REVIEW: First Term, Worst Term
Mar. 12th, 2018 06:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllFirst Term, Worst Term: E.M. De Foubert (Oxford, inscribed 1935)
This book starts off like a family story in which youngsters have to survive on their own in difficult financial straits but then becomes a school story. Orphaned by what was then ‘the’ War (world war one), Meg and Hilary Sherlock* have been brought up by their Uncle Roddy, who is no relation. But money is tight, and he has left these shores to look into holdings in Mexico, while Meg, the eldest, goes to art school, and Hilary is about to start boarding school, knowing she may only enjoy a term at St Truda’s.
Meg is a little impractical, a little soft, although she has been presented and is nominally in charge. Hilary seems more sensible, although she is only in her mid teens. We meet them when Meg’s purse disappears at a very unhelpful point, leaving the girls in debt and with no money for extras.
And so Hilary goes to school, where her lack of money, circumstances working against her and some pride make her look bad in front of her fellow middles. Although Prissy, her dorm head, is sympathetic, Prissy’s pal Philippa – monomaniacal about cricket – and Philippa’s biggest fan Vanda take against Hilary. Hilary has a lonely old time of it until ‘Dame Fortune’ (the author’s anthropomorphism/personalisation of the plot) brings Meg back into the story. ‘Dame Fortune’ is kept quite busy, as the plot gets somewhat convoluted, especially around the question of what happened to Meg’s purse.
In fairness, it wasn't what I thought had happened.
It is the character interactions that interest the most. There’s the question of first impressions – Hilary makes good ones that her subsequent behaviour makes even the headmistress question. Hilary learns to think about the spirit of St Truda’s, although some of its girls make no good account of it. I was less minded to be benevolent towards Vanda than I was meant to be, as she behaves appallingly. When Hilary behaves badly, it’s usually down to rashness. There’s also some pride, independence and reticence going on with the Sherlock girls that you can’t condemn them for.
The character of ‘Mother Hubbard’ who runs a tea shop and her talk of ‘grost offices’ – grocers cum post offices – is a fun one. Good things are ‘sploshes’ for the girls. I read this with much more alacrity than ‘The Case of the Murdered Muckraker’, although my opinion of it varied.
*Yes, I know.
This book starts off like a family story in which youngsters have to survive on their own in difficult financial straits but then becomes a school story. Orphaned by what was then ‘the’ War (world war one), Meg and Hilary Sherlock* have been brought up by their Uncle Roddy, who is no relation. But money is tight, and he has left these shores to look into holdings in Mexico, while Meg, the eldest, goes to art school, and Hilary is about to start boarding school, knowing she may only enjoy a term at St Truda’s.
Meg is a little impractical, a little soft, although she has been presented and is nominally in charge. Hilary seems more sensible, although she is only in her mid teens. We meet them when Meg’s purse disappears at a very unhelpful point, leaving the girls in debt and with no money for extras.
And so Hilary goes to school, where her lack of money, circumstances working against her and some pride make her look bad in front of her fellow middles. Although Prissy, her dorm head, is sympathetic, Prissy’s pal Philippa – monomaniacal about cricket – and Philippa’s biggest fan Vanda take against Hilary. Hilary has a lonely old time of it until ‘Dame Fortune’ (the author’s anthropomorphism/personalisation of the plot) brings Meg back into the story. ‘Dame Fortune’ is kept quite busy, as the plot gets somewhat convoluted, especially around the question of what happened to Meg’s purse.
In fairness, it wasn't what I thought had happened.
It is the character interactions that interest the most. There’s the question of first impressions – Hilary makes good ones that her subsequent behaviour makes even the headmistress question. Hilary learns to think about the spirit of St Truda’s, although some of its girls make no good account of it. I was less minded to be benevolent towards Vanda than I was meant to be, as she behaves appallingly. When Hilary behaves badly, it’s usually down to rashness. There’s also some pride, independence and reticence going on with the Sherlock girls that you can’t condemn them for.
The character of ‘Mother Hubbard’ who runs a tea shop and her talk of ‘grost offices’ – grocers cum post offices – is a fun one. Good things are ‘sploshes’ for the girls. I read this with much more alacrity than ‘The Case of the Murdered Muckraker’, although my opinion of it varied.
*Yes, I know.
