Mrs Nichols (Lab Technician) enjoyed the Chalet School series of books by Elinor m Brent-Dyer as a girl and says:-" I had no wish to go to boarding school, but liked reading about girls who did and I loved the location of the school. I have vivid memories of running with my friends to the shelf in Seven Kings Library in Essex to see if a new one had arrived"
*** The previous book in the lists of books 'I Liked as a Child' were all quite famous so needed no comment at all. This series was completely unknown to me so, curiosity being a trait of mine, I felt the need to research the author and the series.
There were 58! books in the series (more than The Famous Five and Secret Seven put together!) all written between 1925 and 1970. The books seem to mirror society and history of the time in many ways with the school even moving from Austria, to Gurnsey, Herefordshire and then onto Wales because of tuberculosis, the rise of the Nazi party and the second world war.
Throughout the series, various girls arrive at the school with personal problems, bad attitudes or behavioural issues. As a result of the ministrations of better-behaved classmates and the teaching staff, they all tend to discover the error of their ways and become model pupils, or 'real Chalet School girls'.(very much like life at Ludlow School today !)
Mrs Nichols was not the only person who mentioned this series so she maybe interested in starting a branch on the Friends of Chalet School Society.
No comments:
Post a Comment