OVERVIEW: Christmas round-up

[feather_ghyll]

The Vac at St Verda’s: E.M. de Foubert

Five ill-assorted girls are left behind to spend the summer ‘vac’ at coastal St Verda’s school. It is to be a special vacation, because the next term will be the school’s last at this location, due to a neighbour refusing to sell a piece of land that would be perfect as a sports ground. Sue, the eldest, is a little puffed up about being ‘senior-in-charge’ and sets the more adventurous Bunty’s back up. Brenda, another Middle, sticks with Bunty, leaving Sue to the junior twins Dot and Dodo who can't even swim. All the girls meet strangers over the first days of the vac, including animal lover Tessa, a schoolgirl. There are trips to uninhabited Larba island nearby, mysterious illnesses and the girls manage to put the most optimistic spin on strange goings-on and people’s behaviour. Most characters in books like this would scent a mystery! De Foubert…has an odd…habit – of sticking punctuation to indicate gaps – in her characters' dialogue. Neither particularly good as a thriller or as a character-driven story.

An American in Paris: The Musical

I am so glad that the BBC showed a filmed version of the recent West-End production of ‘An American in Paris’ directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. It was introduced by a clip of Darcey Bussell in Paris for a couple of minutes!! Having seen the production twice, and hoping they’ll tour it if at all possible, I would urge seeing it live, because the sheer theatrical effect is wonderful, but it was good to be able to see the performers’ faces properly. By setting the show straight after WW2, whereas the film is set later, the themes of what art should do, love vs. duty and how to live one’s life have more poignancy. The music – well, s’wonderful, even if the songs don’t quite always do it for me. But the dancing! Wheeldon’s ballet background melds beautifully with the jazzier style of Gene Kelly, and Jerry and Lise’s love story wins you over through dance. The final ballet, which takes place in Lise’s experience of dancing on stage is marvellous.

Horizon: Helen MacInnes

You could almost imagine this being ‘what some Tirolese Chalet girls did next'. Less flippantly, this rather short wartime novel can be separated into two parts. In the first, Peter Lennox is planning his escape from a prisoner-of-war camp run by the Italians. But on the eve of that escape, a chance arises for all the prisoners. Taking it means quick action, including deciding who to trust. Due to his own actions, Peter must stay behind in South Tirol, recently ‘liberated’ from Italian control to German control, as the nascent resistance needs a liaison with the Allies. In these circumstances, Lennox, a soldier due to circumstances, comes to some self-realisations and healing. I have to say that, Chalet School aside, I didn’t know much about this arena of WW2 – certainly not what was going on in and with Italy. There were a few details I didn’t take in; I’m not sure if it was the pace that I read it or something about the writing that didn’t always hold my attention.

A High School Girl: Mrs Henry Clark

This is not actually set in a high school. Nell has just left one and is hoping to become a New Woman, a type the author is not overly fond of. I thought she was too harsh on Nell as I agreed with her on some points (sexism, the low importance of faffing about with your hair), but, as we learn, she’s eighteen and wrongly convinced she's infallible, partly because of an unfortunate upbringing. At the same time, there’s a touching second-chance love story and exactly what you’d expect when you learn the subtitle of the book is ‘The Mystery of the Old Bureau’.