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Mary-Lou is one of Brent-Dyer’s stronger characters, first introduced in ‘Three go to the Chalet School’. She’s now a senior, and is returning to school a week after the start of term. This is because her beloved grandmother has just died. Brent-Dyer doesn’t gloss over loss, and we see Mary-Lou somewhat pensive, although determined not to grieve or complain.
When she returns to the school she discovers that there’s a new girl in her form called Jessica. And Jessica is so grumpy and miserable that she shuns any offer of help or even conversation. The other girls have rather left her to herself after initial overtures of friendship, but Mary-Lou is determined to get to the bottom of it. This is spurred on by Jo Maynard who explains privately to Mary-Lou a little of what has happened to cause Jessica to be so miserable.
It’s not a new trope; there have been many girls who arrived at the school determined to hate it (or to behave badly) but I thought this one was handled particularly well. This story-line goes alongside day-to-day events in the life of the school. We see the new prefects having meetings, and new arrangements whereby the St Mildred’s finishing school is now nearby, with a lot more coming and going. We also see glimpses into the staff room and one amusing anecdotes that almost made me chuckle aloud.
There’s an inevitable school trip, several hours in a coach each way to see Zurich and some of the sights there. Brent-Dyer liked inserting some history and geographical facts into her books under the guise of enthusiastic girls asking questions of the knowledgeable staff. I didn’t find these chapters particularly interesting, so skimmed them; for once, there are no ‘incidents’ to enliven the trip.
In a sense this is a run-of-the-mill Chalet School book, with many references to things in earlier books, and repeats of previous ideas (such as a sheets-and-pillowcases party, and a visit from St Nicholas). But it does have a distinct storyline running alongside it, which is resolved well. It also has a temporary shortage of some food products during an extensive storm.
However there’s no Christmas play for once, just a carol concert, which has barely a mention when it happens. There is, however, plenty of skiing and sledging, with reminders to wear dark goggles and to wrap up warmly. And a terrible accident, one which I had only vaguely remembered, when one of the girls disobeys orders about where to sledge.
This leads to a dramatic climax near the end. There’s a very moving section that almost brought tears to my eyes, when Jack Maynard talks to one of his daughters in a positive and encouraging way. He’s often portrayed as quite a harsh father, but I liked him a lot more in this book.
Worth reading if you like the series, or if you recall these books with nostalgia from your childhood. They were originally written for teenage girls, but I doubt if most of today’s teens would have much interest in such tame stories. However those who like series such as Enid Blyton’s ‘Malory Towers’ and ‘St Clare’s’ when they’re younger might well want to move on to ‘Chalet School’ at some point.
Unfortunately most of the hardbacks are very hard to find (and expensive) and the Armada paperback editions published in the 1970s are often abridged. I am fortunate to have acquired a hardback of ‘Mary-Lou at the Chalet School’, but understand that its paperback edition had quite a bit cut out when it was abridged. However, even the Armada versions follow the main storyline, and I’m glad they were published as they kept me reading the series regularly when I was unable to acquire full editions. In more recent years a full version has been published by Girls Gone By, but unfortunately these quickly go out of print, and are often very expensive second-hand.
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