I have hunted for this book for most of my adult life. First of all, I did not know the English title because I had ever read it only in Polish. I read it first when I was about eleven, and had loved it ever since. It took me a while to figure out the English title, all thanks to a site that sells Polish books. They had it in Polish and that way I found the author - Clare Compton. From there it was easy to learn the title was "Harriet and the Cherry Pie." OK, that was the easy part. Turns out this book was only published in 1963 and then in paperback in 1968 and that's it. Never re-printed in English, though it has been in Polish. I started haunting used book sellers' sites. They had it, sure, but in hardcover, the first edition and for $50, a bit more than I was willing to pay. And then finally, at the beginning of December, I found it from a seller in the UK in paperback. Ordered it immediately. It came a couple of days after Christmas. Oh, joy!!! And now I've read it for the first time in almost 30 years. And I still love it!
And to all my friends out there - I love you, but I am not lending this book to anyone! It's just too important to me.
I bet you're wondering what it's about. It's the story of a little girl (Harriet) who comes from Bristol with her sister to live with a great aunt because their father is posted to Australia for six months and their mother had died. The great aunt owns a cafe called the Cherry Pie and is very young and energentic. She makes the girls feel at home, but Harriet feels lonely and out of place, but by accident meets people who are involved in the theatre and then becomes a child actress and stars in a play. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the writing is very nice, all cosy and comfy and this book has become part of me. I often imagined myself in Harriet's place.