In my gradual re-read of Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School series, I’ve just finished ‘Exploits of the Chalet Girls’. It takes place during the Autumn term directly after the events in ‘The Chalet Girls in Camp’, and refers to the camp in a couple of places; however, as with most of these books, it stands alone. It certainly isn’t necessary to have read ‘...Camp’, although as characters recur I find it more interesting to read the books in order.
This is not a particularly memorable book. I last read 'Exploits...' ten-and-a-half years ago, and didn't remember any of it. On the whole I like the books set in Austria, prior to World War II, but this is not one of the author’s better efforts. I had wondered if my edition was lacking some sections, as is the case with many of the Armada paperback versions of the Chalet School books. But apparently it’s uncut - it was short and not all that interesting when originally written.
I suppose the main problem is that there isn’t - so to speak - a main problem in this book. There’s a difficult new girl, Thekla von Swift, who is an extreme snob. She doesn’t like associating with the daughters of tradesmen, and expects to be treated as someone special. However although this leads to a few altercations, her (inevitable) transformation into a ‘real’ Chalet girl happens gradually, without any major event or particular person triggering the change.
Other than that, it’s simply a description of the events of the half term. There’s a long walk, for instance, described over several pages. The sixth form plan a halloween-based staff evening, and there’s a chapter that details all the games and other activities that take place. There’s a half-term break in the Sonnalpe for those girls who can’t go home, including a snowfight and various other entertainment… but nothing dramatic happens. And there’s almost another chapter that tells us, at some length, exactly what happens in some tableaux and other show pieces that are the climax of the half-term.
Naturally the Middles get up to mischief; one of them nearly causes a tragedy in a science lesson… but even that is rather played down, barely mentioned after the lesson concerned, other than that the girl in question takes a while to recover.
At the end of term is the Christmas play, where Madge Russell has written a pageant, and at least one new carol - so, once again, there’s a lot of description about the different periods represented, the clothes worn, and which of the girls play which parts.
It’s not a bad book - it gives an idea of what the school would have been like in a fairly uneventful term, and I kept reading, even if I skimmed a bit in some places. I might miss it out next time I do a re-read, or I might read it anyway - each volume introduces a few new people and I like the continuity. But it’s not one I would particularly recommend, unless you’re a fan of the series.
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