Books in Collins ballet library series

The best-bred lunatics in England live in Clankwood, and Francis Beveridge is that community's newest resident. Rather than attending the asylum's Saturday dances, though, Beveridge goes on the lam in London. And thus, when a traveling German noble finds himself at the luxurious Hotel Mayonnaise without a guide to England's customs, who better to escort him than the amnesiac Englishman who materializes by his side? Beveridge provides the German with much useful knowledge, like giving a splendid tutor in bringing rail stations to a standstill, revealing the best way to fake a rabies attack, and showing how to crash London's most exclusive clubs — quite literally. A much-loved Victorian comic masterpiece, this is the original anarchic novel that ushered in the age of Wodehouse and Waugh.

Mrs. Thornton goes to an auction, and to her surprise acquires a ruined farmhouse and seventy wild acres. It lies in a deep Surrey valley, peeping behind the leaning fruit trees of its orchard. It is built of quarry stone, with pearl-grey timbers, diamond-paned windows and a steep, wide roof encrusted with moss and lichen. The Thorntons give their hearts to it at once and work hard to make the farm a success. There is much to do, much to be learnt and many difficulties to overcome, for the house is very old and the land is overgrown. As they build for the future they discover fascinating relics of the past. The most exciting of these is Dion's discovery of the diary of a boy, which tells the story of the Black Hunting Whip. They determine to find the whip and to fulfil the boy's wish that it should be carried to victory in the Guildford Show. Their efforts to achieve this lead to a strange and unexpected event.