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Original poster

Another Antonia Forest thread

155 replies

tvaerialmagpiebin · 27/04/2010 20:18

We haven't had one in a while.

I have just won "Attic Term" on ebay and almost got "Marlows and the Traitor" from a dealer but it turned out their website was out of date and it had sold in December. Boo hiss.

I tried to find the thread from a while back about "Nicola Merrick" the radio producer but I think it must have been in Chat because it has gone. I am re-reading all the AF books I have, in order, and it is surprising how things slip into place now. Can't believe I got "Ready-made family" for 25p in a charity shop 10 years ago and that launched me on such a fantastic discovery.

Now I have to convince my local library to get out the copy of "Run away Home" that they claim to have in the HQ store, and I will be very happy..

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HumphreyCobbler · 01/05/2010 21:10

Oh yes please.

I am would love to read Falcolner's Lure and The Ready Made Family. I would guard them with my life and the life of my DH

When I was a child I held my copy of Silver On The Tree in my hand and felt positively dizzy at the thought of reading it and it then being OVER

CoupleofKooks · 01/05/2010 21:12

well you had better CAT me then
they are both superb books, you are in for a treat
i will lend them one at a time to lessen impact if postal disaster / earthquake / act of god

HumphreyCobbler · 01/05/2010 21:17

thank you so much
have just been registering to CAT

aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 01/05/2010 21:25

Ahh, HumphreyCobbler - I feel all smiley on your behalf - I would love to be about to read either of those two books for the first time.

I love them both.

CoupleofKooks · 01/05/2010 21:46

ha HA i was just kidding
as if i would lend either of those to a COMPLETE STRANGER

CoupleofKooks · 01/05/2010 21:46

will check email humph and the last post was just a joke

CoupleofKooks · 01/05/2010 21:47

nothing yet, CATs sometimes take a day to arrive
i will look in the morning

HumphreyCobbler · 01/05/2010 21:50
Original poster
tvaerialmagpiebin · 02/05/2010 19:32

Well I loved Attic Term. Absolutely fab all of it. How good AF was at carrying on a story even though she wrote books years apart. You would never know, you'd think she's knocked the whole lot off in one go.

I didn't really warm to Ginty, she just seemed a bit drippy and selfish. But I loved Patrick in it, how much presence of mind to cut Ginty of as he thought she ws about to reveal the O-level questions.

Oh it was fab.

Now I am desperate to read Peter's Room to see what the Patrick-Ginty-Nicola stuff was all about, and also RAH to find out what happened after Attic Term!!!!

Mrs Dickens, the one I bought is the second reprint done by Puffin, and it has a deeply dodgy cover illustration with Ginty looking like she is having phone sex with Patrick. But it is a pretty mint copy otherwise, doesn't look read, no pages turned over or anything. If it is someone you know who sold it - Wiggly Worm Books - do they have any more?!?!?!?

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CoupleofKooks · 02/05/2010 21:01

oh i love that cover - Ginty leaning forward coquettishly with her mouth slightly open (god it does sound dodgy LOL)
i think that is the book that really convinces about how attractive a person ginty can be - i mean she has some balls creeping into the office, and the joke about reading the questions is quite admirably rebellious if it wasn't so doomed to disaster
however then as usual she retreats to being a complete wet and only interested in saving her own skin

aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 02/05/2010 21:01

I love Patrick in Attic Term - I love the moment after the phone debarcle when Patrick realises that if it had been Nicola on the phone he wouldn't have needed to hang up.

Ginty is one of mu least favorite characters, although throughout the series they are odd moments when I warm to her.
Of the top of my head they include when she makes the inappropriate comment when Karen announces her wedding and when Rowan bullies her into taking part in the Regatta and she goes AWOL. I also love the scene in Peter's Room with the Doris-Dress.

Peter's Room is fab - when I first read it I struggled with the Gondal bits and and skipped over them, but now I love them.
The character development as they explore hidden bits of their own psyches through the imaginary world is so clever.

