The Secret of Moonacre

This film is based on a book called The Little White Horse by a British author named Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge (1900-1984). I had ran across a blog post about the book a while ago and was hoping that one of the local library branches might have it in their collections. I was disappointed to find that they did not have it despite having a couple of other titles by the author.

The book was written in 1946 and received the Carnegie Medal for children's literature that same year. The book is set in Victorian England in the year 1842 and follows the adventures of Maria Merryweather, an orphan who goes to live with her cousin Sir Benjamin Merryweather at Moonacre Manor after the death of her father.

While many people in the U.S. favored the book Green Dolphin Country, which was the basis of the 1947 film, Green Dolphin Street, the author's favorite book was The Little White Horse. The book was adapted once on television in 1994 as a mini-series called Moonacre and then again in 2009 as the film, The Secret of Moonacre.

I was searching my local library's collection online this week when I remembered to search for The Secret of Moonacre. I was so glad when I saw that they had this film in their collection and immediately put it on hold. I was up this morning bright and early to wander over to library to browse the stacks and pick up my hold.

After watching it this afternoon, I must say that I quite enjoyed it. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as Maria Merryweather, Juliet Stevenson as Miss Heliotrope (Maria's governess), Ioan Gruffudd as Sir Benjamin Merryweather, Natascha McElhone as Loveday, and Tim Curry as Sir William de Noir.

The film has Maria Merryweather battling a curse on her family and that of the de Noirs. It was placed on their families hundreds of years ago by a daughter of the de Noir clan who was the Moon Princess and was to marry a member of the Merryweather clan. When she revealed the source of her power, a set of magical pearls that made any individual speak the truth of their hearts, she found out that her father and soon-to-be husband wanted to rule over her and Moonacre. For their pride and greed, she placed a curse on them that if by the 5000th moon no pure individual came to mend the faults of both families and find and destroy the pearls then Moonacre would be completely destroyed.

The filming for this movie took place in London, England and Hungary. The producers of this film chose their locations well as the scenes in Hungary are perfect for adding a realistic air to the fantasy element of the story.

Beatrix Aruna Pasztor was the costume designer for this film. Her costumes were a new twist on the typical Victorian period dress while still maintaining a fantasy quality.

Here are a few stills from the film:


Dakota Blue Richards as Maria Merryweather


Ioan Gruffudd as Sir Benjamin Merryweather


Natascha McElhone as Loveday


Juliet Stevenson as Miss Heliotrope (on left)


Tim Curry as Sir William de Noir (on left) and Augustus Prew as Robin De Noir (on right)


Maria Merryweather in her bedroom at Moonacre Manor

Even though I can't tell you whether this film follows closely with the original story, I give this film an A+ as a beautiful piece of art and a brilliant bit of fantasy. I definitely recommend this film to anyone who loves fantasy, fairy tales, or who loves to watch film adaptations of books :)

Until next time ^____^