Has anyone ever read Malory towers?

[Orangejelly1]

I used to love the books as a child! I read them cover to cover so many times and my favourite character was Darrell. I recently found my old collection and re read parts of them just for old times sake and I was actually really disappointed to see, as an adult, how awful some of the popular characters were. I know it was a product of its time and a different era, but Darrell, Alicia and some of the most popular girls would be called nasty bullies nowadays. I also felt so sorry for Gwen, which surprised me because as a child rearing the books she was my least favourite character.

just wondered if anyone else re read the books and thought this too!

I love how in Malory towers, the "Scots girl Jean" was made stereotypically "shrewd" by EB and always done any money handling for the her form!

NG also changes her from refusing to wear brown stockings as she only wears socks, to a white socks/coloured socks combo.

i think there was deliberately no corporal punishment at Whyteleafe as it was a progressive school with the children governing wrong doing. As for MT and SC - well girls certainly could be legally beaten by their teachers back then but I think for girls it was seen as an absolute last resort. And presumably the girls in the stories were far too well behaved to get that. Anyone too bad and Grayling/Theobald would just expel them 😂

Talking of expulsions, when Miss Grayling does the U turn about expelling June, presumably if she was packing, her parents had been told and were en route? I hope she got hold of them before they set off 😳

I really disliked Tim. She was absolutely awful to Nicola when she got the lead role over Laurie in the play.
Mind you, Laurie was a spoilt little madam as well.

I loved EB books.
In MT wasn't there a girl called Hilary, who was a musical genius?
Also a newcomer called Sadie who was pally with Darryl?

Hilary was at St Claire’s, she was always head of the form. Irene was the resident musical genius at Malory Towers, there was also an MG at St Claire’s called Felicity who arrived in fifth form.

Darnell’s best friend at MT was Sally. Sadie was at St Claire’s for one term in the first form. Rich pretty American girl. Got kidnapped, and rescued by Carlotta and her circus friends.

They were both St Clare’s. Hilary was just a very sensible good egg - friendly with Janet IIRC. Felicity was the musical genius.

Sadie was friends with Alison in St Clare’s.

I used to love Mallory Towers and the Twins at St Clares.

But I’m under no illusions they’re a product of their time. It’s been the same with a lot of favourites from my childhood. We started reading Thomas the Tank Engine to our kids when they were three or four and had to stop because it is absolutely horrendous. Since that I’ve shared favourites but mainly gone with more contemporary books. Now my kids are teens and we’ve been doing movie nights and I’m finding all my favourite movies from my teen years are pretty horrendous, full of date rape and atrocious attitudes to women and sex. But I keep reminding myself that I grew up okay despite them, so maybe they will too.

Snoek is still popular in Cape Town - fresh or dried. Lots of bones, though.

Thinking about St Claire’s. Hilary was always head girl of the form, except in Second Form, and that was because two girls from the previous second form had been left down - Anna and Elsie. They were made joint heads because Miss Theobald didn't think it fair that a “new” second form girl should be put in charge of them, even though neither was head girl material, Anna being lazy and Elsie being spiteful. I think Anna did get her act together eventually but the girls eventually “sacked” Elsie.

The OS twins had no experience of being heads of form at all, but then in Fifth Form Miss T decided they were suitable to be heads of the whole school.

What was wrong with Thomas the Tank Engine?

think there was deliberately no corporal punishment at Whyteleafe as it was a progressive school with the children governing wrong doing.

A nice thought, but the corporal punishment has been edited out in modern editions. In the older editions, there is 'spanking' with a hairbrush.

Hilary was always head girl of the form, except in Second Form,

Wasn't there someone called Susan who was head in the fourth form (but had vanished by the fifth form)?

Hilary was always head girl of the form, except in Second Form,

Wasn't there someone called Susan who was head in the fourth form (but had vanished by the fifth form)?

oh yes there was, I’d forgotten all about her. Another one who was “left down”.

And it is mentioned in Claudine At St Claire’s that Alison had lost her heart to the head girl of the third. Who can’t have been Hilary.

The St Claire’s books feel slapdash compared to MT.

The bbc TV series is fab. My daughter has the books as bedtime stories read to her. She is Darrell through and through. Kind hearted and wants the best with a strong sense of integrity but also a temper when things are unjust!

just popped on the first episode of Malory Towers and am tickled to see Matron is played by same woman who plays Big Mandy in This Country

Wonder if she'll have cause to use her nunchucks on gwendoline Mary.

Will she be giving the first years MASSIVE tattoos?

I love Tim. Her sceptical attitude toward school life is perfectly drawn. I always had the sense that she would be hugely successful as an adult, whereas she just had to endure childhood and adolescence. She wasn't always "nice," but that's true of all the interesting characters. They are all flawed in one way or another.

Tim is so refreshing after all the other writers' cardboard cut out sports-haters being fat, lazy, unpopular Gwendoline types.

I very much doubt I'd have been friends with her - I suspect I'd have been a Marie Dobson type at Kingscote - but she is a brilliant creation.

I read them with my son.They are really dated but still fun to read and its actually interesting to talk about the bullying etc- He's a lot more clear-sighted on how unacceptable its is and how mean some of the girls are. he does find it really baffling how paired up the girls are- they are only allowed one friend really.
Theres some odd amendments though- the replacing of the word smack/slap with scold makes no sense a lot of the time, And what's with other authors writing additional books- sort of randomly for St Clares- but a whole series about Felciity for MT- where her class are all just clones of Darrells

I’ve just finished Beswitched as recommended up thread, really enjoyed it thank you!

And what's with other authors writing additional books- sort of randomly for St Clares- but a whole series about Felciity for MT- where her class are all just clones of Darrells

It was handy how the new girls in the St Clare’s third and fourth form books were only ever going to be there for one term…

The sixth form at SC one is a bit puke worthy with all the reverence towards the twins. I mean, Miss T only picked them as there was no other candidate, with the worthy Hilary inconsiderately buggering off to India

I wish someone would write one about Darrell and co. at St Andrews. Is there any decent fan fic about this, does anyone know?

Re the tv series - Clarissa joined the year after Bill so if they do have her in it, it’ll be next series.

I read some of the extra books by new authors but it just didn't feel the same. It was odd having the girls greeting each other with "Hi guys" etc

Yes, I've just tried one of the Pamela Cox ones and it's a valiant effort but it just jars. The TV adaptation is fine because they've just recreated the whole universe and it's internally consistent. Enough of the original to feel like Malory Towers, updated enough so that you don't have to worry about all the problematic elements.

Blyton was quite prolific enough. We don't need any more.