The Compass Points North

This children's novel, published in 1938, is set on the English-Scottish border. It featured the same Dorset siblings (Jane, Oliver and Bill Lockett) that were introduced in her 1936 novel August Adventure. The premise of this novel is that another group of children (Fenella, Podge, Edward and Pip) are on a camping holiday on the English-Scottish border. The setting prompts an idea of a role-playing border skirmish between the Ancient Britons and the combined Picts and Scots. Being on the southern side of the frontier, they think of themselves as the Ancient Britons but long to have an ‘enemy’ to play with. Then the Lockett children arrive on the Scottish side to stay with twins Morwenna and Esme Vardon. Battle commences soon after.

The author, Mary Evelyn Atkinson (born 20 June 1899), was born in London. Her father was a schoolmaster and by 1911, his work had taken the family to Swanage, Dorset. She was educated at Leeson House, a local boarding school for girls. Her brother, Geoffrey, was killed in action in February 1917 while serving with the Indian Army in Kut, Iraq. Her first children's book was published in 1936 and a further 13 novels about the Lockett children were published in the following 25 years. In addition, she wrote a shorter series of novels about a pony called Fricka, as well as short stories. She had started her career as an author with the publication of a play in 1931 and five further one-act plays were published in the 1930s.

One of the children is taken prisoner and when released, he returns to his camp to report that “they said it was to be a war”. Jane respons to the news with determination: “They'll get ‘war’ all right! We'll avenge you. Trust us! They’d better look out.” Later Jane after a success in the battlefield reflects “what a pity it was that, not being a boy, she could not become a soldier and lead real men to victory. There was Boadicea, of course, but women didn't seem to do that sort of thing nowadays.”