Marianne Dreams

Marianne Dreams
by Catherine Storr

First published in Great Britain in 1958.

Although this is classed as a children’s book I found it really creepy when I read it as a child, and having re-read it as a teenager and an adult my feeling haven’t changed.  However it is a good read, and creates strong images in your mind.  If you’re interested in lesser known children’s novels or in stories about dreams and the influence they can have on life, then make sure you read this.

Marianne is a ten year old, who suddenly falls ill on her tenth birthday and is bed bound.  When Marianne becomes bored she looks in her mother’s workbox and finds a pencil. With this pencil she draws a house in a field.  That night she dreams and finds herself in the field looking at the house, but she cannot get inside as there is no-one to let her in.  When she awakes the next day she draws a person in the house, and in her following dreams she meets him.  This boy turns out to be Mark – a boy who is also ill in real life, although they never meet except in her dreams.  As Marianne draws more in the daytime, her dreams turn frightening and she and Mark must work out how to escape.

Marianne is a strong character, who develops from a frustrated, bed bound girl to a fierce, adventurous friend.  She shows the natural fear we all feel in strange dreams and is easy to relate to, even as an older reader.  As I have grown up and re-read I feel the unease Marianne feels in her dreams can be likened to all the worries everybody feels as they change in life.

Mark is a strange character, because he what he says and does is essentially a reaction to what Marianne draws.  He is around the same age as Marianne but more emotional.   He is scared that he doesn’t understand what is happening and angry at Marianne for being able to leave when he is seemingly always in the house she has drawn.

The basic story is one which appeals to younger readers – an ill child who is transported to her imaginary world and makes a friend.  Along with the magic of a drawing pencil the story has all you would want.  However there is an ongoing eeriness and as the story progresses it becomes outright creepy, and thus I feel it is a tricky one to attach an audience to.