The Chalet School books

Loved the Chalet School books and did some research into E.M Dyer she was a prolific writer. There is a group Friends of the Chalet School which keeps the books and ides going www.chaletschool.org.uk/new-chalet-school-and-other-title-short-stories/

I too loved the chalet school series and the stclair series by enid blyton. I have some tatty copies in the spare room

I loved the Mallory Towers books and was excited to go to boarding school at the age of 11 (father in forces) oh my goodness … girls boarding school of the 60s was like Dante’s 9th circle of hell. When I confessed to thinking that it would be like MT to other girls, I was mocked mercilessly and they wrote letters to Enid Blyton (which they left out for me to find) saying how sorry they felt for me.

Happiest day was when I left 7 years later. My daughters would never ever have gone boarding.

Oh, Tennis Shoes was the original title, I think.

This thread is about the Chalet School books, which I have never read. Perhaps I should. I was sidetracked, sorry.

Only Ballet Shoes originally had the word ‘shoes’ in the title. The others didn’t, as far as I remember. Ballet Shoes is the best of the Noel Streatfeild books, I think, but they are all very readable. She had a genius for portraying character,

I had one of her less-known books called The Painted Garden. It’s about making a film of The Secret Garden, in the 1940s. The awkward one of the family lands the leading role of Mary Lennox. There’s usually an awkward child in Streatfeild’s books - selfportraits, I suspect.

Someone mentioned Lorna Hill. I read those, too. Also Pamela Brown’s Blue Door Venture, about children who run their own theatre.

My brother read Malcolm Saville and Arthur Ransome, but I didn’t. I regarded them as boys’ books, and therefore inferior ?.

Hey Ladies, so lovely to hear all your stories of the Chalet School Books. They clearly mean as much to some of you as they did to me. I found solace and wonder in them, they were all mine and the escapism was a life-saver. My household was wild, feckless parents who left us mostly to our own devices, so the Chalet School Books were my haven. Thanks for sharing everyone, have a lovely evening

Thank you. The weather is being good most of the time at the moment.

Stunning, Mokryna!

Wrong side of the Alpes but just took this one today

I adored the Chalet School books! I remember in the late sixties I was ill in bed for something or other and my mum got me a couple of books to read - An Angela Brazil and A Princess at the Chalet School by Elinor M Brent Dyer. I enjoyed both books but the Chalet School totally captivated me. The idea of a school in the Alps, having to speak French German and English on alternate days and getting together for Kaffee and Kuchen! I was absorbed in their world and devoured every book in the series. I would get them from the library and whenever I had any pocket money I would buy them in paperback form. When they started to get tatty with re-reading I bound them in brown card with a spine of cream masking tape. I would put their name and series no on the spine. A few years later I wrote to the publisher and asked to join the Eidelweiss club (I think - it was advertised on the library fly leafs) I was heartbroken to hear that Miss Brent-Dyer had died a few years previously and the club was no more. I never tried to join a fan club again.

I think some of those Noel Streatfeild books had their names changed when they were re-published. I remember reading "Wintle's Wonders" when I was about ten, but now it's called "Dancing Shoes". Guess the publishers were cashing in on the popularity of Ballet Shoes.

I was at boarding school and I used to read these books and think how exciting it must be to go to a boarding school like those that featured in all those boarding school series.

Unfortunately, in reality, boarding school in the 1950s-60s was desperately mundane.

Mollygo go to Amazon and have a look at some of the prices there. A Genius at the Chalet School was crazy money!

Grandmabatty, my bookcase is packed with chalet books, almost all in hardback and I was given loads of paperback copies by someone who knew I liked them. I’d love to know which ones would fetch extortionate prices.

GrandmaSue some of the chalet school books are selling at extortionate prices! I have a number of them but can't afford to buy the rest. You might be surprised at what yours are worth.

I have all the Chalet School books, plus some fill-in books written in the same style as EM Brent-Dyer, which are really well written. I do still have my first three Chalet School books, which were given to me when I was about 10. The others are ones I bought for Christmas and birthdays. There is a Friends of the Chalet School (FOCS) club and quite a few fan pages on Facebook. You can pick up quite reasonable 2nd hand copies on eBay and other book sites. It’s lovely being in contact with other like-minded readers.
I read the Malory Towers books as well and moved onto Agatha Christie in my teens. I’ve still got all those as well (some might have been liberated to my son’s house but they are mine, all mine!)

Sar53

I loved these stories as well as Malory Towers and St Clares. Boarding school sounded so exciting, especially when you lived with three younger brothers in a house with very little money. It was total escapism for me in the late 50's, early 60's.

Loved these books from the library and got my DDs and DGDs hooked on them However, unfortunately couldn’t find all of them in print a few years ago.

charmingly old-fashioned approaches to manners and speech, management of illness and healthy living, and fashions. The messages of attitudes for young girls were good, I think.
Where have the good manners gone? It seems today's society is sadly lacking in them. So many children nowadays are massively indulged, with activities every evening and excursions every weekend. They have parents who complain if their little angel ever gets into trouble at school.
It wasn't like this in my day!

There is a large and lively online community of Chaletians! All of mine bar one are second hand, but Girls Gone By Publishing have done a sterling job of making reprinted editions available. They get harder and harder to find as you get further on in the series.

Can I borrow from your attic library when I'm in the UK next BlueBelle hopefully I will get to the UK at some point.

I still have all mine up in my attic

Like AuntieFlo I loved Ballet Shoes but didn't realise there were so many in the series.

Seems like many of us moved from children's books to Georgette Heyer, I certainly did. Her books are enjoying a bit of a renaissance in the library where I work.

No I hadn’t heard of that Granmarie , I will look out for it.

Hi, Rainwashed, have you seen the CBBC adaptation of Mallory Towers?
I watched it last summer with my DGD , we both loved it!
I think it's still on iPlayer.

Oh I loved the Chalet School books, but like Mollygo, my mum gave them all away.
Also loved the Ballet Shoes books, and didn't realise there were so many if them.