SEAL MORNING
This book has brought pleasure to many because of the beauty of its story and the simplicity and vividness of the language in which it is written. The writer, while still a young girl, and her nature-loving aunt, took a small croft in Sutherland, the most northern, the most remote and the most sparsely populated country in the Scottish Highlands. This book describes the life of the authoress and her aunt, and of their two squirrels, their two otters, their tame rat and, above all, of Lora, the star of the book. Lora was a common seal which, when very young, was brought to Rowena Farre as a present. She accompanied the boat for picnics across the loch, and when tea was being set on the grass Lora set out the cups correctly. She was a performer on the xylophone and mouth organ, and sang loudly if not tunefully. This unique seal mysteriously disappeared one day after she had accompanied the authoress in her boat across the freshwater loch. In the old Celtic tales seals are on occasion human beings held beneath spells, and it may be that Lora had regained her human form and her human beauty, and had returned to her own race. The illustrator of Seal Morning is Raymond Sheppard. His pencil illus— trations are first class and add a touch of unusual distinction to the book.
Seton Gordon, in the BROADSHEET

Rowena Farre was born in India, where she spent her early childhood. Her parents considered it would be better for her health if she lived in England and, when still a young girl, she was sent `to this country. For a while Rowena Farre lived with an aunt in Buckingham before moving to Sutherland, which is the scene of Seal Morning. Since leaving Sutherland, Rowena Farre has travelled through Britain living among tinkers and gipsies. Her interests are Indian Philosophy, folklore, writing and travel.