Daisy Ashford, child author of 'The Young Visiters' and namesake of 'The Ashford', wrote her novel in 1890 when she was just 9 years old. Her manuscript, complete with juvenile spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, was re-discovered and published in it's entirety, uncorrected, in 1919. With a preface by J. M Barrie it was an instant hit and went through 18 editions in it's first year.
'The Visiters' follows Mr Salteena's journey to become 'a gentleman' and is a great insight into a young and curious observer's view of the 'grown up world' I was given my copy years ago as a child, in fact it may have been passed onto me. My mother really encouraged me to read as a child and I was never short on a good variety to delve into. We used to load up at Library sales and charity shops and with an almost bottomless curiosity I discovered; A.A Milne, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Agatha Christie and many more. Only a few of those much loved books have moved with me from place to place over the years. 'The Young Visiters' is one that has stood the test of time and now continues to spark my adult curiosity. I always loved Daisy's observations of a grown up world that was before my time with all it's grandeur and pomposity, particularly her self belief in actually writing a story. I was also fascinated that her creativity was celebrated by being published and not dismissed as childishness.
"My life will be sour grapes and ashes without you."- Mr Salteena, The Young Visiters, Daisy Ashford.
'The Ashford' is one of 6 new designs from The Print Collection. It is knitted in 2 contrasting colours of cotton by me. As with all W&W designs there are only 25 pieces made making each one a limited edition. See more & get yours here
Stay Curious!
I am Alice and I run Wool & Water and Wool & Whiskers, a unique Bow Tie label from my garden studio in Amsterdam, fuelled by copious amounts of green tea.