Jo to the Rescue

The Chalet School #19

by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer

Joey and her friends from the Chalet School are on holiday. They discover to their surprise and pleasure someone their age living next door, the daughter of a famous cellist. She is crippled by arthritis and is being harassed by a spoilt girl of 19 who is determined to possess the Wychcote cello.

Genres: Childrens, School Stories, Fiction, Young Adult, Boarding School, Family, Adventure

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1945

About the author

Elinor M. Brent-Dyer was born as Gladys Eleanor May Dyer on 6th April 1894, in South Shields in the industrial northeast of England, and grew up in a terraced house which had no garden or inside toilet. She was the only daughter of Eleanor Watson Rutherford and Charles Morris Brent Dyer. Her father, who had been married before, left home when she was three years old. In 1912, her brother Henzell died at age 17 of cerebro-spinal fever. After her father died, her mother remarried in 1913.

Elinor was educated at a small local private school in South Shields and returned there to teach when she was eighteen after spending two years at the City of Leeds Training College. Her teaching career spanned 36 years, during which she taught in a wide variety of state and private schools in the northeast, in Middlesex, Bedfordshire, Hampshire, and finally in Hereford.

In the early 1920s she adopted the name Elinor Mary Brent-Dyer. A holiday she spent in the Austrian Tyrol at Pertisau-am-Achensee gave her the inspiration for the first location in the Chalet School series. However, her first book, 'Gerry Goes to School', was published in 1922 and was written for the child actress Hazel Bainbridge. Her first 'Chalet' story, 'The School at the Chalet', was originally published in 1925.

In 1930, the same year that 'Jean of Storms' was serialised, she converted to Roman Catholicism.

In 1933 the Brent-Dyer household (she lived with her mother and stepfather until her mother's death in 1957) moved to Hereford. She travelled daily to Peterchurch as a governess.

When her stepfather died she started her own school in Hereford, The Margaret Roper School. It was non-denominational but with a strong religious tradition. Many Chalet School customs were followed, the girls even wore a similar uniform made in the Chalet School's colours of brown and flame. Elinor was rather untidy, erratic and flamboyant and not really suited to being a headmistress. After her school closed in 1948 she devoted most of her time to writing.

Elinor's mother died in 1957 and in 1964 she moved to Redhill, where she lived in a joint establishment with fellow school story author Phyllis Matthewman and her husband, until her death on 20th September 1969.

During her lifetime Elinor M. Brent-Dyer published 101 books but she is remembered mainly for her Chalet School series. The series numbers 58 books and is the longest-surviving series of girls' school-stories ever known, having been continuously in print for more than 70 years. One hundred thousand paperback copies are still being sold each year.

Among her published books are other school stories; family, historical, adventure and animal stories; a cookery book, and four educational geography-readers. She also wrote plays and numerous unpublished poems and was a keen musician.

In 1994, the year of the centenary of her Elinor Brent-Dyer's birth, Friends of the Chalet School put up plaques in Pertisau, South Shields and Hereford, and a headstone was erected on her grave in Redstone Cemetery, since there was not one previously. They also put flowers on her grave on the anniversaries of her birth and death and on other special occasions.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

SCENE: the offices of Armada books, 1994

'Mr Smith? Could I have word please? It’s about the artist’s brief for the cover of the latest Chalet School paperback.'

'Another one? Good heavens, how many are there?'

'It's all right, this is nearly the last. It’s called Jo to the Rescue.'

'Jo to the Rescue at the Chalet School?'

'No, just Jo to the Rescue.'

'So why is it a Chalet School book?'

'Well, going by the notes, because some of the characters in it are ex-pupils or something.'

'That’s a bit tenuous. How will buyers know it's a Chalet School book?'

'Oh, we can do that with branding – same style spine, little picture of a chalet on the cover, above the title.'

'Hm. I still think we should consider re-naming it. We've done that with some of the others, haven't we?'

'Yes, but the trouble is, this is a book about the summer holidays – it isn't set in the school itself.'

'Well, where is it set?'

'Yorkshire.'

'Yorkshire?! But there aren't any chalets in Yorkshire!'

'Oh, don't worry – we've asked the artist to put some Austrian scenery in the background, to tie it in, you know – not mountains, just something subtle.'

