story is that, although it’s about attractive young people, it’s a Real Novel not a romance. If not warned about that, you might be disappointed. As a teenaged heiress Ryl naturally attracts young men. At the end of the book we know for sure that she won’t marry the nicest one, and the other four are “safe for years yet,” Ryl says contentedly, in no hurry to pick just one.

Too much happens, in this ambitious first novel, to leave much room for romance. Though aimed at teenagers, this story may be more appealing to adults who like cozy novels. Free from sex, violence, and bad language, it does lose one character—who was old and ill—but everyone else lives happily ever after, including the blue crane as well a the town council that threaten his favorite pasture. Ryl gets involved in restoring the house and takes to farming as if she’d grown up on a farm.

This is the kind of book public libraries are discarding these days. It’s so wholesome, and it contains one of those scenes of chaos that used to arise when people didn’t have cell phones. I, of course, recommend it to young readers for that reason. As Ryl learns in the story, “modern conveniences” can be very convenient, but it’s useful to practice living without them.

Despite the action-adventure scenes near the end this is basically a coming-of-age novel: Ryl learns some things about roughing it, economizing, appreciating old people, losing her race prejudice, and opposing the evils of "eminent domain" (Australian style--need it be mentioned that this is an Australian book?). 

And it's become a collector's item. The first U.S. edition I physically have, a library discard, is not showing up on Amazon for any price. Reprints tend to be pricey. I'll go ahead and say $5 per book, $5 per package, $1 per online payment, on the chance that when someone gets around to ordering this book through this web site a used copy will be available at a bargain price--but that may not be the case. Order promptly if you want to read it. Brinsmead is no longer here to appreciate your paying for a new copy, so feel free to buy a used copy of this book and add up to three new books of similar size, by your favorite living authors, to the same $5 package--yes, this site can get new books from Amazon as easily as old ones.