Elinor Brent-Dyer's Writing - Year 1927
Year: 1927
Elinor's age at time of publication: 33
Title(s): The Princess of the Chalet School
Links to other works in the same year:
It is mentioned that Elisaveta has no need to fear a step-mother, which is exactly what happens to the Willoughby children with the arrival of Sigrid (Seven Scamps).
The group formed by the younger girls against Matron is reflective of similar groups we have seen at St Peters (La Rochelle), etc. The group in this title is called the Society of Suppression of Matron (S.S.M.), which is an almost perfect reflection of the group formed at Janeways (see below)
Links to other works in general:
EBD shows clear interest in John Milton by setting his poetry as a slang punishment. Milton will be referenced in Judy the Guide as well.
EBD's interest in guiding is very clear in this book, as it is in Judy the Guide, Heather Leaves School, etc.
The gift of the records to the school by Elisaveta's father shows EBD's own interest in Wagner (also mentioned in Judy and School by the River) and Debussy (also School by the River)
The attempted kidnap of Elisaveta is an idea that will be revisited in Top Secret, as well as later in the CS series
General Thoughts:
This one attempt by EBD to introduce a princess to one of her schools provides for a very interesting if rather stereotypical Ruritanian storyline. She augments it with the interesting concept of a bad staff member, in this case Matron, which, while it is an idea she repeats in the Chalet series later, is not one she tends to use in her other school series. Matron, who is openly racist and encourages (typical for the period) strong-arm tactics such as dragging girls along by brute force and locking them in if they misbehave, sends shock-waves through what has previously been quite a calm series. It does, however, have the end result of creating a book with ongoing plot rather than the episodic nature we have seen in both School At and Jo of.
* * *
Title(s): A Thrilling Term at Janeways
Links to other works in the same year:
Mr Valentine's crusade against slang echoes Madge's, which increases as the school becomes larger
Another league of middles is formed, this time called the Secret Seven Reformers or S.S.R.
Links to other works in general:
Mr Valentine has similarities with Adrian/Miles Barass (Three Go) in terms of temper and artistic temperament
The role played by the diary in understanding the central mystery of the book is very similar to The Lost Staircase
Conflict caused by the Tresillian twins about using the senior library is similar to the situation in Eustacia
The eurhythmics demonstrated by two of the Valentine girls during Keys is suggested by Mr Denny as something he could introduce at the CS (Jo of)
Melody running away is echoed in other books (Eustacia, Challenge, etc). The idea will be better explored in the latter titles, showing EBD's growth as a writer.
Mr Valentine's presentation to the school is similar to Kester Bellever's (Island)
The idea of fagging creates problems as it does in Gerry
The Big House sets the pattern for grand houses that appear throughout many of EBD's works (CS, Lost Staircase, Skelton Hall, etc.)
King Solomon begins the tradition of cats who are masters of all they survey (Minette(s) at the CS, Little Tommy in Lost Staircase, etc)
The fire alarm being rung unnecessarily reappears again in Jo Returns to the CS. One girl being blamed for it and later found not to be responsible is similar to Jack Lambert being blamed for Miss Betram's shock with a snake (Leader) and accusations against Judy (Judy the Guide)
The search for a cat that solves a mystery is similar to Lost Staircase
The tunnel is similar to that at Skelton Hall (Trouble) as well as that used for piracy (Shocks) and one at the Dragon House (Lost Staircase).
The Juniors cropping their hair is similar to Lavender doing the same thing (Lavender Laughs) and also Dorcas Brownlow (Mystery)
Spot Supper appears late in the Chalet series (Excitements etc) but is first mentioned here
General Thoughts:
In this book EBD works with her second school that has a long and colourful history, the first being St Peter's (La Rochelle). The key difference is that here we see more of the school, including their many traditions. This adds weight to what is an already overstuffed book, and it might have benefitted from losing at least one part of its storyline to a later title (the Melody and Harmony story springs to mind immediately). It is also as if EBD was set the challenge of trying to come up with a family of silly names, and she succeeds admirably with all five of the Valentine girls. Still, the reactions to their names - Philippa, Phyllida, Philomena, Philomela and Philadelphia - make for a lovely bit of light-hearted fun, and the reader is unlikely to forget the urgent cry of "Philomena, I'm wrong again!" The storyline itself, though, is hugely complicated and in the end fizzles out a bit. Still, it's an interesting read when compared to some of EBD's other works.
* * *
Title(s): Seven Scamps
Links to other works in the same year:
Dina's health requiring a move is not dissimilar to Elisaveta having to come to school (Princess)
Links to other works in general:
The first work in which we have a medical "Sir James" so that Sir James Canning joins Sir James Russell and Sir James Talbot from the Chalet School world. There is also Sir James Mallison (Carnation) but he is not a doctor.
The absence of Sir Piers for much of the children's lives reflects other parental absences such as the Wintertons (Peggy)
Sir Piers not telling the family about being married is similar to what Mr Cochrane does to both Grizel and to Mrs Cochrane (School At)
The description of Maidie's eyes as 'brown sherry' reflect the same description being given to Madge Bettany (School At)
Tit-for-tat tricks have parallels with various periods of the Chalet School
General Thoughts:
One senses that EBD wanted to experiment here with writing Really Bad Children in a way that she knew would not be acceptable in any kind of school environment, and she probably enjoyed it very much at the same time. This is very unlike a lot of her work in tone, although there are some common threads such as parent-child relationships and recovering from a severe illness. Tellingly, though, the subject of religion receives two interesting mentions, first on the day when first Tim and then Sancho Panza go to church, and second when the younger children are frighted by a news report of the coming of Judgement Day. Given the way in which both topics are addressed, it is possible that EBD did not want to put ideas into her young, impressionable readers' heads.