'OK. Tell her to try to make it English as well. Hedgerows and stuff. Just keep the buildings Austrian.'

'Right ... yes ... that will work ...'

'And can we still have some characters in uniform on the cover?'

'Well – apparently a couple of girls in the story do still wear their school blazers in the holidays, so I suppose ...'

'Blazers! Good grief no. That's far too old-fashioned – it will only be kids buying it, and they won't even pick it up to flick through it if the characters are wearing blazers. Everybody in the picture needs to be in up-to-the-minute, nineties clothes, to give it appeal.'

'The book is set during the second half of the second world war, Mr Smith.'

'Well, tell the artist not to give that away on the cover. Which characters are we having on the cover, anyway?'

'Jo – the girl in the title – obviously; and then the person she 'rescues', who is in a wheelchair ...'

'In a wheelchair?! This gets worse! Tell the artist to lay it out so you can't really see it's a wheelchair. Or does the rescue involve dragging the chair back from a cliff edge or through a burning building? That could look good.'

'No, the rescue mostly involves ... hold on, let me check ... chatting in the garden.'

'Chatting in the garden? That's not very dramatic, is it?'

'We thought we'd put Jo's triplet daughters in the background, to make it more interesting.'

'I’m not sure three identical toddlers are really going to cut it with the youth of today ...'

'They’re not identical, apparently – they have different coloured hair. And I'm sure the artist can do something with their dresses, so they aren't all exactly the same.'

'Well, all right. But the main focus is going to be on this Jo person, isn't it?'

'Oh yes. She's a very strong character, and there are very consistent descriptions about her throughout the series, so we can make her easily recognisable to existing readers.'

'Really? Like what?'

'Well, she's quite tall ...'

'But if she's talking to the girl in the wheelchair she'll be sitting down, won't she?'

'Oh ... yes ... well, she has very dark hair ...'

'Any particularly noteworthy hairstyle?'

'Erm ... I’ve nothing noted here ... I think her hair is quite long, that's all.'

'It needs to be tied back off her face then – readers need to be able to see the heroine's pretty face, it's what pulls them in. And they're not going to be pulled in by the excitement of the story, are they, if it's mostly chatting in the garden.'

'Apparently there is an attempted burglary – I could ask the ...'

'No. Unless the burglars were girls. The cover needs to show women.'

'Oh. Well, there's a horrible vicar's wife and a spoilt rich girl ...'

'This isn't Jane Austen.'

'Or we could show the ambulance driving off and Jo looking worried about the 'cello it's left behind.'

'I'm sorry – what?'

'There's a 'cello that's quite important to the story. At one point it's supposed to travel in an ambulance, but they forget about it.'

'No, I'm sorry, you've lost me. What kind of bonkers book is this? Stick to the chatting in the garden. English landscape and Austrian buildings in the background, three nearly-identical triplets lurking somewhere in shot, and Jo sitting talking to the woman in a chair which might have wheels. But don't overplay that, it's probably not important. And don't do anything special with Jo's hair. Right?'

'Yes, Mr Smith. The fans will love it.'

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd one this, one of only a couple in the series set wholly outside of the school context and as such reading as a sort of curious hybrid of impenetrable relationships stuck in a picture postcard setting somewhere totally alien. Jo To The Rescue is this weird beast, a sort of ode to domesticity wrapped up in the summery surroundings of the Yorkshire Moors and with a tragic, forlorn heroine in need of serious rescuing.

And it's also the book that introduces Reg. (Reg, Reg, boo hiss Reg and your eternal pantsness).

I'm from the North, from the Yorkshire Moors to be precise, and I have a real loathing of those books that write Yorkshire characters "talkin' reet lark that ooor pet." And when they do it in phonetic spelling, then that really really winds me up. Brent-Dyer borders on this previously in the series with the legendary Yorkshire gentleman chatting up Madge on the train in The School at the Chalet, which I can forgive her for due to the spectacular nature of the incident. But it's an awkward, tentative sort of forgiveness on my part. I remain embroiled in my difficulties with Rescue, dealing as it does with brusque Northerners and homely sensible un-artistic servant folk who don't quite understand the artistic traumas and fanciful natures of their bosses. It seems so odd to me considering that Brent-Dyer was a South Shields native.

