Jo to the Rescue (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

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In my meandering, gradual read-through of the lengthy Chalet School series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer (with a few extra fill-ins) I reached ‘Jo to the Rescue’. As a young teenager this wasn’t one of my favourites, but when I re-read it as an adult, it shot up in my estimation, and I now count it as one of my top five. However, although it’s ten years since I last read it, I almost skipped it this time as I had made the mistake of reading the fill-in ‘A Chalet School Headmistress’ directly after ‘Gay from China’, rather than this one first.

I’m so glad I decided to backtrack a little in the chronology and re-read ‘Jo to the Rescue’. It remains firmly amongst my favourites, and I had forgotten just how moving it is in places. It’s one of a small number of books in the series that doesn’t take place at the Chalet School at all; instead it revolves around Jo Maynard and her three closest friends, Marie, Frieda and Simone, when they and their young children go for a summer break in a holiday home in a village near the moors. I’m not sure if it’s spelled out exactly where it is supposed to be; it probably doesn’t much matter.

Their neighbour is a young woman called Phoebe who is an invalid, in chronic pain with long-term rheumatoid arthritis. She lives with her elderly maid Debby who looks after her well, but Phoebe is quite lonely. Her father, who was a renowned cellist, recently passed away and she has been hassled by a spoilt young woman called Zephyr who really wants to buy his cello from her…

Although Joey and her friends quickly befriend Phoebe, and they all spend time together much of the story revolves around the small children and their antics. I found it very readable, and while I recalled the more major plot lines, I had quite forgotten the detail that makes this such a delightful (and, in places, deeply moving) story.

There’s quite a large cast, with ten children (including Joey’s niece Sybil) as well as the four mothers, Phoebe and Debby, and a few doctors too, including Joey’s husband. Her adopted sister Robin comes in later, too, though we don’t read much about her. So although this book very much stands alone, it’s better - in my view - for being read as part of the series. It didn’t matter at all that I had read the fill-in that follows, although if I had been reading for the first time there would have been spoilers.

My only slight irritation with this book is the last paragraph which feels a bit trite, although I suppose it was typical of the era, tying everything up neatly.

When I first came across the Chalet School series (on my grandmother’s shelves) as a young teenager, I thought ‘Jo to the Rescue’, 19th in the original series, was the last. My grandmother didn’t have any others, and it felt very much like a finale to the series, re-visiting the four close friends who were so important in the earlier school books. I’m glad the author went on to write so many more, but this still feels like a milestone in the series.

The book was first published in 1945, towards the end of World War II which is mentioned in passing as part of current events, and as explanation why some of the husbands and many friends are not there. Other than the horses and carts, and lack of any kind of technology, it doesn’t feel dated - people’s attitudes and needs probably don’t change much.

My copy is a hardback original; this has also been published by 'Girls Gone By' as well as the somewhat abridged Armada edition. Well worth having the full text if at all possible.

I’m already looking forward to re-reading this yet again in another decade or so.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews