REVIEW: For the Sake of the School
Aug. 9th, 2007 08:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllI ended my stint at the charity shop on Tuesday. Once again, it was pretty busy, but not that many books were sold. I got a look at the selection on offer and there were very few children's books, mostly picture books, so there's no wonder I didn't sell many of them. IIRC, I sold a saga romance, a chick lit book and a humorous book. I didn't buy any books for myself, but I did buy a classical music CD and it's on as I type this :) The experience was cool, I did feel as if I genuinely helped out, and even that much experience of being on the other side and seeing how dependent the shops are on donations among other day-to-day pressures was an eye-opener. The vast majority of customers was retired, but you got all sorts coming in. A lot of the men did what I do in such shops and make a beeline for the bookshelves.
Anyway, the review:
For the Sake of the School: Angela Brazil, Blackie.
It's about time I came to write a review of a book by (possibly) the queen of girls' school stories. It is, after all, Brazil who is most likely to get mentioned first in discussions about boarding school stories, and that's an achievement for she didn't write series like Brent-Dyer, Oxenham and Fairlie Bruce. That is not to say that a reader doesn't know exactly what they're going to get when they pick up a book of hers :) Still, respect is due - and what did I do? I dropped my copy in seawater. Um...whoops, sorry! It's okay though, it only got a little wet.
Set in a gorgeous Welsh valley during (I think?) the First World War, the school of the title is The Woodlands and the story chiefly revolves around two room-mates, who start the year as completely different strangers, but end it as chums. Ulyth is ladylike, neat, cultured, arty and a rising senior. When her New Zealand penpal Rona is sent to the Woodlands, Ulyth insists on their sharing a dorm, but the Rona that turns up is a shock - loud, boisterous, comparatively uncouth and put in the lower school. The school dubs her Cuckoo and Ulyth has to fight with herself to welcome and befriend her. Of course, the Cuckoo is really an Ugly Duckling, who begins to imitate Ulyth and takes on the school's best influences, while her adventurous past makes her a capable rescuer when danger strikes, which is liable to happen when a keen fisherwoman who can't swim takes four girls who can't swim either out to a lake. Tut, tut.
Rona may be a democrat, but this story cannot afford to be, the farmer's daughter has a secret about her identity that will silence her enemy, and the school's biggest snob, Stephanie, at the end of the year do when, groomed and poised, she shines (even more).
Brazil goes to all of the effort to make the most of her location, as far as I can tell, probably an idealised version of a real place with credible Welsh place names, apart from using Powys for somewhere set in north Wales. She translates phrases and place names correctly, but I couldn't blame the grumpy ferryman and the pesky locals who didn't speak English because of the unthinking 'for Wales see England' references. England does not equal the United Kingdom, Angela, and if one is aware enough of the cultural differentiation to use it for local colour, one should know that. The school's setting has a lake and mountains, greenery abounding, which allows for plenty of outdoorsy experiences, trips and adventures. Brazil makes a point of the school's love of nature (they're also Camp Fire girls) but it's pretty obvious that the author is indulging herself too in the descriptions. In fact, I'd love to read something on the Romantic elements in Brazil's writing.
Although I found some things unintentionally amusing (they're so snobby!!) I relished the brio of the slangy dialogue. We get introduced to the school at large very quickly and vividly. Although she tells a little too much when dealing with specific characters, the schoolgirls en masse are fun, However, Brazil has a bad habit of referring to secondary characters that she hasn't actually introduced as if the reader will know exactly who they are, what form they're in and what their relationship to the heroines is. Possibly a case of the school being very real to her as she was writing about it, but a confusing habit I remember from other books of hers.
The school, as ever, is its own world, the splendid isolation heightened to a degree by its geography, although its relationship with the wider world is referred to with occasional mentions of the war effort and outside organisations such as the Camp Fire girls, the Scouts and Rona's New Zealand childhood. What happens to the school and its tone is as important to its girls (or the more responsible and thoughtful) as the state is to the Government (there was a lot of interesting discussion on governance and self-governance in school life in the last Brazil that I read, 'Leader of the Lower School' where the lower school initiates a more wholesome rebellion than the juniors in this story).
