So happy, DD just read her 1st CHALET SCHOOL book

[Lymond]

These were my favourite books as a child, and I could never get any of my friends or sisters into them (too old fashioned apparently) but I know there are other mumsnetters who liked them. I found a hb of The School in the Chalet in a charity shop recently and bought it for memorys sake, then last night discovered DD was half way through it.

She's not quite 8 though - I got in to them when I was more like 10, I'm sure, but they're so tame (no slang remember!) that I'm sure its fine.
I kept all my old ones books in the loft at my parents house. They're out of proint now I think, so I'm going to need to get them out next time I visit [lazy sigh]

At breakfast we had a lovely chat about Joey Bettany!

y y y to drina!!! have about 4 then they turn to gold dust

I loved all my "Anne of Green Gables books too, plus the other "Emily" books and the "Pat" books by LM Montgomery, I need to dig them out again too!

manky - Drina. I might have a few and all the Wells books (though some are GGB). In fact the Wells books were inherited from my aunt.

And, as you can get all the LM Montgomerys really cheap (like 5 quid in total) for the Kindle, I recently reread all of them in sequence which was interesting as they do get pretty bad towards the end

Have read a few of the sequel and prequel Chalet books, and some of them are pretty good, and some are interesting

Now I know how to spot GetOrfMoiLand in Waitrose - she'll be reading a Wells book

The Chalet Girls Grow Up really disappointed me - it seemed as though the author had decided to be as doom and gloom as possible, and no-one was allowed to have any sort of a happy ending - definitely not in line with the tone of the real chalet school books.

But there are a number of other fan-fic books - like A Chalet School Headmistress, The Chalet School Librarian, Visitors for the Chalet School and New Beginnings at the Chalet School that are better, and seem far more plausible as part of the series.

The Chalet Girls Grow Up was the one I read.....

Mary-lou a husband stealing harlot

Jack Maynard suicide

Margot Maynard a fallen nun who has an affair with a priest and miscarries the baby [shock

New beginnings is a post CS one too but fits with EBDs style.

Think I've got all the fill ins including the ones that were self published.

I have most of them in paperback and the 1970's issues were edited really badly.

I have a copy of the edited Highland Twins and a very well used Utility copy and so much is actually erased/ changed I couldn't believe the difference.

I just looked for it on Amazon, £33 .....

Highland was one of the worst ones. Exile & War are too and IMO are the best two books.

I agree there Nymphadora.

Although they are fiction those 2 stories in particular gave me a massive and long seated interested in the Holocaust and Europe beteen the 2 world wars. I must have been about 11 when I read Exile. Some of the incidents in the wartime books really stuck in my head like the evacuation from the Channel Islands, the moving of the school from by the lake to up to near the san, the local woman who got her son to spy on the girls etc.

Apparantly EBD was quite forward in her thinking/beliefs in those books as they were written in war time

A fair few of her ideas were forward thinking- esepcially when she first started writing the books.

Mainly in the assumption that most of the British and American girls would one day be expected to join the workforce.

Can't believe how this thread has exploded since this morning!

So glad to hear about GGB, I'm off to google right now!

My credit card is in pain from over use

Can't wait for my books to arrive.

Agree about Sadlers Wells and Drina books - enjoyed both series.

I really must go and investigate what I put in my parents attic when I was 20 and leaving home for good. 13 years ago - hope they all haven't been destroyed by moths, ugh!

ooh ooh ooh, there are more Wells books than the three I have read???? Can someone list them for me please so I can go mad think about buying them please!
I have two DDs reading the Chalet School books [smug] - was actually quite helpful with History GCSE for DD1 when she failed to understand the links between various WW2 things, and I simply pointed her at the CS books

Theres a good list of the Lorna Hill books here

Exile and War are my two favourite CS too. My Mum has the whole set (bar the ones I borrow and bring home for comfort reading). We just found out we are having a boy and I am delighted, but I do want a girl to share CS with (and other things I guess ...)

Myself and my sisters all read CS when we were little (my youngest sister is currently going through them) and we have all now collected our own full sets. My mum is also aiming to collect the full set in GGB editions. That's 5 sets in all! I completed my set a little while ago and read the full lot - LOVED it! I think the years at Plas Howell are probably the most boring with the years on the island not much better. I haven't read any of the add-ons, but my mum has and she agrees that some are OK, while others are horrendous.

I have a daughter and can't wait until she is old enough to begin devouring Joey & co. She WILL love them!!!!!! As a parent I often find myself thinking "what would Joey do in this situation?" and when I was reading them I found myself saying things or doing things in a particular way and then afterwards thinking - "that was so Joey!!!" How sad! Those books are responsible for so much - like my parents holidaying in Austria every year - in fact today they are flying out to the Tirol and on Saturday will be going to Oberammergau to see the Passion Play - let's hope there's no war paint a la Evadne & Corney!

For those who loved CS, Mallory Towers & St Clares - have you discovered Jane Beaton's series? Just 2 books so far - Class & Rules, but there are plans for 6/7 in all I think. They are basically MT/St C's for grown ups - LOVE them!

Has everyone met this very addictive site

Oh, I loved the Wells and Drina books too. I also devoured all of Noel Streatfeild's books. Have been re reading some lately and they really were lovely books.