Frogmorton Farm books in order

What it is

Frogmorton Farm begins with Jenny Dove, a woman so overlooked that her family call her the Nothing Girl. Thomas, an enormous golden horse visible only to Jenny, intervenes when her isolation reaches a crisis.

His encouragement opens the possibility of change; Russell Checkland’s proposal brings that possibility into a very practical setting, a dilapidated farmhouse.

The Nothing Girl combines a magical companion with unpaid bills, leaking roofs and apparent accidents. The Something Girl returns to Jenny and Russell’s household, where financial difficulties and domestic disorder continue alongside Jenny’s changed circumstances.

The countryside is a home to be lived in, with work and worries attached, rather than a place where every difficulty disappears. Shorter Farm stories provide additional visits to the household, including the Christmas nativity of Little Donkey.

Who it suits

The site’s view is that this strand suits readers interested in belonging and the effort involved in building a life. Thomas gives the opening a fairy-tale possibility, while the farmhouse brings that possibility back to ordinary demands.

The contrast between magical encouragement and practical responsibility is the strongest reason we would choose this series.

We recommend it when you want a smaller domestic setting than the time-travel organisations. Jenny’s opening situation includes a suicidal crisis, so the warm premise should not obscure its difficult beginning. Read the opening premise with that balance in mind before choosing it for comfort reading.

Where to start

Choose The Nothing Girl before The Something Girl. Jenny’s first novel introduces the isolation from which she is trying to move and the unusual companion who helps her consider doing so.

Beginning with the sequel would give you the household after that initial change, rather than the experience that makes it meaningful.

Our expanded route places Little Donkey between the two novels. Headline’s St Mary’s guide identifies that story as a Frogmorton Farm guest within Long Story Short, so a collection bearing a different series’ associations can still contain a Farm visit. The story page shows the relevant choices.

If you would rather stay with the novels first, that is a straightforward way to begin; add the shorter household visits afterwards when you want more.

How it connects

Frogmorton Farm is one of Taylor’s separate story strands. Its connection to the broader catalogue is especially visible through collections: Long Story Short gathers St Mary’s pieces together with Little Donkey. Sharing a volume does not make Jenny’s family part of Max’s historical-research sequence.

The individual story’s family remains the useful guide to where it belongs.

In our view, the Farm is a good alternative after time-travel adventures when you want the focus to move towards home and relationships. Elizabeth Cage also begins with a woman whose unusual experience separates her from others, but its thriller premise points towards a different reading mood.

Choose between them by that emphasis. No earlier Taylor series is needed to understand why Jenny wants a life in which she matters.

Listening

Headline’s audiobook listing for The Something Girl credits Lucy Price-Lewis. Check the individual page for The Nothing Girl and the separate short works when selecting your recordings, keeping the two novels in story order. The format choice is independent of whether you include the intervening shorter visits.

Our suggestion for a mixed reading and listening route is to begin the first novel in whichever format lets you give Jenny’s opening your attention. Continue to Little Donkey if you want the expanded route, then to the second novel.

A collection can be useful for text readers, but compare its contents with stories you already have. The aim is another visit to the Farm, not accidentally purchasing the same visit several times.