Ulyth invites Rona to come stay with her family over Christmas, and there Rona's burgeoning improvement is noted by Ulyth's elder brother, Oswald, but that barely has an impact on Rona, who is basking in the mothering offered by Mrs Stanton, for Rona's mother died in her childhood and a lot of her unruliness is put down to being brought up by a neglectful substitue (in an unguarded moment, Rona gives away that she drank). Apart from Rona's relationship with her father (and his family) then, all the important relationships are female-female in the book, and there are a lot of important pairings. Ulyth and Rona's is obviously central - Ulyth doesn't want to be her room-mate for a long time, but Rona looks up to her and takes her as her model and improves no end in behaviour and appearance. She proves herself to be Ulyth's social superior eventually, gifted in her own way and loyal (in a plot twist that was unfortunately similar to the one in Leader of the Lower School).
Both girls hero-worship older women - Rona Ulyth's mother and Ulyth, like all the school, Mrs Arnold, leader of their Camp Fire um, cell (she's the fisherwoman who can't swim). This homosocialisation is the norm in an all female world, of course, where junior girls are influenced by seniors (or not), where prefects and, ultimately, misteresses are in authority. The school is run by a partnership of two women, one (Miss 'Teddy' Teddington) taking on the academic direction, the other (Miss 'Rainbow' Bows) the household management, both with different, complementary strengths.
Pairs aren't the only patterns that emerge. Both Ulyth and Rona (particularly Rona) make an enemy of the fromer prettiest girl in the school (for Rona turns out to be pretty too when she's properly dressed) with a snobby streak a mile wide. After a series of pranks, justice is done and Stephanie is left looking silly.
I did enjoy it, as much for the story of the community life of the school as anything - it was too similar to Gypsy's Adventures in 'Leader of the Lower School' (which I accidentally read twice in a short period of time) plot-wise for one thing. For another, Rona's story was too obvious a fairy story and much about Ulyth distanced me too, not to mention Brazil's narrative interruptions.And yes.
Ulyth is a weird name and curiosity sent meresearching Googling turned up this plaintive question about the name's meaning:
Can anyone throw any light on the character called Ulyth in this book? I was blessed with the name Ulyth by my Father when I was born in 1948. He had spent a lot of time around the South African Cape during World War II and stayed on a farm (I think near Johannesburg) where he met a young girl called Ulyth (this would be around 1940). I have never heard of anyone with the name and during my research, this book came to light. I would love to know how Angela Brazil came upon the name. Can anyone help?
I rather think it may join The Blue Castle's Valancy as one of those mystery names.
I also found a link to the book at Project Gutenberg.
Anyway, the review:
For the Sake of the School: Angela Brazil, Blackie.
It's about time I came to write a review of a book by (possibly) the queen of girls' school stories. It is, after all, Brazil who is most likely to get mentioned first in discussions about boarding school stories, and that's an achievement for she didn't write series like Brent-Dyer, Oxenham and Fairlie Bruce. That is not to say that a reader doesn't know exactly what they're going to get when they pick up a book of hers :) Still, respect is due - and what did I do? I dropped my copy in seawater. Um...whoops, sorry! It's okay though, it only got a little wet.
Set in a gorgeous Welsh valley during (I think?) the First World War, the school of the title is The Woodlands and the story chiefly revolves around two room-mates, who start the year as completely different strangers, but end it as chums. Ulyth is ladylike, neat, cultured, arty and a rising senior. When her New Zealand penpal Rona is sent to the Woodlands, Ulyth insists on their sharing a dorm, but the Rona that turns up is a shock - loud, boisterous, comparatively uncouth and put in the lower school. The school dubs her Cuckoo and Ulyth has to fight with herself to welcome and befriend her. Of course, the Cuckoo is really an Ugly Duckling, who begins to imitate Ulyth and takes on the school's best influences, while her adventurous past makes her a capable rescuer when danger strikes, which is liable to happen when a keen fisherwoman who can't swim takes four girls who can't swim either out to a lake. Tut, tut.
Rona may be a democrat, but this story cannot afford to be, the farmer's daughter has a secret about her identity that will silence her enemy, and the school's biggest snob, Stephanie, at the end of the year do when, groomed and poised, she shines (even more).
