The Chalet School Revisited

by Sheila Ray

  Can it then be thought of as a purely theoretical idea — like that School Spirit headmistresses used to be so fond of quoting to us when we’d been spotted eating food in the street or losing more hockey matches than usual? This comes nearer the point, but still misses it. “School spirit”, like peace, is something generally noticed when absent, and the Chalet School never loses it. No, the idea of the Chalet School is, very cleverly, projected on to certain characters, and continuity of character is at the core of the Chalet School.

  In a very important sense, of course, continuity of character is the heart of any series. We have already seen that the use of the same school (as in Smith or Elder) is not sufficient; we need to follow the characters from book to book. This poses a problem for any children’s writer who takes children as their main characters, whether in or out of school: eventually, our favourites become too old. One can use Malcolm Saville’s expedient, and refuse to let them age (though even he had to allow a bit of maturity eventually41); but in a school setting, where progression through the school hierarchy is a fundamental part of the attraction, that won’t work.

  One can write a book for each year or each term, and then finish the series (Blyton’s technique); or accept that school is no longer central but still follow the characters into adulthood, as Oxenham does. Brent-Dyer follows the natural sequence of events in letting her characters age and progress, and uses the technique of many non-series writers in allowing us to identify with a succession of new girls who are gradually moulded by the Chalet spirit; but with one significant addition. The Chalet spirit is actually represented by individuals who last far longer within the series than is usual in school stories.

  Looking at the series overall, it is quite clear that there are three girls on to whom the Chalet spirit is projected: Jo, Mary-Lou and Jo’s daughter Len. It would be interesting to discuss in some detail the precise qualities which are epitomised by these three characters, but space, alas, does not allow it. What must be said, though, is that Jo in particular symbolises the Chalet spirit. From p.15 of The School at the Chalet to p.166 of Prefects of the Chalet School, Jo is a continuous presence; there are even five books42 where the school doesn’t appear at all, but Jo is a key figure in all of them.

  It may be significant that HarperCollins Armada, which has reprinted all the actual school stories, has until very recently seemed uninterested in four of these five (did the title give them the impression that A Future Chalet School Girl was a school story?). They presumably feel that there would not be a large enough market for books which focus largely on adults or are not set in a school. I think they are wrong: the school is there in the person of Jo — friendly, understanding, forgiving, loyal, humorous and tolerant.

  The realisation of Jo’s importance came to Brent-Dyer gradually. In The Head Girl of the Chalet School we are told that Jo is going to leave school at 17 to be lady-in-waiting to Elisaveta. By the time that point is reached, Brent-Dyer has begun to realise that it would be most unwise to remove her heroine from the Chalet School, and she is given another year as Head Girl. And when her time as a schoolgirl cannot be further prolonged, we are told that Jo can’t think of going to Belsornia now, since Madge, with her own two children and her brother Dick’s young family to care for, needs her badly.43

  Actually, Madge, with Marie and Rosa to help her, is the envy of every reader with young children, and needs Jo about as much as she needs Rufus the dog; Jo herself recognises this.44 No, it’s a ploy chosen to keep Jo up at the Sanatorium (or, once Jem has bought the St Scholastika buildings for a summer home, down at the Tiernsee), and thus ensure that she can return to the Chalet School at every opportunity. It might not have lasted Brent-Dyer another 40 books, but marrying Jo off to a doctor at the Sanatorium was an even better idea. In other words, Jo’s continued presence in or near the school is an essential ingredient in creating that sense of the Chalet School itself as the central character in the stories — because Jo is the Chalet School. She is the warp — the thread which forms the basis of the multi-coloured tapestry which is the Chalet School, and one of the major reasons why Brent-Dyer’s “castle in the air” is still loved today45.

  The Series Factor, then, allowed Brent-Dyer to create and revel in an entire world which expressed her values and ideals; and to communicate these through the creation of specific characters whom we follow throughout the series. It permits readers to enter this world and experience the characters as their friends. Without the Series Factor, Brent-Dyer would be of minor interest. With it, she will remain one of the most beloved writers for girls who “even if they live to be great-grandmothers, will be Chalet Girls to the end.”46

  NOTES

  1. Book and Magazine Collector (October, 1993).

  2. Occasionally a character from one book will reappear in a minor role in another: eg A Patriotic Schoolgirl (Blackie, 1918), The School in the South (Blackie, 1922) and Joan’s Best Chum (Blackie, 1926).

  3. The Scholarship Girl (Collins, 1925); The Scholarship Girl at Cambridge (Collins, 1926).

  4. Exile for Annis (1938); Cherry Tree Perch (1939); Strangers at the Farm School (1940). All Collins.

  5. Merry Begins, Merry Again, Merry Marches On (all Oxford University Press, 1947).

  6. Seven Sisters at Queen Anne’s (1924); Septima at School (1925); Phyllida in Form III (1927). All Blackie.

  7. The Chalet School Goes to It (1941); Gay From China at the Chalet School (1944).

  8. First met in The Princess of the Chalet School (1927); later adventures recounted in Highland Twins at the Chalet School (1942).

  9.Lavender Laughs at the Chalet School (1943) et seq.

