| An unashamed and quite delightful tale of 'Fancy and faeries', as the author terms it in her short foreword, where a magical bunch of primroses bought on May Eve brings the Little People into the life of the staff and children of a hospital, to benevolent effect. The buyer of the flowers is Margaret Maclean, nurse to the nine 'incurable' children of Ward C at Saint Margarets. She was once herself an 'incurable', before the old Senior Surgeon saved her against the odds. But the new Senior Surgeon and compassionless Trustees have some drastic plans for both 'Miss Peggie' and the inhabitants of Ward C - only they picked the wrong night to bring their plans into being. Despite the obvious pathos inherent in the characters and their situation, 'The Primrose Ring' keeps its good sense and doesn't succumb to sentiment or offer any false hopes with the way the story plays out. The children's night journey through the magical primrose ring to the Land of Tir-na-n'Og is particularly pleasing. A superior fairy story in the Celtic strain, for both children and adults. (Goodreads) |
