The Chalet School

[ShellacB]

There seem to be plenty of old Chalet School Threads, but I can't find a current one.

In the middle of a re read. I have just finished the Tyrolean and Herefordshire ones. I loved them!

I do remember the Swiss books not being quite of the same quality, so not sure whether to read them all.

Could anyone recommend the best Swiss books if I was to skim through?

Yes there is no doubt that Biddy was a favourite of EBD’s. She actually had one of the longest running and most extensive character arcs of all, after such a harsh start to her life.

She was a good Chalet School girl who was there from close to the very beginning of the series and stayed right to the end. She was very bright and performed well at school and was also well liked by most. She made it into Oxford (a huge achievement then) had the chance to go off on her exotic travels and then came back to the school as a very well respected and able teacher. After having the chance to fulfil her career goals, she ultimately received EBD’s ultimate reward for her most favoured characters: a lovely Doctor husband and several small children. In many ways she had one of the most complete life stories of any of the characters!

Oh you will enjoy Reunion, Tayto. That was actually the first time I had read it and it was definitely one of the best of the later books in my opinion. A few missed opportunities, but all in all a good read and nice to see Grizel treated sympathetically for a change!

I'm re-reading Does it Again. Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that Con's mistake in the Old Testament quiz is really not funny enough to make a Chalet School legend (and be referred to repeatedly later on)?!

Along with the other hilarious slips of someone saying that a moraine was a godmother & someone else pronouncing Empedocles as Empydockles?

Yes, I would agree.

Also not sure that Grizel’s mistake about hot water warranted being retold in books until the end of the series… Although that one was amusing at first read.

Usually they fall off their chairs with peals of laughter - I always thought I'd missed a joke there.

Like the helpless hilarity triggered by paper games. Maybe you just have to be there.

And the pantomime! I might need to cling to someone and weep gently

I’ll own up to skipping over those blow by blow accounts of the pantomime…Christmas play…sale.

Oh yea- and tennis matches

It took me until I was an adult to understand why that was wrong/funny at all. Clearly my Classics is not up to scratch.

It took me quite a while too! I also remember a Geography teacher being shocked that while Ruey could draw the outline of a map of the UK freehand, she couldn’t mark all the rivers.

And presumably you also 'had to be there' to get something out of the plays, with their heavily laboured morality plots.

I did think, though, that the obstacle course they make the staff do - can't remember which book it's in now, was it it Shocks? - where the obstacles include eating exceptionally bitter apples - was something of a work of genius😄

And Biddy's history lectures when they are on their expeditions.

The trips to various places in Austria & Switzerland have actually been very useful in quizzes for me!

Someone upthread mentioned "No Irish, no blacks. no dogs" which reminded me of my seven year old (Irish) granddaughter's response when she overheard this (during a discussion with an older child.) "That's so unfair!" she spluttered. "Dogs are lovely!"

Apparently I had a similar reaction myself around that age when hearing the grown ups discussing prejudice.