  10. Gay From China at the Chalet School, pp.230-1.

  11. Lavender Laughs at the Chalet School, pp. 104-6.

  12. Rivals of the Chalet School (1929), chap. 17 et seq.

  13. Gay From China at the Chalet School, esp. pp.105-7.

  14. Jane Steps In (1953).

  15. Highland Twins at the Chalet School, p.39.

  16. Bride Leads the Chalet School (1953), p.34 ff.

  17. Highland Twins at the Chalet School, p.39.

  18. e.g. no.10, Nov.1963; no. 15, Sept.1966.

  19. Mary Cadogan, Richmal Crompton: The Woman Behind William (Allen & Unwin, 1986), p.71.

  20. Humphrey Carpenter, J. R. R.Tolkien (George Allen & Unwin, 1977), p.183 ff.

  21. Roger Lancelyn Green & Walter Hooper, C. S. Lewis (Collins, 1974), p.236 ff.

  22. “On Fairy Stories”. In various collections, most accessibly Tree and Leaf (George Allen & Unwin, 1964).

  23. Times Educational Supplement, 3 July 1970.

  24. See e.g. Barbara Stoney, Enid Blyton (Hodder & Stoughton, 1976), p.206.

  25. See e.g. “It All Began With a Picture”. In various collections, e.g. Of This And Other Worlds (Collins 1982).

  26. Helen McClelland,Elinor M.Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School (Armada, 1989).

  27. Joey Goes to the Oberland (1954), p.40.

  28. Jo Returns to the Chalet School (1936).

  29. Actually, she hadn’t — she was initially Dr Jem’s secretary at the Sanatorium. But Brent-Dyer clearly forgot this (one of the disadvantages of the series.

  30. Rosemary Auchmuty, A World of Girls (Women’s Press, 1992), p.87.

  31. Behind the Chalet School, p.178.

  32. Prefects of the Chalet School (1970).

  33. Theodora and the Chalet School (1959).

  34. Ruey Richardson, Chaletian (1960).

  35. The Chalet School in Exile (1940).

  36. The Chalet School Goes to It (1941) et seq.

  37. The Chalet School and the Island (1950) et seq.

  38. The Chalet School in the Oberland (1952).

  39. The Chalet School and Barbara (1954) to end of series.

  40. Challenge for the Chalet School (1966), p.19.

  41. Malcom Saville, Not Scarlet But Gold (Newnes, 1962), Introduction, p.6.

  42. Jo to the Rescue (1945), Joey Goes to t
he Oberland (1954), Joey and Co. in Tirol (1960), A Future Chalet School Girl (1962), The Chalet School Reunion ((1963).

  43. The New House at the Chalet School (1935), pp.21-2.

  44. Ibid., pp.250-1.

  45. Even when she is in Canada, from The Wrong Chalet School (1952) to Bride Leads the Chalet School (1953), numerous references to her and letters from her keep her in mind.

  46. Prefects of the Chalet School (with minor alterations!), p.38 — and many other places.

  VIII. CONFESSIONS OF A CHALET SCHOOL COLLECTOR

  GILL BILSKI

  DO you remember those wonderful days when you could go into Foyles and see two whole shelves full of brightly jacketed titles by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer? And do you recall the nightmare of being able to afford only one? If only I had known!

  Luckily my father was in the book trade and realised that once the books had gone out of print they were unlikely to be reprinted. Having decided that this was no “fly-by-night” passion, he bought up all the copies I did not yet possess. These were secreted in a cardboard box in the bottom of my mother’s wardrobe, ready for use as birthday and Christmas presents. However, once I discovered this treasure trove, I would sneak in there when my parents were out and have an illicit read. Finally, I remember that my cousin was coming to stay and I owned up to knowing about the box. With a little persuasion I was allowed to have all of the books to put on my shelves to make a good show and, somehow, after she had gone home, there they remained.

  I was always a great fan of school stories starting, as so many people do, with the Malory Towers and St Clare’s stories by Enid Blyton. Such stories were far more abundant in the 1960s than they are today, and our library had a large selection which I borrowed regularly.

  Although I had always known about the Chalet School series, for my mother had preserved a copy of Eustacia Goes to the Chalet School (1930) from her own childhood, I avoided reading it. First, I thought the name Eustacia really odd and, second, my mother had recommended them — I was at an age when I automatically avoided anything recommended by my parents! Eventually, when I was about ten, I capitulated — mainly because I had read everything else that interested me in the local library. I started with Trials for the Chalet School (no. 41, 1959) which should have put me off them completely as there must have been so many things that did not make sense, since I had not read the previous ones. Happily it didn’t, and I progressed to having a few copies of my own.

  A little later, when helping at a jumble sale, I found a copy of The Feud in the Fifth Remove (1931) and was amazed to see that although by Elinor Brent-Dyer, this was not a Chalet School book. From this I discovered that she had written other books, and thought how I should love to read all of them.