Once I get past this, Jo to the Rescue is really quite charming albeit sprinkled with a healthy level of Chalet School eccentricities. The Robin / Zephyr subplot makes my utter day everytime I read it "I can't make her be your friend, but I will sort of yes actually make her be your friend".

There's also a great pleasure in witnessing the Quartette in their role as grown-ups (of a sort) and I love Simone in particular. She's always been one of those characters who improved as she grew up.

Jack Maynard makes a healthy appearance, albeit a distinctly eccentric one, which is always a joy. I never stop enjoying his subtle (!) transformation into Doctor-cum-Superhero-cum-patriarch. There's always been a sense of authorial adoration about Jack Maynard and it's an adoration wholly present throughout this novel.

And then there's also romance, which is always a heck of a thing whenever EBD tries it, so frankly this book could sell itself wholly on that.

[Shawne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review from years ago: One of the rarest CS books on the market (thank god for GGBP). An unusually mature entry in the series, and one which displays EBD's great, uncluttered writing and complete whacked-out idealism (trying to keep track of the 2 billion children running around Jo's house, together with all her friends, was insanity) all at once.

Revisiting the book now, almost ten years later, and I do think it can be considered a rather odd entry in a boarding school series. This one focuses on the Quartet - Jo Bettany/Maynard, Frieda Mensch/Von Ahlen, Simone Lecoutier/de Bersac and Marie Von Eschenau/Von Wertheim - all grown-up, with plenty of kids, taking a summer holiday. Any mention of the Chalet School itself is largely tangential, and it's a book that's really all about... well, celebrating some of the best characters and friendships ever cooked up by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer.

On that count, there's a great deal to enjoy here, with each member of the Quartet proving to be charming even in their comparative adulthood. Jo remains a whirlwind of charm and good heart, more schoolgirl than mother-of-four, with her own unique blend of wisdom and silliness. Frieda is a little more muted, due largely to the fact that she just gave birth to second son Gerard barely a few weeks ago, but she's still the peacemaker of the foursome. Simone is a delight as an adult: sturdy and sensible, where she was once soppy and sensitive; while Marie is as spirited and fun-loving as anyone could wish.

It's also a more mature entry in the canon, so to speak, dealing as it does with issues of health and the heart. Jo heads to the titular rescue of Phoebe Wychcote, a rheumatic invalid who's grieving the recent loss of her musician father and trying to stave off attempts by spoilt heiress Zephyr Burthill to acquire the Wychcote cello. Brent-Dyer handles the growth of this friendship between Phoebe and the Quartet very well indeed, down to their treatment of her live-in housekeeper Debby and sulky worshipper Reg Entwistle.

As a look at the family dynamics of the rather sprawling families favoured by Brent-Dyer, Jo To The Rescue works a treat as well. We start to see the Maynard triplets develop very distinct personalities (and problems) of their own, while Sybil Russell is still recovering from her 'too stunningly beautiful for her own good' syndrome. Brent-Dyer tends to steer away from soppy romance in most of her books (seeing as they are set in an entirely chaste boarding school!), but it's easier (and quite nice) to see here the teasing, loving relationship shared by Joey and her solid-lump-of-comfort Jack Maynard. (All six feet two inches of him and his manhood!)

Also, it's an absolute delight to see Madge Russell nee Bettany interact with Joey again - the core relationship of the early books that fades as the series goes on, more's the pity.

[Shawne · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the rarest CS books on the market (thank god for GGBP). An unusually mature entry in the series, and one which displays EBD's great, uncluttered writing and complete whacked-out idealism (trying to keep track of the 2 billion children running around Jo's house, together with all her friends, was insanity) all at once.

[Jayne Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this 5 stars mainly because it made me feel so good when I was struggling a bit. I'm a long term fan of the Chalet School books but don't think I've read this one before.

Firstly to say, the Girls Gone By edition I bought and read is absolutely lovely, although I think they might be out of stock now.

To review a Chalet School book is hard, as they were written for children a long one ago, and as a modern adult you will obviously be looking at it as a very different type of reader. It is an absolutely lovely, summery story and terribly feel good, so I thoroughly recommend it as a summer read.

