Calling Antonia Forest fans - who is your favourite character and who are you most like?

[MirandaWest]

Have been doing some re-reading of Antonia Forest books (including Spring Term which I had only read once before and couldn't remember much at all )

As is probably clear I do like Miranda very much :) And also like Rowan too. Ginty annoys me, as does Lawrie to a lesser extent.

I enjoy reading about Nicola but in real life I think I would find her a bit intimidating.

I do sometimes think I might be an Esther. But at least I am not a Lois....

Don't mean to be picky but can we describe Antonia Forest as "Adult Fiction"?

Don't get me wrong - I love "Autumn Term" and if I were lucky (or rich) enough to be able to get hold of the others I would read them like a shot. I am a big fan of girls' school stories. But doesn't this belong in Childrens?

Do you have the complete set Miranda?

I have spent many hours pondering which one I would most LIKE to be, but I fear that I am not actually like any of them.

I am a Nicola fan really, though Tim and Lawrie are utterly brilliant characters. But they are all brilliant. I love those books.

I have not read Spring Term, I assumed it would not be any good and I really couldn't bear it..

I'm not sure any children actually read Forest these days so I reckon the thread is probably in the right place!

I particularly like Janice.

I did consider putting it in Children's Fiction but did a search first and other people have gone for Adult Fiction so I have too :)

Janice is great actually (of course Miranda would say that :))

I am most like Karen. Not a good thing.

I like Miranda. Though she is mean sometimes.

I'm probably Jan Scott - had attitude problem thus not worthy of being a prefect etc. Only with Lawrie's being scared of stuff, and Rowan's practicality. Actually might just be Rowan. When not clamping mangolds...

Lovely idea for a thread. Miranda, I think I met you at a meet-up when you were LawrieMarlow

You're supposed to like Rowan and Janice, because Nicola likes them best and, mostly, the world is seen through her perspective. I totally agree that IRL I would probably find Nicola intimidating - she's so self-assured. I have always wished I had one tiny fraction of her confidence and the ease with which she achieves things.

I like Tim but wouldn't necessarily like to be friends with her. (That makes me Nicola, doesn't it?!)

Tell you who I can't bear - those awful friends of Ginty's. Jocelyn and Isa and Emma and Verity. Ghastly crew, they are.

I came on here to look for an Elizabeth Jane Howard thread, and have been completely sidetracked. I love Antonia Forest, and have most of the books, either in original from childhood or gradually obtained through second-hand dealers. Is Spring Term worth reading? I sort of can't bear to ...

I don't know whether to read Spring Term or not either...

I'm probably an Esther, without the beauty.

I like Rowan and Peter best.

I'm not keen on Ginty, I think I'd dislike her in real life.

I didn't like Spring Term, it just didn't quite feel right to me. In fact, I can't remember the plot because I think I have blanked it from my mind whereas I know the others inside out.

DH bought me the complete set for Christmas years ago. It was the best present I have ever received. They are referred to as the precious books in the style of Gollum.

I think I might be Sally or Maggie Sutton. Quite nice but not inner circle.

Apart from Nicola, I like Miranda and Esther best.

I did enjoy Spring Term but it definitely wasn't quite the same and I think the fact I couldn't remember any of it says quite a lot.

Jan Scott is my favourite although I do have a soft spot for Pomona! Spring Term is entertaining as one fan's interpretation as to what happens next.

BTW I have a spare copy of 'Fly Away Home' available for a donation to BHF.

DUH! I mean't 'Run Away Home' of course, sorry.

I'd rather like to be Miss Cromwell, actually.

'Spring Term' didn't quite do it for me. Wasn't convinced by the total destruction of Ginty, or Patrick & Nicola - & the intermittent attempts at AF's style didn't quite come off. Brave effort, though!

My favourite books are 'The Player's Boy'/'The Players & the Rebels', although 'Peter's Room' is a close runner up.

I've only read the school ones. I would love Run Away Home and be happy to pay you for it or donate.

I was terrified of Miss Cromwell but yes she had something about her. Really despised Miss Redmond, the Guide woman, for believing Lois constantly. And liked the laid back one - what was her name? - the one who took a pragmatic approach.

Agree with PP about Ginty's awful friends.

I loved these books and still have them and reread them a couple of years ago. Her characters feel so real!

My favorites are Karen and Jan. And actually I like Ann too - I think she gets a bum deal because AF doesn't like her...

Rowan would scare me in RL - she is intimidating in the books I think, so very competent and sure of herself.
Most like? Hmm-in my RL schooldays I think I'd probably have been "one more infant rabbit keeping her tiny end up" (have I misquoted/misremembered that?) Definitely not a sporty popular Marlow.

Think perhaps I am an amalgam of Karen/Ann/Patrick/Lois....

I've read Spring Term, but it hasn't stuck in my memory which isn't much of a recommendation!

I read Spring Term. It was OK but had too many italics in it, and once I'd first noticed that, I couldn't ignore them. I wasn't convinced by absolutely no-one having any sympathy for Ginty, and the Redmond being crap was a bit ropey too - needed a bit more effort to be convincing.

I'd definitely have been absent rabbit on the sports field, but would have been the Narrator in any play, making Autumn Term very different!

I need to re-read the Players books - I got both when GGB printed them, but forgot what happened in the first by the time I got the second.

I ordered Spring Term at 1am last night, thanks to this thread .

I never read the Player's Boy ones, for some reason. I might try to hunt them down. Anything for a bit of an AF fix.

My favourite is Peter's Room. I love the relationships between them all, and I think what she does with the Gondal and Angria Brontë stuff is quite extraordinary.

I started a complete reread of the series last night thanks to this thread.

I read an interesting article somewhere (can't recall where) saying that in any other school story Ann would have been the heroine. She's honest, well behaved, hardworking etc.

I can't decide which book is my favourite. I'm very fond of Faconer's Lure, but I love the Gondalling in Peter's Room.

I love End of Term when Miranda goes from being someone who Nicola doesn't like to a friend.

Yes - Miranda of 'Kitchen and Jumble is quite good enough for Third Remove' fame

I've just been looking at the GirlsGoneBy website and I can see they are publishing some of The Chalet School books as ebooks.
I wonder if they'll do the Antonia Forest ones. I'd love to have them on my Kindle so I could read them anywhere.

Yes, I love Peter's Room best too - though The Ready-Made Family is pretty impressive too.

I find most of AF's characters v convincing but Rowan is too self-assured for a 17-year-old... I can't imagine her in real life, unlike most of the others (I had a friend at school who was Lawrie to a T).

Spring Term is better than I expected and has a few genuinely Foresty turns of phrase, but the Ginty plot is weak and there is some ridiculous slush regarding Patrick and Nicola that would make AF turn in her grave.

Would very much recommend the Players books to any Marlow fans who haven't read them. They are amazing.