Any Antonia Forest fans out there?

I can admire Lawrie for that, granted. I don't dislike her, just I like Nicola more. The whole Marie Dobson affair is just so brilliantly written, shocking, and unlike so many other bland school stories. AF's amazing knack for writing uncomfortable situations...

another all time favourite part is the whole Marie Dobson affair
all of it, everything she does, is so fascinatingly gruesome, and then her DEATH the reactions to it Forest is so ruddy straight about what human nature is really like
could you not admire Lawrie a little bit for saying no she wasn't going to sign the card with the load of guff in it?

Of course Rowan was the best character. I so badly wanted DD to be called Rowan but DH put his foot down quite firmly. She so is a Rowan as well.

I always felt slightly sorry for Ann - because she (occasionally) realised how dull and limited she was.

Tim annoyed me. Liked Miranda. Think Esther may actually have had hidden depths.

The strict Catholicism of my childhood was nowhere near as exciting as Patrick's version.

VintageG it was me who sang Once in Royal David's City in "Wade Minster" like Nicola [proud] I have been sitting on my hands trying not to mention it again but since you INSIST

I didn't much like the Thuggery Affair but I LOVE the Lawrie bit
where she pretends to be a beatnik chick and gets carried away and in trouble with the police LOLOL
the ending is moving also, but there are so many parts of it that don't quite work

A Forest thought Lawrie was a twit, too
silly woman

I think my favourite is The Ready Made Family, because I like the way Edwin starts as a totally unsympathetic character & by the end you're beginning to see he might have his points

I think Lawrie is definitely the most interesting character, but I don't think I'd be that keen on her in RL.

I think if she ever became a mum, she'd be posting AIBU threads all the time....

I heard she had started a book before her death to follow the story on from Run Away Home. Alas, never found.

What would a noughties-child Nicola be like?!?

Fab thread.

Lois is a great character, so unusual for a children's book. Rowan is fab, Giles too if you leave aside the inevitable 'golden boy junior officer following in daddy's footsteps' arrogance that was probably knocked out of him by the trip to France. He reminds me of Stephen, the eldest son in the Dark Is Rising series (not just cos they are both in the navy!)

Lawrie is quite clearly demented, but as Gina McKee (?) said in Notting Hill "all actresses are mad as snakes" so quite fitting I think! I've always liked Nicola, she obviously appeals to my inner geek (well, outer geek, let's face it, I work in IT, the jig is up).

Tim's another great character, in fact let's face it, they're all fantastic characterisations, even Bunty bloody Penfold. (Thus demonstrating I read the one with the falcons in just recently).

My favourite line has to be when Nicola is off getting her uber-bollocking from Miss Keith and returns to the common room. Everyone's watching Star Trek and some of them manage to drag themselves away to hear what happened, but for the others, "Star Trek, once lost, was gone forever" and so they go back to the telly.

Ms Forrest clearly did not allow for the concepts of:

• re-runs
• videos
• DVDs
• telly on demand
• downloads

God, if only she was still writing, I would love to see the Marlows modernised into the eighties, for example. In the falcon book the Marlow's mum had siblings lost in the first World War. Miranda was evacuated during the second to Wade Abbas. Her ability to make the characters contemporary over such a long period of time is brilliant.

I am still interested in marrying Giles btw.

Child and adult, prefer Nicola by a million miles. Lawrie is so self-absorbed and childish. As a child it always bothered me that Lawrie was written about as Lawrie while Nicola was never referred to (only addressed) as Nicky. As if we were meant to prefer Lawrie even though the books were really from N. point of view.

I'd love to read the Ready Made Family.

We have a Lois Sanger character at work.

Someone on another thread said they had sung like Nicola?

the voyage to France - I enjoyed reading more about Peter and Giles - Giles especially as he wasn't in the other books much (apart from Autumn Term) and I was intrigued as to why he was Nicola's favourite. But then Nicola is my favourite... As a Lawrie-liker (!) did you enjoy The Thuggery Affair? I found the language very confusing as a child - and not much easier when I re-read it recently.

so what is it about Run Away Home that appeals to you? I think that is my least favourite

Oh yes - Ready Made family is fab too - and Kay so devious over the farm house. I liked the interaction between Kay and Rowan too. They are all so fab.

As a child I assumed Antonia Forest was dead, but she only passed away very recently - I wish I had written to her to say how much I loved her books.

oh so hard
I do like The Ready Made family as I was just so shocked to find out how Kay ended up married with 3 step children

the school books are so fab though, it would probably be one of those
Attic Term is v exciting

What is your favourite book?

I love Run Away Home, Cricket Term and End of Term the most, but the others are great too. If I had to chose just one....End of Term. I love the descriptions of the Christmas concert.

see my link three posts down Caprica
they've all been reprinted and boy are you in for a treat

Chas was my favourite of the step children, Rose too wet and dreary, Fob just a bit strange really (although from an adult perspective now, quite understandably strange)

here's a list of places you might get Marlows and Traitor

I remember too much about these, don't I?
recently reread whole darn lot - loved every minute of it

Wasn't Nicola's absence from the team pretty much due to Lois Sanger? ( I really have read these books over and over again!)

Marlows and the Traitor available from Girls Gone By as reprint - well, it was anyway
what didn't you like about Kay's step children? They were slightly annoying I agree, esp Rose. But Chas is more sparky and Fob is hilarious, if not especially likeable

they didn't become drug mules because Sensible Miranda said no! I do love that bit, yes

It was Head girl Val Longstreet who she couldn#t bear to bowl out
and Lois was the Games Captain who made sure Nicola got left out of the team
Lois is such a wonderful character

As soon as I posted that I was slightly dubious. I just remember that the young hippy man in the shop gave them a package to deliver. What was in it? Why were they forced to return all the super clothes? Darn it. I need to find these books right now and start reading them again.

My favourite was definitely Rowan - especially when she drove underage, but it didn't matter because she wore lipstick and looked really grown up.

Drug mules????????????????

Please could someone put me out of my misery as I don't have my AF books to hand.

Who was the witchy PE teacher who ensured that Nicola not only wasn't captain but wasn't in the netball team at all ? Been wracking my brains, can't remember.

Re my snipy comments earlier about fielding practice etc, I must admit it was a splendid moment when Nicola's team won the Cricket Cup. How she bowled six perfectly good medium pace balls at the ghastly Head Girl (was it Lois?) and she survived the lot...but that must have been in the semi-final. And bowling donkey drops at Ginty because she knew it was her weak spot. v mean.

I think Tim would definitely have gone on to be a theatrical producer. Probably made a Dame. Dame Thalia - has a certain ring to it.

Wow - great thread. I have never met anyone in RL who has read these books. (I knew I should be spending more time on Mumsnet and ignoring my poorly-read friends).

My favourite part was when Nicola and Miranda bought cool second-hand clothes for the rest of the form and were coerced into becoming drug mules. At least, I think that's what happened. I really must read them again.