  At about this time I joined the original Chalet Club run by W. & R. Chambers (the publishers of the Chalet School series). This had been started in May 1959, and readers were invited to join for a small fee. In return they received newsletters written by Elinor Brent-Dyer about the books and how she wrote them, giving further news of characters who hadn’t appeared recently, answering readers’ queries and setting competitions. There was a membership badge of a small edelweiss on a pin and family trees of the Bettany family. There were also saving cards so that readers could save up for the new titles. In those days the majority of members were schoolgirls although, even then, there was an adult section with their own special competition. At its peak there were nearly 4,000 members from all over the world. The club ran until her death, when Chambers felt it could no longer be continued.

  Although I joined only towards the end, I can still remember the thrill when the newsletters arrived, though sadly in later years they became fewer and further between. Elinor Brent-Dyer was very keen on giving advice on writing, but for me the interest was in her answers to readers’ questions: finding out what had happened to old girls, and on whom the characters were based. I also loved the competitions but, sadly, did not win any of them.

  Nowadays, if you were not lucky enough to have been a member, the newsletters are very difficult to find and, therefore, extremely collectable. The badge, too, is almost unheard of on the second-hand market. Unfortunately, being a pin, it tended to fall off clothes, and I certainly remember losing mine on a couple of occasions — though I found it again each time.

  I was really pleased when Armada brought out the first four paperbacks in 1967. The first few were edited by Elinor Brent-Dyer herself to shorten and update them. I remember that one was The Chalet School and Barbara (1954), which delighted me as it filled in a large gap. I continued to read and reread them — I read the whole series from beginning to end for the first time when I got my last one, Tom Tackles the Chalet School (1955). Never mind that at the time I was supposed to be revising for my A-Levels! At this time I seemed to grow out of all my children’s books, except for the Chalets. I have heard so many tales of how complete collections were consigned to jumble sales after the owner left home or “grew up”. I am forever thankful that, although many of my books went this way, the Chalet School series stayed with me.

  From fan to collector

  Shortly before this I had seen an advertisement in a periodical from Trisha Marshall, whom I subsequently discovered was an avid collector of Elinor Brent-Dyer, amongst other authors. She was actually asking for copies but my mother (who collects Elsie J. Oxenham, author of the Abbey girls series) wrote to her saying that we hadn’t any to sell but we were collecting them too. This was my first contact with another collector, and I remember the wonderful feeling that I was not the only one. I had thought that I was the only person who loved the series so much and had never had anybody to talk to about the books.

  Since then, I have had letters from many people who collect and love the books. So many of them have said that they had to keep their obsession quiet in case their friends and relations thought them odd. They felt that reading school stories in adulthood would not be considered normal, and they often express their relief at being able to talk about the books and admit to their secret passion.

  Trisha put us in touch with other collectors and I visited them and saw their beautiful early illustrated editions and dust jackets, and thought that I would like those too. My first copies of the early stories had all been 1950s reprints without dust jackets or illustrations. It’s difficult now, in retrospect, to imagine Jo, Robin or any of the others without seeing Nina K. Brisley’s illustrations in my mind. Unusually, I remember no surprise or shock at her depiction of the characters, so I think she must have captured them as I had imagined them. More importantly, she evidently read the books as the characters and situations are “right”. Although several other people illustrated subsequent editions and the later books, none of them seems right to me. To me her Jo is Jo. The dust jackets are important — most collectors prefer their books to have them. Our views of the artist’s presentation of various characters may not always be the same, but as with the illustrations in the books, they add something to the story.

  Having now been in contact with other collectors, I discovered the existence of “wants lists” and the necessity of making one to send around to other collectors who might have spare copies of books and, later on, to dealers. My first wants list contained only books by Elinor Brent-Dyer and was very long. However, now I was part of a network of collectors, books came thick and fast. I had had the natural assumption that if I did not have a book, it must be hard to find. I was soon disabused of this when I was sent multiple offers of the same title.

  In the mean time, I was not sitting on my laurels. I visited jumble sales, picking up copies of Bride Leads the Chalet School (1953) and, more importantly, The Chalet School and Rosalie (1951). Again, at first, I did not realise how lucky I was. I thought that, since I had found it at a jumble sale, it must be common! I also haunted Charing Cross Road as, by this time, I had left school and was working in London. Sadly, I rarely found anything there, but was drawn by posters I saw in the shops to the Provincial Book Fairs A
ssociation’s bookfairs in Russell Square. Again, there was little to buy, and dealers, when asked about Elinor Brent-Dyer, either gave me blank looks or expressed astonishment that anyone would collect that sort of book. I had to bite my tongue on several occasions! This was, of course, long before the days of dealers specialising in girls’ fiction.

  Undaunted, I went to second-hand bookhops and, just occasionally, there was a title I wanted. There is a heart-stopping moment for collectors when this occurs. I recall that on one of my forays to Cecil Court (off Charing Cross Road) I saw the words Elizabeth the Gallant (1935) on a book on the l0p shelves outside a shop. By this time I knew that it was a very rare Brent-Dyer, but I remember closing my eyes and counting to five before I dared to look at it again. It was literally a case of not believing my eyes. Once I opened them again and saw that it really was what I thought, I grabbed it and shot straight into the shop to pay for it before they changed their minds. Some 15 years later I can still remember that moment of disbelief at what I was seeing.