The plot is totally non school based, which is unusual for a school based series, and instead focuses on Joey and friends and numerous children having a summer holiday during the War. Reading about the domesticity of the holiday was very interesting, if at times a little unrealistic especially for the time - at one point Joey throws a frying pan with the next days uncooked bacon at someone, and everyone found it hilarious with no mention of the fact bacon was rationed and that would have been a big loss!

The romance in it is even more awkward than normal in Brent-Dyer books, being between a vulnerable adult and her Doctor. Medical ethics don't seem to be a thing in the Chalet School world! Reg is introduced for the first time and is actually fairly likable at this point, and of course Joey gets things sorted out for him so he can have a decent education.

As its the Chalet School it feels almost superfluous to mention the doctors' all have way too much power, everyone claims not to be 'pi' but do come across that way quite often, and all is well in the end. Altogether I feel this book was a bit of an indulgence for Brent-Dyer, so she could play with her favourite characters again.

Good points though are that, as with the rest of the series, there is no racism even to Germans despite being in wartime. And it is lovely to see young mothers portrayed as real people and still having fun. Definitely worth a read of you are a Chalet School fan, but probably not the best one to start reading the series with.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never even heard of this one until very recently, when I went through the list of Chalet School books thoroughly in order to mark off which I had and had not read. It's very different to the usual fare - not set in the school at all! Rather it's about a quartet of infamous old girls: Joey, Simone, Frieda and Marie - all around 25 or 26 - who holiday together one summer in a place called The Witchens. There they meet and befriend their invalid neighbour Phoebe, and help to turn around a rather bratty piece of work with the name of Zephyr, who is hell-bent on obtaining Phoebe's late father's precious cello. So in the regard of Zephyr it was at least reminiscent of many other CS books, where a new girl to the school has to be taught a few lessons and turned into a proper young lady!

It was also interesting to meet young Reg Entwhistle for the first time. He was about thirteen to the triplets' three and in the end I had to google his name to find out why it was so familiar!

This one was very preachy, a bit more than most, but on the whole it was quite a decent read. However, I am pretty sure I wouldn't have cared for it at all had I read it the same time as most of the others, when I was only 13 or so.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

ETA, May 2019: reread this in a particularly weepy time and felt myself welling up throughout. Bloody EBD, she knew where the heartstrings are.

A reread now I have the GGB edition.

This is an odd entry in the series, set so far outside the school, and clunky in parts. It's definitely endearing (and Jo, Jem and Jack are adorable in any combination - the affection shines through) but I think this is the point at which our main characters start to shift into some warped versions of themselves - whose faults are told but never shown, and whose strength of character is frequently remarked upon by the narrative voice. Perhaps it's just more obvious as the focus is on the 'grown-ups' of the novels, and I've missed it previously; perhaps it's more obvious coming after the war stories.

Regardless, I did enjoy this, tore through it again in one sitting. I probably won't be powering through the rest of the series from hereon.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my absolute favourites of the Chalet School series; possibly because it doesn't, in fact, feature the Chalet School itself! In this story, Phoebe, who is confined to a wheelchair despite only being 23, is delighted when the holiday home nearby is occupied by four friends and a large number of small children.

One of the women is Jo Maynard, who recognises Phoebe's wistful loneliness. She befriends her and advises her in an ethical problem, as well as providing protection in various ways. Very light reading, but surprisingly moving in places. Definitely recommended to anyone who likes this kind of book, written in the middle of the 20th century for teenage girls.

Latest longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I finished in 2008. Bathroom reading. Yes, I spend too long in the bathroom. One of the more adult Chalet School books ... in fact the school itself doesn't feature at all in this one, and the plot is entirely based around Jo and her adult friends. I'm not sure why I picked this one randomly off the shelf - just in the mood for a little light bathroom reading, I think. Now I'm working my way through a few more of the series in sequence starting from this point.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites in this series, although this is one of the very few books that don't involve the school at all. Jo and her best friends, Marie, Simone and Frieda are on holiday for a few weeks, with all the children.

