Armine von Tempski (1892-1943)

Armine von Tempski was born on the island paradise of Maui in Hawaii. She wrote two autobiographies, three children's novels and a number of adult novels, all based on her early life amongst the ranches and cowboys of her island home. Her books are amongst the best loved stories about Hawaii. Inevitably, some of the books feature horses and these are highlighted below.

More about the author's life can be found in the various links or can be read in her two autobiographies.

Pony Books:

BRIGHT SPURS
ILLUSTRATED BY PAUL BROWN
Reprinted in hardback
Reprinted in paperback by Ox Bow Press
SUMMARY: This is a fictionalised account based on the younger life of the author. After the death of their father, two girls turn their Hawaiian estate into a dude ranch for tourists.
(The real story can be read in her second autobiography Aloha.)

PAM'S PARADISE RANCH
(DODD, MEAD & CO 1940)
ILLUSTRATED BY PAUL BROWN
Reprinted a number of times in hardback throughout the 1940s
Reprinted more recently (1992) in paperback by Ox Bow Press
SUMMARY: The story of Pam's life on a ranch in Hawaii.

Collector's Info:
The children's pony stories are rare in the UK in any edition. The Ox Bow Press paperback reprints can be found reasonable easily on the internet in the USA, however the original hardbacks are harder to find and may be quite expensive (possibly made more so by the highly collectable status of the illustrator Paul Brown).

Books about the author:

BORN IN PARADISE
(DUELL, SLOAN & PEARCE 1940)
Reprinted a number of times including Travel Book Club edition, UK and Canadian editions and paperbacks.
Most recently reprinted in paperback by Ox Bow Press
SUMMARY: First part of the author's autobiography

ALOHA
(DUELL, SLOAN & PEARCE 1946)
Reprinted a couple of times in hardback
Most recently reprinted in paperback by Ox Bow Press
SUMMARY: Second part of the author's biography

Collector's Info:
Of the autobiographies, the first is easy to find in the both the UK and the USA, the second easy in America, but a bit harder here.