We Met Our Cousins

First published in 1937, We Met Our Cousins concerns John and Antonia who are sent from London to spend the holidays with their Scottish cousins who live with their grandfather at Roid House in the Scottish Highlands. The children are initially incompatible, with John and Antonia (from whose perspective the book is written) cosseted and rather precious whilst Angus and Morag and the younger Hamish are wild and scruffy and spend their time riding and sailing. Despite a prickly start, the cousins get on well, with the Scottish children learning to tolerate their cousins namby-pamby ways and John and Antonia toughening up a good deal. When John saves wee Hamish from a maddened bull, friendships are firmly cemented. Whilst rehearsing a play to be performed for the local children, the four cousins also manage to solve the mystery of Mrs Creach’s stolen jewels and to discover the truth of the MacTavish and MacAlister feud. This is a lovely story, enlivened by Anne Bullen’s wonderful illustrations.