to want to re-read the whole Malory Towers and St Claires series?

[SlightlyJaded]

Oh the twins. And drippy Gwendoline Mary, and Darrell Rivers... although I can't quite remember who went to which school.

Dollshouse.
My Ds's love them! 8yo has bought himself most of the St Clares. Mallory Towers have fallen apart as he read them so often.
Dh loves them too (he'd read his sister's when he was younger).

I read them regularly, or at least I did until my 8yo niece nicked them all. But I found they were perfect bath length. About 45 mins tops. :)

YANBU I'd love to read them all again! Along with all the famous five books and the Chalet school ones.

Loved reading all those when I was little ah happy memories!

I used to go into charity shops or look for books at car boot sales when I stayed with my dad on a weekend-could get a book for 20p! Bet they aren't so cheap now.

I can't wait for dd (1!) to be old enough for St claires and MT, I wanted to go to boarding school so badly (think it was the midnight feasts that did it!) also lovely all the secret island books and the series with the detectives, one called fatty? Anyone remember those ones, they all had spaniels tho didn't they

My dd has my mother's malory towers books - hopefully they'll survive for a fourth generation.

Mind you, they're not a patch on the Chalet School. No avalanches, spies, train crashes....

YADNBU - but the Chalet School books are the absolute tops, whatwhat

OOOO I loved Malory Towers, remember Darrel Rivers well.

I think I have all of mine in the loft, St Clare's, Mallory Towers, Anne of Green Gables and lots and lots of Chalet School - reading was my favourite thing when younger. I can't wait until my DD is a bit older to introduce them to her.

I am Jo Bettany.

DD, DM and I read all the Malory Towers's last Summer. DD could take them or leave them but DM and I were in ecstasies of nostalgia. I thought they held up remarkably well considering, but they were reprints, so they'd probably changed a few things here and there. I was at the spoiled girl having 25 pounds and thought "but surely that would be a fortune?" until there was a mention of a two pound coin and I realised that they'd modernised the values and felt a fool.

I bought the Mallory Towers set a couple of years ago and read them in my lunch hours at work. A number of colleagues thought I was demented and couldn't understand why I was reading "books for children" "Pah!" was my response.

Meant to buy the St. Clare's series too, think I'll go to amazon now.

I am desperately hoping my parents still have mine in their loft. They were fab. MT better than St Clare's - remember sensible sally and little Mary Lou who had a dramatic cliff top disaster in the 2nd book I think?

fantastic thread - can we get onto The Faraway tree and The Children of Willow Farm? Also, Mr Galliano's Circus - I have never met anyone else who remembers that - there were three. In the first one Jimmy's whole family up sticks and go with the circus when it leaves town (after Jimmy catches the runaway elephant) and Lotta the circus girl becomes his best friend, apart from a dog called Lucky. Hmmm I think I may have read them too much!

My DC loved Mr Galliano - but one DC read over my shoulder while I was reading to them, and asked why I was calling a dog 'trigger', because that's not what it said on the page. I had to give a long explanation of why people in the past sometimes said things that are unacceptable today.

And as for the Island of Adventure, et al - great adventures, but mind-blowingly rascist. The newest editions have been changed - but I don't let my DC read the originals.

And I can't spell racist

Oooh, love all of these - adored Mallory Towers, St Claire's and Chalet School. Was desperate to go to the latter, and have to speak French one day, German the next etc. And to catch 'chills' at the drop of a hat and be picturesquely confined to 'the San' for a period of recuperation!

Also loved the Adventure books - Lucy-Ann and that boy with the parrot. And Jill's Gymkhana!! Black Boy and Rapide, and lots of references to her not being at all grand or posh or rich, even though she had her own flippin' horse(s)! Still loved them all though .

Snapped up a Famous Five a few months ago in the charity shop - it was a slightly uncomfortable read, the children were terribly rude to/about certain people from the, ahem, lower orders...

Just seen reference above to the Faraway Tree and the Children of Willow-Tree Farm. Am in nostalgia overload heaven! Weren't 2 of the children in the Faraway tree called Dick and Fanny?

I retrieved all my St Clare's books from a charity bag at my DM's a few weeks bag. I hadn't realised she still had them and thought they were in our loft.

I was ridiculously offended that she had dared to dispose of my things without asking me. She just looked at me like this -

Now I feel like this but I can't wait to read them again! Ah the twins, Carlotta, the wise head and that French teacher who alway said 'Formidable!'

Which one had the French teacher Mam'zelle with her hair in curl papers? 'Tiens!'

jesus

I bought first term at malory towers to read with DD (8) and it's the biggest heap of dull, jolly hockey sticks drivel I've ever read/heard in my life.

Give me (and DD) Harry Potter and Michael Morpurgo any day

Chalet School ones were the best.

I liked Claudine in the St Clare's series. I think she was Mam'zelle's niece.

my sister bought the complete set of Malory towers and st clares for dd (9) for her birthday and xmas last year. she devoured them the same way i had as a child and of course when she was finished each one she passed them on to me!

but i kind of wish i'd not read them - they get a bit repetitive when you read them as an adult! altho the bits i loved as a child (the swimming pool, crazy mademoiselle), i still loved!

they made a film here in Germany about Patrica and Isobel last year but shockingly they are renamed in Germany as Hanni and Nanni! German women my age think thats what they were really called so I presume 30 or 40 years ago Enid Blyton must have given permission for it! and they dont play lacrosse but play handball! weird adaptation of something so English! and the film was crap too!

My almost 7yo dd2 has just started reading the "Naughtiest Girl" books!

Enid Blyton was a sexist pain the the A, but also a genius!

Have you seen the 'new versions'? The ones written by other authors? They try so hard to be like Enid Blyton but they are not the same.

But no one has ever explained to me why Darrel has a boys name!!!!

When I went to boarding school I was so upset that there were no secret midnight feasts and playing trick on the matrons.

You went to the wrong boarding school Howstheserenity - mine had loads of feasts and pranks - mostly because we'd all read Malory Towers.

We did try and get drunk on vanilla essence once. I can see Sally telling Miss Peters on me for that one.