REVIEW: Biddy and Quilla
Apr. 15th, 2018 04:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllBiddy and Quilla: Evelyn Smith, Blackie
Evelyn Smith provides a sympathetic look at growing pains through a burgeoning friendship here. A few plot contrivances aside, it’s realistic, psychologically accurate and amusing.
Priscilla ‘Quilla’ Thornton is a day girl at Thursfield school. The middle daughter among five children, she’s aged 12 at the start of the book and in the third form, which prides itself on not being babyish. But it is rather conformist, and its members have little common sense or sense of responsibility, as displayed by the rows they get into.
There’s a nearby school, Miss Pargetter’s – the girls who go there are known as the Parges, and the Thursfieldites consider themselves vastly superior to them. The facts would suggest that this is only the case in examinations, which Miss Pargetter’s girls aren’t entered for.
So, when three Parges transfer to Thursfield, and, moreover, into the Third, this shakes up Quilla’s comfortable life, where she was chums with marvellous Tamsin, the unquestioned leader of the Third. One of the new girls is elf-like Biddy Tomkyns, who unfortunately seems to confirm the Third’s prejudice against Parges. Quilla’s conscience tells her that the girls aren’t treating Biddy very well, but championing her makes Quilla less popular in her form and puts a strain on her relationship with Tamsin. Biddy would love to be friends with Quilla, the more she knows of her, but Quilla claims and believes that her life has been miserable since Biddy came to her school.
Smith is acute about human nature – Quilla’s perspective is expanded nicely by what she goes through. She’s both over-dramatic at times and gruff, wanting to hide her true feelings. I also liked the direction the author took with the character of Tamsin. By he end of the book, all three girls have got to know and appreciate more of each other’s characters, and made a foundation for a strong friendship. Although I have my quibbles, this is in a different league to the last three girls own books I wrote about.
Evelyn Smith provides a sympathetic look at growing pains through a burgeoning friendship here. A few plot contrivances aside, it’s realistic, psychologically accurate and amusing.
Priscilla ‘Quilla’ Thornton is a day girl at Thursfield school. The middle daughter among five children, she’s aged 12 at the start of the book and in the third form, which prides itself on not being babyish. But it is rather conformist, and its members have little common sense or sense of responsibility, as displayed by the rows they get into.
There’s a nearby school, Miss Pargetter’s – the girls who go there are known as the Parges, and the Thursfieldites consider themselves vastly superior to them. The facts would suggest that this is only the case in examinations, which Miss Pargetter’s girls aren’t entered for.
So, when three Parges transfer to Thursfield, and, moreover, into the Third, this shakes up Quilla’s comfortable life, where she was chums with marvellous Tamsin, the unquestioned leader of the Third. One of the new girls is elf-like Biddy Tomkyns, who unfortunately seems to confirm the Third’s prejudice against Parges. Quilla’s conscience tells her that the girls aren’t treating Biddy very well, but championing her makes Quilla less popular in her form and puts a strain on her relationship with Tamsin. Biddy would love to be friends with Quilla, the more she knows of her, but Quilla claims and believes that her life has been miserable since Biddy came to her school.
Smith is acute about human nature – Quilla’s perspective is expanded nicely by what she goes through. She’s both over-dramatic at times and gruff, wanting to hide her true feelings. I also liked the direction the author took with the character of Tamsin. By he end of the book, all three girls have got to know and appreciate more of each other’s characters, and made a foundation for a strong friendship. Although I have my quibbles, this is in a different league to the last three girls own books I wrote about.
