to prefer St Clare's to Malory Towers?

[Olivetti]

I love both of them,but for some reason St Clare's has always had the edge for me. So why does Malory Towers get all the fame and glory?

still wonder what coke is It's a fuel made by heating coal in the absence of air to get rid of the non-carbon impurities. Hadn't realised it has almost disappeared from use. I thought it was made not mined.

Don't all children's stories with a strong degree of autonomy for the child heroes need to get rid of the parents in some way? Hence the high number of orphans (going right back to Secret Garden and Jane Eyre).

Remember Swallows and Amazons and "What does duffers not duffers mean?" - that story would never have worked if Mum had come to camp on the island with them, but let a group of children of assorted ages sail across a lake by themselves? And if I remember correctly, without buoyancy aids?

I read both but Malory Towers is the better series imo. Perhaps it's the fact there's a book for each year, maybe it's because I read them first, maybe it's because I secretly wished I went there... Darrell just seemed more rounded as a character, what with fighting Ellen in the middle of the night and slapping Gwendoline and allowing West Tower girls to a North Tower picnic. All the twins seemed to do was look down their noses and then become secondary characters because actually, they weren't that interesting.

I always thought I'd I went on Mastermind, Malory Towers would be my specialist subject, I've read them so often!

Anne Digby (I think) wrote the rest of Felicity and June's time at the school, another 4 or so books. I've read them, they're watered down like the modern edits of MT, but very much in keeping with the originals.

I have my 1980s set, still in fairly good condition, just in case I ever have a daughter (and I re-read them myself every now and then! ).

BTW, Jenny Colgan had written two of a series of modern boarding school books but more from the teachers' perspective. They're okay, but some of the things that happen are too much like things that happened in the MT series (like when Jo and Deirdre ran away and hid in the shack). The teacher side of them is very interesting though.

Yes I preferred St. Clare's to Mallory Towers too, don't really know why though. Thought the characters were better. Also, I agree with PP that the Chalet School ones were my favourites.

I prefer St Clare’s, just, but I reckon that’s because I read those books first as a child.

I always thought the Secret Seven were for a slightly younger age group than the Famous Five. For me it probably went:

Famous Five
Five Find-Outers and Dog
Adventurous Four
St Clare’s
Malory Towers
Faraway Tree
Wishing Chair
Secret Seven
Secret books (albeit “the secret island”, before prince Paul crashed the party, was a real favourite!)

Has anyone read “Looking For Enid”? Amongst others, the author has a theory that Goon is based on the cryptic crossword loving Enid’s first husband, and he’s worked out that Goon’s full name makes anagrams like “O Hugh, spoiled one!” No idea if he’s right or if it’s a coincidence, but the book is a good read.

It's ages since I read these, but I seem to remember never being quite able to work out what happened in terms of year groups - particularly girls being kept back a year then apparently skipping ahead and vice versa.

I read both series but always preferred Mallory Towers over St. Clares. Loved Trebizon too.

YABU just because I loved both and I can't choose between them!

Claudine splashing Angela's snotty mother gets best comeuppance.....
Definitely,loved that bit! Served her right, poor Mamzelle.

This was a zombie thread from 2011 btw.

And as much as I loved St Clares, MT snd Trebizon - The Chalet is where it’s at.

Aaahhh Mallory Towers, good times when I was younger. It will always remind me of being in the "junk room" (spare room) and listening to the audio cassettes. Great times

I’m counting the days (years) till I get my 5yo dd reading all of these so I can reread! Even worst witch.
Loved them all as a child.
We’ve already got the first naughtiest school girl but she won’t entertain it at the moment as it’s nit captain underpants or guinea pig related.

Malory Towers was better than St Clare’s but Fifth Formers at St Clare’s was the best book. The chapter where Mamzelle (or was she Malory Towers?) crept around the school in the middle of the night thinking she was capturing burglars was hilarious as was Antoinette feeding shoe polish on toast to Angela and Alison. Angela spat hers out all over the table but Alison, who had better manners, spat hers into a handkerchief. Was this the book where a girl adored her English teacher and dressed up like her and the English teacher was irritated and so the girl plagiarised a poem and the teacher made fun of it and then she revealed it was actually by a famous poet? Claudine laughed and thought it was funny. “You would”’ said Hilary. “But it was a beastly thing to do”.

Oh and don’t forget the Mistletoe Farm books. Country clods vs City snobs!

There was also a Secret Seven book I read, I can’t remember what the exact plot was but it was about a painting in a museum(?). Can anyone shed light?

I used to prefer St Clare's because the 5th & 6th formers could get lower forms to "fag" for them. Agree with above poster that Fifth Form at At St Clare's was the best book. Alma Pudden looking for the midnight feast, Felicity sleep-violining and Anne-Marie pretending to sleep-recite own poetry. I liked reading about the Honourable Angela Favorleigh and her minion Alison.

It's significant that the things I particularly remember about Malory Towers tend to be similar to Hogwarts. Having to get there by train, the train journey as part of the story each time, the towers, the cosy dormitories, the very few teachers etc. < waves to JK Rowling >

My sister lives in Australia and at her local beach they have lots of swimming pools thar are carved out of the rock made from concrete and filled by the sea. I was thrilled!

I think on balance I preferred St Clare’s, the girls were nicer and less cliquey. Though yes it was odd how the first three books were set in the first form and the third and sixth forms were left out altogether.

Another vote for the Chalet School. I’m not sure about the alternative days spent speaking French and German though.

There was also a Secret Seven book I read, I can’t remember what the exact plot was but it was about a painting in a museum(?). Can anyone shed light?

I think it was the Find-Outers and it may have been Banshee Towers.

It was a painting that was to be stolen, they had noticed someone in the museum painting a copy of the one on the wall then one day one of the group noticed that a tiny detail (small boat?) was missing from the one on the wall and the theft was discovered.

Which group of children were in Rilloby Fair and Rockingham House mysteries?

I binge read all the Chalet School books 4 years ago. I've got them all on kindle and may read them again now!

I don't think the group in the Rilloby Fair etc series had a name, but the books tend to be known as the Barney mysteries after the main character.

I used to find the Secret Seven extremely annoying, and I much preferred the Five Find-Outers.

I agree that Malory Towers is better. Darrell is much more interesting heroine than the twins not withstanding minor episodes of gbh

Having said that I loved Claudine.

Though obviously my heart belongs to Kingscote (best school stories ever) and to a lesser extent the Chalet School.

YABabitU.

Malory Towers had a more dramatic setting, a more interesting heroine and, of course, the wonderful Gwendoline Mary Lacey. That being said, I'm currently reading In The Fifth and the girls are pretty nasty in that one, particularly to new girl Maureen.

Malory Towers is stronger as EB drew on her own girls’ experiences at Benenden.

With the funny timing of St Clare’s, I always assumed that she meant to write a book for each term of every year - so an 18 book series in total. Then got to book 5 and thought, oh bugger this, let’s skip a bit! Whereas the Malory Towers books (written later) each cover a whole year, I THINK.

Thinking about it the St Claire’s Girls were pretty awful to Margery Fenworthy. The teachers had been told she had an unhappy home life and to cut her some slack, perhaps the girls should have been too. She was wrongly suspected of playing nasty tricks on Pat and then performed a heroic rescue (of the girl who actually was playing the tricks) when there was a fire in the San.

My god how can you remember all the characters and plot lines? I read both series but particularly loved St Clare’s but although the poem / boot polish incidents ring bells I can’t remember too much about them. Do they have any politically incorrect elements requiring modernising? I seem to think EDs been controversial in recent times but I’m not sure why exactly.