Mavis Thorpe Clark (1909-1999)

Born as Mavis Rose Latham in Melbourne, Victoria in 1909. Another author to start early, having a serial published in a magazine by the age of 14 and a book which she wrote when 18 published a couple of years later. Quite a prolific writer, with 32 books published, mostly for children.

In researching one of her adult books, an important work on Sir Douglas Nicholls (an Aborigine who later become Governor of South Australia) she accumulated a huge wealth of information on the Aboriginal way of life.

So far I have only found one pony book written by her, but it is a corker - a real old-fashioned traditional pony story, although the main character is a boy.

She also wrote under the pen name of M. R. Clark

Horse & Pony Books:

PONY FROM TARELLA
(HEINEMANN [AUSTRALIA] 1959)
(1st UK edition HEINEMANN [UK] 1959)
ILLUSTRATED BY JEAN M. ROWE
Reprinted by Lansdowne in 1969 with a different illustrator, Rachel Tonkin
First published in the UK by Heinemann in 1959 with original illustrations.Also reprinted in the UK as a paperback by Knight in 1977.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, Lansdowne edition, Knight paperback.
SUMMARY: Sandy is looking forward to returning to the Reid's house at Tarella where he spent the previous summer on holiday from the orphanage where he lives. He had formed a close bond with a pony called Sunflower and longs to see her again. But on his return he finds that Sunflower is to be sold to a boy called Phil and he is forbidden to ride her. Watching helplessly as Phil tries to bully the spirited mare into submission, he feels he must take drastic measures to stop the abuse….
PONYMAD RATING: 5 HORSESHOES

Collector's Info:
The Knight paperback edition is reasonably easy to find and quite cheap to buy. The hardbacks, both UK and Australian are a lot harder. Obviously the books are on the whole easier to find in Australia than the UK or USA.