Jo meets the daughter of a famous cellist who has recently passed away. Phoebe is afflicted with rheumatism, and is confined to her chair. Jo and her friends make fast friends with Phoebe, and help her out whilst having fun during their holiday.

[Sarah A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - my parents somehow found this for me from a Chalet book seller. I've never seen it before!!
This is not a traditional chalet book but stars the regular girls - Joey, Frieda, Marie and Simone and their young families. The girls and their kids have gone on holiday together in a small village where they befriend the local invalid, save her beloved possessions and massively improve her life.
Some real adult moments in this book!!

[Ruhani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a charming book. A departure from the usual school-based book but lovely nevertheless. Can't remember when I read it last - must have been when I was at school? - so I really couldn't remember any of it which made it all the more enjoyable.

[Ghoti]

I think this is the chalet school book I didn't read last time! Very exciting.

[Carolynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo helps Phoebe sadly crippled with rheumatism and heart trouble. Jo and her friends have fun at a summer cottage.

[Tria · Rating 4 out of 5]

First GR read November 2012, second May 2016. Hardback Chambers edition (librarian edit needed). 4.5*

[Margaret Conmey · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the few books in the series that I had not read before
Slightly unusual as although part of the Chalet School series not about the school , not even any curriculum or future students ( if you exclude the ‘ tinies’).
Something of a ‘ holding’ book , written towards the end of the war so in addition to a lot of reminiscing from Jo, Simone, Frieda and Marie, there was a lot of talk about the future with plans to return to Austria after the war
EBD obviously thought that things would go back to normal fairly quickly in Europe one the war ended
I found it interesting that at this stage is it Madge and Dr Jem that she plans to re-open the school and the San in Tirol again
Jo and Dr Jack aren’t sure of there plans but there was a plot device so as to leave an option for Jo and her family to stay in England
Despite not being a School story there were a lot of the usual plots in this book - from the brave chronic invalid to the selfish spoilt only child who has not had the benefit of time at school to the rapid engagement and marriage to a Dr working at the San ( without a single date!)
Ok book but I am keen to get back to the next chapter in the school stories

[Tig · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of EBD's best, this account of a summer spent by Jo and her three great friends with their nine children and a niece in a house on the moors is full of delightful touches of period detail. The surrounding characters are all beautifully drawn and there's an out-of-this-world pastoral feel to it, with its worn summer dresses, heather-filled moors, big jugs of milk and rosy-faced youngsters. The war is more or less entirely absent, only briefly rearing its head when the girls remark how long it is since their husbands have seen their children. The children are present only when required for the story and otherwise leave the mothers lots of times to rest, chat and do housework together - oh, what a blissful thought.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the holiday books in The Chalet School series. Jo and her three greatest friends — Simone, Frieda, and Marie — are all married, and have young children. the families club together to buy a holiday house on the Yorkshire moors. There they meet Phoebe Wychcote, daughter of a celebrated cellist who died recently. Phoebe is about their age, but suffers from the results of rheumatic fever when she was a child, and desperately needs friends. And with Jo as a friend, she no longer feels so alone.

[Lindsay Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book from the Chalet School series. Although it doesn't actually involve the school, it does have the school spirit, and some of my favourite characters including Jo and Robin. This book also includes Jo's husband and the work he does at the San.

The story introduces Phoebe and Zephyr, neither of whom have any friends and both are in need of Jo's kindness and intervention. I'm interested to see if these new characters pop up in any future novels.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weirdly reminiscent of Ethel M Dell, though not as overwrought. Great fun as a novel of that type, but not - as has been said before - a classic Chalet School example

Ooh or Helen Dore Boylston - the nurse books

[Alison Dygnas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illegal, but fun

These books haven’t got permission from the current publisher to be available on Kindle, so there’s a fair few typos.

That said, Brent-Dyer is a very good children’s author and the books are well written.

[Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the famous four friends on holiday with their young families

[Christine Brealey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps a few too many details about caring for small children, but still very enjoyable and very Chalet despite there being no school.

[Veena D · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst and most boring books in the Chalet School, only created to glorify Joey Maynard.

[Donna Boultwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

So lovely to be immersed in the world of The Chalet School again! Classic story and humour. “Put that on your needles and knit it!”