This is the most famous horse racing story ever put into print. A real exhilarating ride that features Velvet, a girl whose belief in a horse’s ability to win the greatest race – the Grand National – in spite of everyone else’s view otherwise. Velvet’s determination to achieve her dream just shows that when you put your mind to something you really believe in, you can accomplish just about anything. This is a must read for any boy or girl aged 9+.
A classic story of dreams, ambition and one girl's belief in a horse. 'Velvet'll sit on a horse like a shadow and breathe her soul into it...I never seen such a creature on a horse.' Velvet is mad about horses. When she wins a piebald horse in a raffle, she knows he's something special. His heart is as big as the five-foot fences he jumps, and he'll do anything for Velvet. Soon, she and her friend Mi have their sights set on the biggest race in England. But can a girl win the Grand National?
Enid Bagnold (1889-1981) was an author and playwright.
Enid Bagnold began her writing career in August 1913 on a magazine entitled, Modern Society, where she was employed a staff writer.
In 1924 she published the highly acclaimed novel, The Difficulty of Getting Married followed by the commercially successful National Velvet in 1935. National Velvet told the story of a butcher's daughter, Velvet Brown, who wins a horse in a raffle and, disguised as a boy, rides to victory in the Grand National. It was later made into a hugely successful film, with Elizabeth Taylor in the starring role. Her next novel, which she considered to be her best, was The Squire.
Bagnold also wrote a number of plays including Lottie Dundass, The Chalk Garden and a Matter of Gravity.
Enid married Sir Roderick Jones, chairman of Reuters, and had four children. Mostly brought up in Jamaica, she lived in Kent and Sussex, with a spell serving in France as a nurse and driver during World War I.