Brazil goes to all of the effort to make the most of her location, as far as I can tell, probably an idealised version of a real place with credible Welsh place names, apart from using Powys for somewhere set in north Wales. She translates phrases and place names correctly, but I couldn't blame the grumpy ferryman and the pesky locals who didn't speak English because of the unthinking 'for Wales see England' references. England does not equal the United Kingdom, Angela, and if one is aware enough of the cultural differentiation to use it for local colour, one should know that. The school's setting has a lake and mountains, greenery abounding, which allows for plenty of outdoorsy experiences, trips and adventures. Brazil makes a point of the school's love of nature (they're also Camp Fire girls) but it's pretty obvious that the author is indulging herself too in the descriptions. In fact, I'd love to read something on the Romantic elements in Brazil's writing.
Although I found some things unintentionally amusing (they're so snobby!!) I relished the brio of the slangy dialogue. We get introduced to the school at large very quickly and vividly. Although she tells a little too much when dealing with specific characters, the schoolgirls en masse are fun, However, Brazil has a bad habit of referring to secondary characters that she hasn't actually introduced as if the reader will know exactly who they are, what form they're in and what their relationship to the heroines is. Possibly a case of the school being very real to her as she was writing about it, but a confusing habit I remember from other books of hers.
The school, as ever, is its own world, the splendid isolation heightened to a degree by its geography, although its relationship with the wider world is referred to with occasional mentions of the war effort and outside organisations such as the Camp Fire girls, the Scouts and Rona's New Zealand childhood. What happens to the school and its tone is as important to its girls (or the more responsible and thoughtful) as the state is to the Government (there was a lot of interesting discussion on governance and self-governance in school life in the last Brazil that I read, 'Leader of the Lower School' where the lower school initiates a more wholesome rebellion than the juniors in this story).
Ulyth invites Rona to come stay with her family over Christmas, and there Rona's burgeoning improvement is noted by Ulyth's elder brother, Oswald, but that barely has an impact on Rona, who is basking in the mothering offered by Mrs Stanton, for Rona's mother died in her childhood and a lot of her unruliness is put down to being brought up by a neglectful substitue (in an unguarded moment, Rona gives away that she drank). Apart from Rona's relationship with her father (and his family) then, all the important relationships are female-female in the book, and there are a lot of important pairings. Ulyth and Rona's is obviously central - Ulyth doesn't want to be her room-mate for a long time, but Rona looks up to her and takes her as her model and improves no end in behaviour and appearance. She proves herself to be Ulyth's social superior eventually, gifted in her own way and loyal (in a plot twist that was unfortunately similar to the one in Leader of the Lower School).
Both girls hero-worship older women - Rona Ulyth's mother and Ulyth, like all the school, Mrs Arnold, leader of their Camp Fire um, cell (she's the fisherwoman who can't swim). This homosocialisation is the norm in an all female world, of course, where junior girls are influenced by seniors (or not), where prefects and, ultimately, misteresses are in authority. The school is run by a partnership of two women, one (Miss 'Teddy' Teddington) taking on the academic direction, the other (Miss 'Rainbow' Bows) the household management, both with different, complementary strengths.
Pairs aren't the only patterns that emerge. Both Ulyth and Rona (particularly Rona) make an enemy of the fromer prettiest girl in the school (for Rona turns out to be pretty too when she's properly dressed) with a snobby streak a mile wide. After a series of pranks, justice is done and Stephanie is left looking silly.
I did enjoy it, as much for the story of the community life of the school as anything - it was too similar to Gypsy's Adventures in 'Leader of the Lower School' (which I accidentally read twice in a short period of time) plot-wise for one thing. For another, Rona's story was too obvious a fairy story and much about Ulyth distanced me too, not to mention Brazil's narrative interruptions.And yes.
Ulyth is a weird name and curiosity sent me
Can anyone throw any light on the character called Ulyth in this book? I was blessed with the name Ulyth by my Father when I was born in 1948. He had spent a lot of time around the South African Cape during World War II and stayed on a farm (I think near Johannesburg) where he met a young girl called Ulyth (this would be around 1940). I have never heard of anyone with the name and during my research, this book came to light. I would love to know how Angela Brazil came upon the name. Can anyone help?
I rather think it may join The Blue Castle's Valancy as one of those mystery names.
I also found a link to the book at Project Gutenberg.
