Chalet School |
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What popular series of books has spanned three generations
and still continues to be sought today? What author was able
to pen 58 full length hard back books (plus one shorter paperback
story!) and retain the magic and character of these well loved
tales?
Two words - Chalet School! |
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| British born author,
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer was born and grew up in South
Shields, an industrial town on Tyneside. Although her stories
told of large, happy families, Elinor's own family was small
and faced many difficulties particularly in Elinor's early
years. She had only one brother (a year younger than herself)
and two unknown half |
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| brothers. Her parent's marriage was short-lived.
Elinor was born in 1894, and her parents separated in 1897.In
1901 Elinor's grandmother, who had lived with her family,
passed away. Finally, her brother Henzell, at the age of
17, was suddenly taken ill with meningitis and died a few
days later.
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer's first school experience was at St.
Nicholas's School in South Shields, where she was sent in
1900. By the year 1912 however, Elinor had become an 'unqualified
teacher'. Her teaching career continued for many years culminating
in her opening her own school in Hereford in the 1930's
called The Margaret Roper School. This school finally closed
its doors in 1948 allowing Elinor M. Brent-Dyer to give
her undivided attention to the ever-popular Chalet School!
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Elinor was 28 when her first
book was accepted for publication. Two more books followed
in the 'La Rochelle' series. However, the turning point
came in her writing career when Elinor visited Austria in
1924 for a holiday. This holiday was to quite literally
affect the whole future course of her life!
Based on the shores of the lake Tiernsee (this lake really
does exist but is named Achensee) the Chalet school was
established with just three pupils (Joey, Grizel, and Simone)
in the stunning mountains of the North Tirol. However, by
the first day of school the three pupils had been joined
by six Tirolean girls, and so 'The School at the Chalet'
begins!
Right from the beginning the Chalet School books had the
advantage of being different from other children's series.
The beautiful setting, it's mixture of nationalities and
religious denominations, it's near family atmosphere and
it's use of foreign phrases all made the books an unforgettable
read. |
| Although the story begins in Austria,
and the reader sees the school expand and absorb St. Scholastika,
there is an interesting twist when after about eight years
of being happily settled at the Tiernsee, the book 'The Chalet
School in Exile' sees the girls leaving Austria after the
Nazi annexation. This eventually leads to the school being
established on the island of Guernsey. However, their stay
here is short as the war starts and the Channel Islands are
no longer considered to be a safe refuge! The school is then
established in Armishire (Herefordshire) where they spend
a further happy eight school years. Finally, defective drains
are found to be causing illness in the school and in the nick
of time a large house is found on the island of St. Briavel,
a fictional place said to beoff the coast of Wales. Eventually,
the book entitled 'Changes for the Chalet School' sees about
a hundred of the seniors and middles all set for travel to
Switzerland. This is the final home for the Chalet School
girls along with the island of St. Briavel which still houses
the juniors. |
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Although Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
wrote many other titles, the fact that the Chalet School
continues to survive after more than seventy-eight years
is mainly a tribute to the entertaining stories, the sense
of comedy and fun, and above all to the characterisation
shown in the early books. They are a classic!
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer died in 1969 leaving a treasure trove
of timeless stories from her lifetime for fans world-wide
to enjoy reading, and re-reading. |
| Now you can not only enjoy the books but also
'A collection of stories, articles and competitions' from
the reference work entitled 'Elinor M. Brent-Dyer' Chalet
School'. This book contains the answers to questions such
as 'Are there any books missing from the Chalet School series?'
and 'What about the school Elinor ran in Hereford - was it
at all like the Chalet School?'. - Enjoy! |
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Contributed by Claire Waldron
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