The Hounds of Penhallow Hall
4 primary works
Book 1
For Polly, moving to Penhallow Hall is the fresh start she’s been longing for since the death of her father. Her mum has got a job managing the stately home and once the last of the visitors leave for the day the place is all theirs! One night, Polly sleepwalks into the garden and wakes to find her hand on the head of one of the stone dogs that guard the steps down to the lawn. Then she feels him lick her cheek! The dog introduces himself as Rex, an Irish Wolfhound who lived at Penhallow many hundreds of years earlier. And he is not the only resident ghost – Polly has also glimpsed a strange boy around the place. With Rex’s help she finds herself unravelling the story of his beloved master, William Penhallow, who was killed in the First World War aged only 17.
Book 2
Polly and her new ghostly friends William, Rex and Magnus wake Li-Mei, the Chinese porcelain Fu Dog from the Red Drawing Room. The little Pekinese tells them her adventures with Sarah Penhallow – how they investigated rumours of smugglers and sighted a ghostly Green Lady down at the cove. But when Polly looks at the family portrait she realises that there were actually two dogs. Eventually, Li-Mei reveals that she had a companion, Han, but she thinks that he drowned down by the cove. Together, the friends set off to solve the mystery once and for all, and discover a secret tunnel. Here they come across a broken statue of a dog beneath a rockfall. Then they see a vision of a tiny dog running after a group of smugglers, only for the tunnel to collapse on him. Polly returns to the house with the statue and hides it in a drawer of a lacquer cabinet. When she opens it again the cracks have gone – Li-Mei and Han are reunited at last on the mantelpiece.
Book 3
At Penhallow Hall, where magical objects come to life, Polly and ghost hound Rex discover a toy dog on the nursery shelf. But to their surprise, this dog doesn’t want to be woken! Polly finds out that the little toy dog was left behind at Penhallow during World War II by his evacuee owners, when the two children returned to the city. Polly invites her new friend at school, Lucy, over to tea and she seems strangely drawn to the toy dog, too. But before Polly can find out why, Lucy goes missing. Polly guesses where Lucy might be – but she’ll need the little dog’s help to find her.
Book 4
It’s Halloween at Penhallow Hall and while celebrations are in full swing at the stately home, Polly and Rex are in search of a new ghost dog. Down in the old stable block they come across a dog’s head carved in a wooden door and wake a terrier called Patch. The little dog is terrified of the changes to his old home and runs off. When Polly and Rex find Patch hiding in a hollow tree they find themselves on the trail of an even greater mystery. Inside the tree is a coded message from Patch’s master, Jack, to his older brother. From Patch’s description Polly and Rex realize that Jack’s brother must have been a highwayman! But the message remains unread. Can Polly and Rex discover what happened to the brothers?