I have loved Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s ‘Chalet School’ series since I first discovered some of her books on my grandmother’s shelves as a teenager. I borrowed later ones from my school library, and began collecting my own copies, mostly abridged Armada editions, and re-read them regularly. My mother, meanwhile, started her own collection, including the hardbacks from her childhood; when I visited, I would dip into some of my favourites.
When she decided that she was not going to read them again, she passed them on to me, and I was pretty sure I re-read most of them again about ten years ago. Apparently not. In my current slow read-through, which I began with ‘The School at the Chalet’ towards the end of 2019, I found that there were some books I had not read in considerably longer. One of these is ‘Gay from China at the Chalet School’ which I hadn’t read since 2003.
I have the hardback edition of this, and it’s the one that used to belong to my mother; apparently the Armada abridged version (re-titled ‘Gay Lambert at the Chalet School’) is missing some quite significant parts, although I don’t think I ever read that. I did recall the general outline - when I read it in 2003 it was the third time in three years! - although I’d forgotten many of the details.
Jacynth is a new girl, a little nervous about going to the Chalet School, but she settles in quickly and makes friends with two likeable girls called Gay and Gillian. Jacynth’s fees are being paid by her aunt, who brought her up; they are clearly devoted to each other, and have no other living relatives. Jacynth’s aunt has to have a serious operation, so she’s naturally concerned about her.
Meanwhile the school Head, the deputy, and two other senior mistresses have been involved in a nasty coach accident. This happens right before the start of the summer term, so a temporary headmistress has to be employed to run the school - and the rather limited options lead to the dreadful Miss Bubb. She’s not evil, but she’s very ambitious academically and rather scathing about sports, music, arts and hobbies. She doesn’t understand the Chalet School ethos, and she starts making her own strict rules, which makes everyone increasingly upset with her.
Just to make matters even worse, Madge Russell, who owns the school, can’t be told about this because her small daughter Josette has had a very nasty accident with a kettle of boiling water, and her life hangs in the balance for some days.
So there’s a lot going on in this book and I thought it very well put together. Brent-Dyer was fairly good at characterisation, at least of a few of her creations, and I felt we got to know both Gay and Jacynth rather well in this book. Their backgrounds are entirely different: Gay comes from a well-off family with many relatives, some of whom are still living in China, where she grew up. But they share a love of music.
I liked the way that integrity and flexibility are balanced so well in the Chalet School staff and general understanding, contrasted cleverly with Miss Bubb’s extreme inflexibility, and lack of trust in anyone. Her eventual - and inevitable - departure are nicely handled, I felt.
‘Gay from China’, which is the 18th book in the original series, was first published in 1944 so World War I is the background to the events. Medical care is also that of nearly 80 years ago; perhaps it’s surprising that it’s as good as it is. The author is rather vague about operations, but she doesn’t skate round tragedies and near tragedies. Several people in this book are in extreme danger, their lives in the balance for some days; one person loses the battle towards the end of the book, and I found the chapter describing it, as well as a moving letter to be very poignant and had tears in my eyes as I read.
There’s much more to the book of course; I love the insights into the customs and expectations of the era, as well as developments in the life of the school and its characters. There’s some light humour revolving around a new family who have come to work in the local post office, and it nicely balances the serious themes that dominate the book.
It stands alone, and as it’s mostly about new characters, it’s not necessary to have read any of the earlier books, although I always like seeing former characters in cameo roles. Originally intended, of course, for teenagers but nowadays probably read more by adults who recall them with nostalgia from their own childhood or teenage years.
Definitely recommended if you like the Chalet School series, especially if you can find either a hardback earlier edition, or a more recently published 'Girls Gone By' version with the full text. Unfortunately these are often extremely high priced, but can occasionally be found in second-hand shops, particularly 'marketplaces' online.
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