REVIEW: Dimity Drew's First Term
Mar. 9th, 2014 04:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllDimitry Drew’s First Term: Nancy Breary Newnes (sold as published in 1951)
As always with Breary, this was a lot of fun. Dimity Drew is headed for the famous school Cotterings with mixed feelings. She is not going to be in the same form or the same House as Honor, who is not only her longstanding friend with whom she shares a fence, but quite a noted child pianist. On the train, Dimity meets another new girl, Peggy, who is feeling something much less complicated – homesick. These two will be in the same form (the Upper Third) and house (School House), which they will later be informed by their dorm-mates is a signal honour, even if Dimity is not properly grateful, because of Honor.
For it becomes clear that Dimity is not a particularly sensible girl. Dazzled by the idea of being popular, like Breary acknowledges that most girls are, well-meaning but too proud to admit that it turns out her friendship with Honor isn’t what she thought it was, she gets into a lot of scrapes, drawing her to the attention of the house and school captain, Caroline Fraser, who has a unique and sensible way of dealing with silly juniors.
What the Upper Third are being particularly enthusiastic about, and Breary has enormous fun with the resulting running joke, are the works of Thea Gretard, which are of course school stories that mainly seem to be a series of rags. The girls are in such raptures over her witty and delightful stories that they have established a fan club. It is a most solemn form secret and Dimity is delighted to be inducted – one of the club’s main stunts is for girls to try to copy characters or incidents from Thea Gretard’s numerous oeuvre without mistresses (like their wet form mistress known as Tweet-Tweet) or prefects realising. Trying to work out who Gretard is is a fun game for the reader.
Anyway, Dimity learns that friendship and loyalty are not what she thought they were. Whether the Upper Third entirely attains the healthy popular opinion that Caroline referred to as an ideal at the start of the term is questionable, as they do seem to suffer from Breary’s special brand of junior school think – if I quoted all the bits that had made me snort of giggle, this would be an excessively long review – but these girls of a certain age are enthusiastic about some things and the opposite at being forced to learn. Breary has an eye for human nature and foibles, really. As you turn the page, you wonder what Dimity is going to come up with next, for reasons that make total sense to her at the time. (Her drawing ability gives me an excuse for using my new Dreamwidth icon.)
As always with Breary, this was a lot of fun. Dimity Drew is headed for the famous school Cotterings with mixed feelings. She is not going to be in the same form or the same House as Honor, who is not only her longstanding friend with whom she shares a fence, but quite a noted child pianist. On the train, Dimity meets another new girl, Peggy, who is feeling something much less complicated – homesick. These two will be in the same form (the Upper Third) and house (School House), which they will later be informed by their dorm-mates is a signal honour, even if Dimity is not properly grateful, because of Honor.
For it becomes clear that Dimity is not a particularly sensible girl. Dazzled by the idea of being popular, like Breary acknowledges that most girls are, well-meaning but too proud to admit that it turns out her friendship with Honor isn’t what she thought it was, she gets into a lot of scrapes, drawing her to the attention of the house and school captain, Caroline Fraser, who has a unique and sensible way of dealing with silly juniors.
What the Upper Third are being particularly enthusiastic about, and Breary has enormous fun with the resulting running joke, are the works of Thea Gretard, which are of course school stories that mainly seem to be a series of rags. The girls are in such raptures over her witty and delightful stories that they have established a fan club. It is a most solemn form secret and Dimity is delighted to be inducted – one of the club’s main stunts is for girls to try to copy characters or incidents from Thea Gretard’s numerous oeuvre without mistresses (like their wet form mistress known as Tweet-Tweet) or prefects realising. Trying to work out who Gretard is is a fun game for the reader.
Anyway, Dimity learns that friendship and loyalty are not what she thought they were. Whether the Upper Third entirely attains the healthy popular opinion that Caroline referred to as an ideal at the start of the term is questionable, as they do seem to suffer from Breary’s special brand of junior school think – if I quoted all the bits that had made me snort of giggle, this would be an excessively long review – but these girls of a certain age are enthusiastic about some things and the opposite at being forced to learn. Breary has an eye for human nature and foibles, really. As you turn the page, you wonder what Dimity is going to come up with next, for reasons that make total sense to her at the time. (Her drawing ability gives me an excuse for using my new Dreamwidth icon.)
