The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor (by Enid Blyton)

(Amazon UK link)

I re-read ‘The Naughtiest Girl in the School’ by Enid Blyton a few months ago, after starting to read it to my granddaughter. Then I read its sequel, ‘The Naughtiest Girl Again’ in June. I’ve just finished reading the third (and last) in the original series, ‘The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor’. 

I didn’t have much recollection of this book, which I probably haven’t read in thirty years or more. Just that Elizabeth, the hot-heated rebellious girl of the first book has been made a ‘monitor’ - and that she gets into trouble, as she is prone to do. 

I’d forgotten entirely that the book starts with the introduction of a new girl called Arabella. She is the daughter of some friends of Elizabeth’s parents. She comes to visit for a couple of weeks before term starts, and does not get along with Elizabeth at all. Arabella is from a wealthy background, and likes elegant clothes. She has very nice manners with adults, but she likes to boast about her expensive holidays and luxurious lifestyle. At her previous school girls looked up to her, and she expects this kind of adulation.

There are a couple of new boys as well in the First Form, Julian and Martin, and a shy girl called Rosemary. Julian has a ‘don’t care’ attitude to work, and life in general, while Martin seems to be a people-pleaser. Rosemary avoids conflict by agreeing with everyone, and is the only person to become friendly with Arabella. 

Elizabeth can’t quite forget that she’s a monitor, and this causes some distance with friends. But she still has a hot temper and makes some errors of judgement after leaping to conclusions. This leads to her being the target of some tricks that get her into trouble…

These books were originally intended for children (mostly girls) of about 7-11. The age of the first form isn’t given, but I assume Elizabeth and her classmates are about eleven. It doesn’t really matter. 

Whyteleafe School has an unusual system of democracy, with weekly ‘Meetings’ that allow everyone to have a voice, and to vote on any new rules. It's a fairly radical idea in the 21st century, all the more so when this series was first written, in the 1940s. 

In addition, the children (boys and girls) share out the money they have brought with them, and any more they’re sent during the term. The edition of the book I’ve just finished sees them all having two pounds per week; in the originals, published in the 1970s, it was two shillings. But although it seems a tad pointless to have adjusted that one detail, it’s not a huge change. As far as I know, the rest of the story is unchanged. But it doesn't feel eighty years old to me. 

And it’s a good story. Many of Enid Blyton’s books have quite strong moral undertones, particularly her school stories. Honesty, integrity and courage are lauded; cowardice, theft and sneakiness are seen as negative, but not in a preachy way. Elizabeth starts out (in the first book) determined to hate everything about the school and to break every rule she can. But by the time this one starts, she has learned the value of friendship and of some basic rules for a community working together, looking out for each other.

I had also entirely forgotten the incident in the final chapters of this book. Elizabeth shows tremendous courage and presence of mind. What she does doesn’t seem like a big deal to her and she hopes nobody realises what she’s done - she's worried about getting into trouble yet again. The conclusion is nicely handled and I found the final section surprisingly moving. 

Enid Blyton has been criticised for not being the greatest writer. It’s true that some phrases are a bit repetitive, and there are places where there’s a slightly intrusive authorial voice. Some of the conversation is a tad stilted, and the language isn’t beautifully descriptive or perfectly written. Does it matter? I don’t think so. She told a good story, about people who seem quite three-dimensional, and she got children reading. 

Most people my age from the UK who are avid readers started out with Enid Blyton books, and I’m delighted that they are still in print, still popular… and still easily available to those of us who remember these books from our childhoods. As a grandmother, I’m far from the target audience, but I’m very pleased I’ve finally re-read them. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Apparently there were nine more books written in this series, by another author - and if I see any of them in a charity shop I might pick them up. But these were the only three available to me as a child. I’d have loved more at the time, but the trilogy is complete in itself.

Definitely recommended if you like this genre; they're good read-alouds for children of about seven and up. Or for fluent readers of any age, particularly those of us who remember them nostalgically from our younger days. 

I'm pleased to see that this series has been republished many times, and that it's still in print. I'm not keen on the modern cartoon-style images on the newer covers, but perhaps they appeal more to children than the more realistic ones of the past. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews