The Chalet School in Exile by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer was first published in 1940 by Chambers, but my copy is an abridged paperback Armada. I don’t have that many of the hardbacks as they tend to be overpriced, in my opinion.
Anyway, this one is quite different from previous books as the location of the Austrian Alps became distinctly uncomfortable when the local Nazis started to flex their muscles. A simple walk by some of the girls in the school’s surroundings leads to a dangerous encounter with locals who call the Gestapo, accusing the girls of being spies. Before the Gestapo come calling the girls attempt an escape into Switzerland and safety, it’s a terrifying journey, but they have no choice.
Meanwhile – back at the Chalet School it has become obvious that the school needs to find a new home. The German pupils go home, as do some others. So much school equipment will just have to be abandoned.
This is a very different read from the others I’ve read in this series as it involves spies and a chase across the Alps. A new school will have to be started up elsewhere, and Guernsey is chosen as the new location!!
As this book was published in 1940, the same year that the Nazis invaded the Channel Islands including Guernsey, I’m intrigued. What made Brent-Dyer choose Guernsey for the new school location? Possibly by the time the book was published Guernsey had already been over-run. Anyway, they are obviously going to have to move the school yet again. This was an enjoyable romp.
Towards the end of this book there’s a shock for Jo who is now married. I suspect that the birth of triplets was seen by many readers to be very far-fetched, but I knew a woman who did give birth to triplets, naturally, it was pre test tube babies, and the mother was over 40!
There was an article in today’s Guardian about adults reading books for Young Adults which you can read here. Apparently 74% of Young Adult fiction readers are adults. If writing is good I don’t think there is an age category, it’s for readers of all ages to enjoy.
I started reading the Chalet School books again as it’s so long since I read them, they’re a real nostalgia kick for me, not that I can actually remember much about them. But the ambience seemed cosmopolitan to the ten year old me.
I found the Chalet School books at a bookstore in Bermuda on a family trip when I was 11 and I spent ages trying to decide which ones to buy. I knew I should buy the first three in the series but I think I included A Princess at the Chalet School, which sounded very appealing. I liked all the nationalities at the school and the different days for different languages but probably because I didn’t come across any more until I was an adult, they never captured my imagination as other school stories did. Now I think that Antonia Forest and Clare Mallory are my favorite authors of this genre.
Constance,
I haven’t read anything by Clare Mallory, but I like Antonia Forest, Dorita Fairlie Bruce and Evelyn Smith.
I borrowed my first Chalet School books from the local library, but I moved on to adult books too soon I think, mainly Christie, when I ran out of the Famous Five.