REVIEW: The New Girl at 'Fir Trees'
The New Girl at ‘Fir Trees’: Maud D. Rees Carey Kingsgate Press, 1948
Perhaps this book suffered a little because I’d just been reading Carola Storms the Chalet School before it, but it’s likely I still wouldn’t have liked most of the characters, anyhow.
The new girl in question was a character I rather liked and felt terribly sorry for. As a result of her mother’s ill-health, Pauline Sutcliffe has had to change schools for her final year of schooling. She is put in a rather difficult position from the outset by her new headmistress, who is shown to be rather flawed, perhaps more so than the authoress intended. Pauline is made a prefect, despite being a completely new girl who hasn’t earned her position in the school beyond being a member of the Sixth form by virtue of her age. As it is, Pauline is sporty, brainy enough and a good leader, but her fellow sixth formers, led by new head girl Carolyn, don’t try to find that out, as they somewhat resent Miss Quartermaine’s decision. That’s understandable, although it doesn’t speak highly of most of them that they don’t try to get over it to help her. It rather seems as if Pauline will have to find out the school’s traditions, which it is part of a prefect’s job to uphold, on her own.
One of the responsibilities of the prefects is to take on a form each, and the Upper Fourth falls to Pauline’s lot. Of its number are a gang of five dorm-mates, who take an instant, prejudiced dislike to Pauline and decide to make life difficult for her. April Allen is their leader, although she resents authority and discipline; Daphne her loyal chum, and then there is Lois Weaver, who has a big secret and is willing to do some dishonourable things to keep both it and her position in the school. The story’s focus mostly divides between the gang and their prefect’s take on the school year.
I think this was/is a Christian publisher, although there’s probably less talk of faith and religion than in the Chalet School books, but there’s a willingness to look at the uglier sides of human nature - April’s behaviour is shown to be greatly influenced by a far from loving upbringing, her mother may give her money and things easily, but not values. Meanwhile, Lois is a snob. They both lash out, rather meanly, at Pauline, but there’s an element of silliness to it, and by the time they’re in the process of being reformed and are asked why they took such a hate to Pauline, they have no good answer. (Well, Lois is afraid that Pauline will give away the secret that she’s a gamekeeper’s daughter, only at Fir Trees because of a rich man’s largesse and because she’s a talented dancer.) At the age of around thirteen to fourteen, they’re also shown not to think of the implications of some of what they do, or considering, for example, Pauline’s feelings.
Not that Pauline’s peers or headmistress consider the latter much either, though. Pauline mostly turns to an older cousin and to a local minister for advice about her band of rebels, for she wants to protect her mother. Apart from fellow prefect Rosemary, one of the few girls who are nice to Pauline before she wins the ‘Fir Cones’ over, the Sixth at large, thanks to Carolyn’s position as its leading light, dismiss her time and again. Carolyn, being in charge of games, fails to find out Pauline’s standard of play, first in netball and then, not learning her lesson, again in tennis. This lapse is shown up twice, when Pauline stands in at a vital netball match and plays spectacularly and then beats Carolyn at tennis in the end-of-year championship (and coaches two of her Upper Fourthers to victory in the doubles). It’s rather tragic that Tennis Week, about the least week of the summer term, is by far Pauline’s happiest at her new school. It’s also perhaps more realistic than the general tenor of school stories. But you hope that university, where she’ll start from scratch like everyone, will be better.
I didn’t like the school much and I wouldn’t say that this is a completely realistic picture of boarding school life either, even if Reed was willing to write about the less than noble motivations that drive girls and show an older girl being put in a rather horrible situation for a whole year. Although Pauline finds a way to win the more troublesome girls over and show her mettle, it wasn’t a happy year.
This entry was originally posted at http://feather-ghyll.dreamwidth.org/110422.html. Please comment wherever you prefer to.
Perhaps this book suffered a little because I’d just been reading Carola Storms the Chalet School before it, but it’s likely I still wouldn’t have liked most of the characters, anyhow.
The new girl in question was a character I rather liked and felt terribly sorry for. As a result of her mother’s ill-health, Pauline Sutcliffe has had to change schools for her final year of schooling. She is put in a rather difficult position from the outset by her new headmistress, who is shown to be rather flawed, perhaps more so than the authoress intended. Pauline is made a prefect, despite being a completely new girl who hasn’t earned her position in the school beyond being a member of the Sixth form by virtue of her age. As it is, Pauline is sporty, brainy enough and a good leader, but her fellow sixth formers, led by new head girl Carolyn, don’t try to find that out, as they somewhat resent Miss Quartermaine’s decision. That’s understandable, although it doesn’t speak highly of most of them that they don’t try to get over it to help her. It rather seems as if Pauline will have to find out the school’s traditions, which it is part of a prefect’s job to uphold, on her own.
One of the responsibilities of the prefects is to take on a form each, and the Upper Fourth falls to Pauline’s lot. Of its number are a gang of five dorm-mates, who take an instant, prejudiced dislike to Pauline and decide to make life difficult for her. April Allen is their leader, although she resents authority and discipline; Daphne her loyal chum, and then there is Lois Weaver, who has a big secret and is willing to do some dishonourable things to keep both it and her position in the school. The story’s focus mostly divides between the gang and their prefect’s take on the school year.
I think this was/is a Christian publisher, although there’s probably less talk of faith and religion than in the Chalet School books, but there’s a willingness to look at the uglier sides of human nature - April’s behaviour is shown to be greatly influenced by a far from loving upbringing, her mother may give her money and things easily, but not values. Meanwhile, Lois is a snob. They both lash out, rather meanly, at Pauline, but there’s an element of silliness to it, and by the time they’re in the process of being reformed and are asked why they took such a hate to Pauline, they have no good answer. (Well, Lois is afraid that Pauline will give away the secret that she’s a gamekeeper’s daughter, only at Fir Trees because of a rich man’s largesse and because she’s a talented dancer.) At the age of around thirteen to fourteen, they’re also shown not to think of the implications of some of what they do, or considering, for example, Pauline’s feelings.
Not that Pauline’s peers or headmistress consider the latter much either, though. Pauline mostly turns to an older cousin and to a local minister for advice about her band of rebels, for she wants to protect her mother. Apart from fellow prefect Rosemary, one of the few girls who are nice to Pauline before she wins the ‘Fir Cones’ over, the Sixth at large, thanks to Carolyn’s position as its leading light, dismiss her time and again. Carolyn, being in charge of games, fails to find out Pauline’s standard of play, first in netball and then, not learning her lesson, again in tennis. This lapse is shown up twice, when Pauline stands in at a vital netball match and plays spectacularly and then beats Carolyn at tennis in the end-of-year championship (and coaches two of her Upper Fourthers to victory in the doubles). It’s rather tragic that Tennis Week, about the least week of the summer term, is by far Pauline’s happiest at her new school. It’s also perhaps more realistic than the general tenor of school stories. But you hope that university, where she’ll start from scratch like everyone, will be better.
I didn’t like the school much and I wouldn’t say that this is a completely realistic picture of boarding school life either, even if Reed was willing to write about the less than noble motivations that drive girls and show an older girl being put in a rather horrible situation for a whole year. Although Pauline finds a way to win the more troublesome girls over and show her mettle, it wasn’t a happy year.
This entry was originally posted at http://feather-ghyll.dreamwidth.org/110422.html. Please comment wherever you prefer to.