The New Adventures of Mr Prickle-back

Many will know that the second Mrs Hardy, Florence, was an aspiring writer prior to meeting Thomas Hardy. What they might not know is that she published a small collection of short stories about an anthropomorphic hedgehog, named Mr Prickle-back. Several years ago I was fortunate enough to obtain a 1939 reprint of these stories, titled: Adventures of Mr Prickleback, which are a simple but charming read. Aimed at children and with a touch of the whimsical, they gripped my attention and, to cut a long story short, inspired me to continue the adventures of the eponymous hedgehog fellow.

Under the pen name of Spike Rose, which I use for my children’s books, I have now written two collections of my own stories about Mr Prickle-back [the typographical discrepancy is not mine]. The intention was not to plagiarise, parody or ‘borrow’ any of Florence’s ideas, but merely continue them. While Florence’s work is a mere footnote (and, indeed, a Google search of “Mr Prickle-back – Florence Dugdale” yields absolutely nothing), there is an unusual charm to her writing, an outlet for a voice almost entirely relegated to the shadows of TH’s legacy, and by giving new life to Mr Prickle-back, and inventing new friends and new adventures for him, it felt like an earnest and sympathetic continuation of Florence Dugdale’s early ambitions. Admittedly, the stories that I concocted are a touch more whimsical, written originally for the amusement of myself and a few close friends with whom I have shared them. Encouraged by their reception, and with a desire to perhaps shine a little light on the otherwise overlooked work of the young Miss Dugdale, I have now made these collections of short stories available on Amazon, for anyone who might be interested in some gentle amusement.

Author’s forward to The New Adventures of Mr Prickle-back by Spike Rose:

It was quite by chance that I became acquainted with Mr Prickle-back. I say ‘chance’, but perhaps ‘providence’ would be the better word, that term being so oft considered by the esteemed poet and novelist Thomas Hardy, whose second wife was the originator of our kindly (if cantankerous) erinaceous friend. It was while pursuing my Hardyan studies that I stumbled across mention of Florence Dugdale’s own writings, particularly her ‘animal stories’. A cursory search on a popular auction website revealed a small chapbook-style publication entitled Adventures of Mr Prickleback [sic], which I was lucky enough to obtain. The Oxford Story Readers (First Series) book was in good condition, featured a touching dedication from a previous owner, was beautifully illustrated, and contained just two stories: ‘Mr Prickle-back Runs a Race’ and ‘Mr Prickle-back Gives a Party’.

When a friend came to stay in summer 2022, I light-heartedly read the book as a bedtime story for mere entertainment. I was soon fascinated, however, by the potential of the Mr Prickle-back character and the world he inhabited. Unlike many stories for modern youngsters, Dugdale’s writing contained a slightly satirical gloss, and a somewhat antiquated phrasing which dated the work quite charmingly; a vernacular of Victoriana, if you will.

I therefore felt justified in ‘fleshing out’ his life and doings. For that same friend’s second visit in autumn 2022, I put pen to paper and wrote two more adventures for Mr Prickle-back. As often happens with these things, one idea led to another, and here we are, many short stories later.

Enquiries of the Dorset County Museum and the Thomas Hardy Society, regarding the managing of Florence’s literary estate, drew a blank, and so I proceeded with some trepidation through the fog of creative legal liberties. Though I understand that due to the lapse of time, my thwarted attempts at contacting an executor, and the mercurial definition of ‘fair use’, I might pursue the project free from prosecution, I was disappointed at not being able to seek authorial permission, out of deference and respect, if not obligation.

I imagined my reader to be an adult or older child possessing a passion for whimsy, and, although I have modernised the writing style, embellishing a little for my own amusement and that of my (very limited) readership, I like to think that the result is apposite; an apt continuation of Mr Prickle-back’s adventures, broadening his sylvan horizons while still retaining the charm of the original stories.

My humble offerings ought to be read not as parody, pastiche or usurpation, but as tribute, a nod in the direction of one whose delicately charming works do not receive the recognition they certainly deserve.

Shaun Higgins

A little about me: I am a writer, stage actor and director based on the Welsh Borders, from where I run a small production company. Alongside my theatrical undertakings, I am part-way through a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing with the University of Sheffield, with my project involving adapting Tess of the d’Urbervilles for a young 21st century theatre audience, with reference to themes of dislocation, rural deprivation, and mental health struggles.