The Beasts of Robertson Terrace

The story is a children’s novel about two stone statues and their adventures when they come to life.Lion and Unicorn stand on each side of a terrace overlooking the sea. They have been there for a hundred and sixty years or so and they are deeply bored. When the story begins, they decide to have fun and explore the world around them.Soon they find they can the swim in the sea, where they meet a seahorse. He invites them to join a musical band of his friends, and they spend a night of merriment until it is time to go back to the terrace. Their appetite for adventure has been whetted, however, and when Seagull offers information, advice and help to visit a sunken treasure ship, they leave the terrace for good.In the underwater cabins that prove so interesting, they also come up against the threat from illegal treasure hunting scuba divers. Lion asserts his authority and they escape. Seagull then suggests that they may visit their ‘stone cousins’ in Kew Gardens, the whole set of Queens Beasts. Because they are unaware of their powers of magic, they decide to swim along the coast to the mouth of the River Thames, and from there upriver to Kew. On the way they pass a colony of Oysters at Whitstable who repair their weather-damaged bodies.At the Gardens, Leo and Filkor, the newer versions of themselves, accept them and teach them that they can become invisible at will. When they are introduced to the other stone Beasts, a battle ensues, which they discover they enjoy. However, the visit now over, they set out once more for home territory.The journey leads them first to the London park which features stone models of dinosaurs. Although it is a disappointment that these statues are lifeless, they are whizzed back millions of years and meet the real iguanodon and megalosaurus. Lion is badly damaged, killed, and Unicorn discovers the magic healing power of her horn, but the incident beforehand has set up resentment in Lion which is to build in strength.In a forest, they then meet the Green Man who welcomes them. Unicorn meets a group of children playing at Robin Hood, so although she talks to the girl, the boys in the gang chase her. She and Lion leave to resume the journey. Seagull reappears, catches up with their adventures and tells them they should visit the chalk figure of The Old man of Wilmington. Before they find him, they run into the chalk White Horse, and then discover that the Old Man is rudely outspoken. So they continue the journey.Coming to a farm they decide to spend the night in the barn where the chickens are housed. The next morning the farmer’s boy accidentally sets the barn on fire which spreads to the goat shed. Lion releases the chickens, and then realises that Unicorn is missing. When he rescues her, she insists on staying to ensure the safety of the humans with her magic horn if necessary.Lion’s resentment comes to a head; they quarrel an separate but later Unicorn wants to rescue the crew of a damaged yacht. By lucky circumstance, this is below Lion’s cave. With Seagull’s encouragement he helps the now winged Unicorn with her task.Their difference is reconciled, and they settle down to live happily ever after.

The Beasts of Robertson Terrace is a tale of adventure about the imaginary coming-to-life of two limestone statues, the Lion and the Unicorn.

This book, previously published in paperback, has already proved popular with children and is enjoyed by adults. The reading age is for 9 to 11 year olds but has been received enthusiastically by people up to the age of 86.The story is about two limestone statues on either end of a terrace wall, the Lion and the Unicorn, two of the heraldic Queen’s Beasts. *****The statues are located in Hastings, East Sussex, but while there is a recognised local connection, there is insufficient detail to pin-point it for those not familiar with the area.***** They have a rich mythic status in UK and all over the world. They were regarded as representing the sun and the moon respectively and therefore the masculine and feminine. They also represent England and Scotland on royal coats of arms.The theme of the book is: what if they stepped down into a freer world, interacted with ‘our world’ and discovered themselves in the process?That is just what they do, gradually taking on the magical attributes given them since ancient times.They suddenly decide, after a hundred and sixty years of stationary boredom, to go adventuring. They jump off their pedestals and are soon under the sea. They meet a friendly seahorse and join a band of underwater musicians. Like Cinderella, they must be back in position before their absence is noticed, but with the encouragement and help of an all-knowing seagull, it is the start of an independent life far from the terrace. They journey to Kew Gardens, swimming round the coast and upriver to see the other Queen’s Beasts, and then make their way back home. On the way, they explore a sunken Dutch Indiaman treasure ship, are whizzed back in time to the age of the iguanodon and the megalosaurus, meet the Green Man and the chalk figure, the Long Man of Wilmington. When a quarrel erupts between them following a fire, Lion and Unicorn go separate ways, but are reconciled eventually in saving the crew of a storm-damaged yacht.The story ends happily ever after with them settling in a cliffside cave.My objective was to create a story that would appeal to both boys and girls and encourage their reading. Sentence structure is simple, and I have aimed at a balance in vocabulary and so extend their language experience. The text is colloquial but not overly casual. It is considered by a semi-professional story teller to be a good stimulus for imaginative play, and suitable reading for bedtime stories from about six years old. It is draws on cultural information in the present; and in developing the main characters from simple animals to more complex creatures with human attributes it touches on their experience, especially regarding nature of friendship.