Thursday's children Book

A similarity in title and theme had led me to suppose, looking back after all these many years, that this book was written by Noel Streatfeild, an English writer best known in the United States as the author of the "Shoes" books. Imagine my surprise (and delight) when a recent online conversation helped me to realize that Rumer Godden, another English author whose work I admire, was the one responsible for this wonderful children's novel...

The story of Doone Penny, a young boy who longs to study ballet like his older sister, Thursday's Children is a moving portrait of a sensitive and artistic child, and his journey of self-discovery. Ridiculed for his desire to pursue such an "unmanly" occupation, discouraged by his jealous sister and mother, and abused by his father, Doone quickly discovers that pursuing a dream - particularly one that sets you apart - comes at a high cost.

It has been more than twenty years since I read Godden's novel, which is named for the famous nursery rhyme: "Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go." But despite the passage of time, I can still remember the poignant sense of loneliness that it conjured up, just as the feeling of terror, evoked by the scene in which Doone is beaten by his father, has stayed with me to this day. I think it may have been my first exposure to the tragedy of child abuse.