A Rebel at the Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

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I finished reading my Armada edition of Elinor M Brent-Dyer's ‘The Chalet School and the Lintons’ at the end of last year, and was quite tempted to move straight on to ‘A Rebel at the Chalet School’ as it’s the second half, in Armada, of the original hardback.  However I didn’t remember it with any great fondness - I last read ‘Rebel’ just over ten years ago, and it wasn’t one of my favourites.

I’ve just finished reading it now; it didn’t take long as it’s a short book, only 126 pages. And I was surprised how much I liked it - and how much is packed into such a small space. Joyce Linton is the ‘rebel’ of the title; with just half a term behind her she hasn’t adapted to the Chalet School ethos, and is remarkably self-centered.

So it opens with Jo Bettany, the head girl, worrying about a situation she has just emerged from. Joyce, along with some other girls, are having extra French coaching from Miss Norman. This likeable staff member is excellent with the under-tens, but too gentle to deal with older girls who might take advantage. Joyce is quick to realise this, so she has come up with various ways to disrupt the lessons and to upset poor Miss Norman.

Jo happened to hear the class rioting, and went to investigate, embarrassing both herself and Miss Norman in the process. And now she has a moral dilemma: should she report the appalling behaviour she witnessed, going over Miss Norman’s head, or speak to the girls concerned - making Miss Norman out to be weak and out of control - or should she ignore it?

One of the things I like about the Chalet School series is the way that staff are given personalities as well as the girls, along with both positive and negative traits. I also like the way that they and the girls develop good relationships, based on mutual respect and liking, and how Jo and the other prefects very clearly see what a difficult situation Miss Norman is in.

The middle part of the book - once this issue is resolved - is more run-of-the-mill, with a couple of chapters devoted to the annual sale, which was a highlight of the year as far as the characters in the book are concerned, but rather dull to read about. But at the end of the sale Joyce and her sister Gillian are summoned to the Sonnalpe, to the TB sanatorium where their mother is; she had been doing as well as could be expected, even gaining a little strength, but has had a sudden relapse. The doctors hold out very little hope.

The final chapters are poignant, with more than one place leaving me feeling quite moved. It’s a book where Jo, in her penultimate term at the school, shows herself to have a great deal of wisdom and insight. This foreshadows her being the unofficial advisor in all kinds of circumstances in future years, and I thought was done very well.

All in all, I liked this very much. I’d like to get hold of a hardback or ‘Girls Gone By’ edition of ‘The Chalet School and the Lintons’ which has this included, as my Armada paperbacks are beginning to fall to pieces. But the good thing about Armada having turned this into two paperbacks is that the original was not cut, whereas most of the Armada paperbacks, at least for the earlier book in the series, have some quite major abridgements.

It’s definitely best to read ‘A Rebel at the Chalet School’ after ‘Chalet School and the Lintons’. The two could make quite a good introduction to the series, although I prefer to read them in chronological order.

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