Elinor's age at time of publication: 33
Title(s): The Princess of the Chalet School
Links to other works in the same year:
It is mentioned that Elisaveta has no need to fear a step-mother, which is exactly what happens to the Willoughby children with the arrival of Sigrid (Seven Scamps).
The group formed by the younger girls against Matron is reflective of similar groups we have seen at St Peters (La Rochelle), etc. The group in this title is called the Society of Suppression of Matron (S.S.M.), which is an almost perfect reflection of the group formed at Janeways (see below)
Links to other works in general:
EBD shows clear interest in John Milton by setting his poetry as a slang punishment. Milton will be referenced in Judy the Guide as well.
EBD's interest in guiding is very clear in this book, as it is in Judy the Guide, Heather Leaves School, etc.
The gift of the records to the school by Elisaveta's father shows EBD's own interest in Wagner (also mentioned in Judy and School by the River) and Debussy (also School by the River)
The attempted kidnap of Elisaveta is an idea that will be revisited in Top Secret, as well as later in the CS series
General Thoughts:
This one attempt by EBD to introduce a princess to one of her schools provides for a very interesting if rather stereotypical Ruritanian storyline. She augments it with the interesting concept of a bad staff member, in this case Matron, which, while it is an idea she repeats in the Chalet series later, is not one she tends to use in her other school series. Matron, who is openly racist and encourages (typical for the period) strong-arm tactics such as dragging girls along by brute force and locking them in if they misbehave, sends shock-waves through what has previously been quite a calm series. It does, however, have the end result of creating a book with ongoing plot rather than the episodic nature we have seen in both School At and Jo of.
* * *
Title(s): A Thrilling Term at Janeways
Links to other works in the same year:
Mr Valentine's crusade against slang echoes Madge's, which increases as the school becomes larger
Another league of middles is formed, this time called the Secret Seven Reformers or S.S.R.
Links to other works in general:
Mr Valentine has similarities with Adrian/Miles Barass (Three Go) in terms of temper and artistic temperament
The role played by the diary in understanding the central mystery of the book is very similar to The Lost Staircase
Conflict caused by the Tresillian twins about using the senior library is similar to the situation in Eustacia
The eurhythmics demonstrated by two of the Valentine girls during Keys is suggested by Mr Denny as something he could introduce at the CS (Jo of)
Melody running away is echoed in other books (Eustacia, Challenge, etc). The idea will be better explored in the latter titles, showing EBD's growth as a writer.
Mr Valentine's presentation to the school is similar to Kester Bellever's (Island)
The idea of fagging creates problems as it does in Gerry
The Big House sets the pattern for grand houses that appear throughout many of EBD's works (CS, Lost Staircase, Skelton Hall, etc.)
King Solomon begins the tradition of cats who are masters of all they survey (Minette(s) at the CS, Little Tommy in Lost Staircase, etc)
The fire alarm being rung unnecessarily reappears again in Jo Returns to the CS. One girl being blamed for it and later found not to be responsible is similar to Jack Lambert being blamed for Miss Betram's shock with a snake (Leader) and accusations against Judy (Judy the Guide)
The search for a cat that solves a mystery is similar to Lost Staircase
The tunnel is similar to that at Skelton Hall (Trouble) as well as that used for piracy (Shocks) and one at the Dragon House (Lost Staircase).
The Juniors cropping their hair is similar to Lavender doing the same thing (Lavender Laughs) and also Dorcas Brownlow (Mystery)
Spot Supper appears late in the Chalet series (Excitements etc) but is first mentioned here
General Thoughts:
In this book EBD works with her second school that has a long and colourful history, the first being St Peter's (La Rochelle). The key difference is that here we see more of the school, including their many traditions. This adds weight to what is an already overstuffed book, and it might have benefitted from losing at least one part of its storyline to a later title (the Melody and Harmony story springs to mind immediately). It is also as if EBD was set the challenge of trying to come up with a family of silly names, and she succeeds admirably with all five of the Valentine girls. Still, the reactions to their names - Philippa, Phyllida, Philomena, Philomela and Philadelphia - make for a lovely bit of light-hearted fun, and the reader is unlikely to forget the urgent cry of "Philomena, I'm wrong again!" The storyline itself, though, is hugely complicated and in the end fizzles out a bit. Still, it's an interesting read when compared to some of EBD's other works.
* * *
Title(s): Seven Scamps
Links to other works in the same year:
Dina's health requiring a move is not dissimilar to Elisaveta having to come to school (Princess)
Links to other works in general:
The first work in which we have a medical "Sir James" so that Sir James Canning joins Sir James Russell and Sir James Talbot from the Chalet School world. There is also Sir James Mallison (Carnation) but he is not a doctor.
The absence of Sir Piers for much of the children's lives reflects other parental absences such as the Wintertons (Peggy)
Sir Piers not telling the family about being married is similar to what Mr Cochrane does to both Grizel and to Mrs Cochrane (School At)
The description of Maidie's eyes as 'brown sherry' reflect the same description being given to Madge Bettany (School At)
Tit-for-tat tricks have parallels with various periods of the Chalet School
General Thoughts:
One senses that EBD wanted to experiment here with writing Really Bad Children in a way that she knew would not be acceptable in any kind of school environment, and she probably enjoyed it very much at the same time. This is very unlike a lot of her work in tone, although there are some common threads such as parent-child relationships and recovering from a severe illness. Tellingly, though, the subject of religion receives two interesting mentions, first on the day when first Tim and then Sancho Panza go to church, and second when the younger children are frighted by a news report of the coming of Judgement Day. Given the way in which both topics are addressed, it is possible that EBD did not want to put ideas into her young, impressionable readers' heads.