Original poster
tvaerialmagpiebin · 02/05/2010 21:08

Peter's Room on amazon markeplace now for under £40...... what is the most anyone has paid for an AF book? and the least?

My "most" was £27 for Attic Term and "least" 2op for RMF.

Yes I wonder about the Gondal bits, I have ever been convinced by the whole Bronte thing (although I love Jane Eyre) so .......

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HumphreyCobbler · 02/05/2010 22:14

Ginty reminds Patrick's father of The Lady of Shallot, isn't that right?

He said "She had a lovely face
God in his mercy lend her grace"

I really puzzled over that bit as a child, it stayed with me.

aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 02/05/2010 22:32

I remember that but, doesn't Patrick say The onion looking glass lady?

Someone has a conversation with Nicola (might be Ann) where they compare Ginty to a chameleon and describe her as being like Orsino in Twelfth Night 'changable like taffeta'

She is one of those people whose interests mirror her current friends - the whole Unity Logan relationship and her anti-blood stance sums it up for me.
In FL she is anti-blood sports, but by the next winter she is our hunting and manages to give the air of being a long time pro at it.

HumphreyCobbler · 03/05/2010 09:52

yes he does, I didn't know what shallots were then either. It confused me for a good while.

I have never understood the Unity Logan thing, not having read that book.

CoupleofKooks · 03/05/2010 09:55

i was mystified by loads of the references in AF's books as well - she did not dumb down in any way when writing for children did she?
still am mystified by a lot of them tbh!

HumphreyCobbler · 03/05/2010 10:04

pax - took me AGES that one

noticed a while ago that Nicola gets into trouble for reading one of my favourite Mary Renault books too, I loved that

Original poster
tvaerialmagpiebin · 04/05/2010 14:20

Grrr.. library will not let me have RAH as it is in their mobile school library stock. I only want to read it, I promise not to pinch it! Ah well never mind, back to the hunt.

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aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 04/05/2010 17:20

That's a shame.
Do you know any teachers locally who could request it for their school and then lend it to you?

Original poster
tvaerialmagpiebin · 04/05/2010 17:49

ooh good plan! yes I do. Thanks.

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5Foot5 · 07/05/2010 13:28

Oh this is a timely thread for me.

We have a paperback copy of Autumn Term and DD re-read it recently and commented how much she liked it and were there any more in the series.

I looked it up in my Encyclopedia of Girls School Stories and found the list of all her books. It is mainly the remaining school stories we are interested in, i.e End of Term, Cricket Term and Attic Term.

Anyway I told DD we would have a look and was then displayed to find out how much copies of these cost - even second hand.

I looked at the GGB website but couldn't see any indication that they had ever published any of these three, although I noticed several of her others had been on the list.

Sounds like we will not be reading them unless we happen to find them in the library

5Foot5 · 07/05/2010 13:29

"dismayed" not "displayed"

MissCromwell · 08/05/2010 06:10

5Foot5, I thought they were going to republish the school titles, but I think they decided to start with the most difficult to get hold of titles, which were the holiday and historicals.

I hope they do because I want to get a copy of Attic Term!

It makes me sad for your daughter...End of Term and Cricket Term are wonderful books, better than Autumn Term ever...my copies are falling to bits so really I need to get new ones of them too. Maybe I can start up a little business photocopying my titles and selling them to MNetters

Original poster
tvaerialmagpiebin · 09/05/2010 18:14

there are some on ebay at the moment

including Attic Term - only 99p so far.

The GGBP website has a list of the dealers who have copies of AF books for sale - but the site is being updated at the mo.

Worth trying your library for the schol ones and occasionally the others.

Other websites I have used -
www.abebooks.co.uk
www.crystalbard.com

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bramblebooks · 09/05/2010 18:52

Try badger books as well as they have always been helpful in the past. Think they're badgerbooks.co.uk
off to rifle through bookcase! Mum has loads of af at hers ( will have to take big suitcase!)