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The Chalet School - Armada #23
The Chalet School and Rosalie & The Mystery at the Chalet School
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144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1951
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
172 books113 followersElinor 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 10, 2022
The lightweight but enjoyable ‘The Mystery at the Chalet School’ and ‘The Chalet School and Rosalie’ bookend ‘Tom Tackles the Chalet School;’ read as a trilogy, they herald a new Chalet School era - more modern, more predictable and - arguably - better suited as progressive instalments of the complete series , than stand-alone titles.
Easy and undemanding reading for Girls Own devotees of all ages.
Easy and undemanding reading for Girls Own devotees of all ages.
June 18, 2022
Two books in one which can be basically summed up as "girls: mean" and "girls: complicated!!!" We begin with a Mystery at the Chalet School which gives us a new girl with a MYSTERY and more of the delightful friendship group of Gill, Jacynth and Gay, and then we get a new girl who has a TINY PASH and we do not APPROVE but then she ultimately gets a grip and settles down to become a real Chalet School girl because THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.
I mean, this is one to read for completions sake and one for doing the series in full (and also for "how on earth did you manage to absolutely wreck yourself with a bit of string on the floor like that???") but it's kind of delightful in a sort of absolutely baffling way as well. It's not what you'd call "good" by any means because I think we've rapidly got beyond such ideas in this series, but it still does it. We have genuine emotion and genuine heart in the tale of Miss Annersley returning to the fold, and then we have have [spoiler] pouring a ton of olive oil on her head. Amazing. What a series.
I mean, this is one to read for completions sake and one for doing the series in full (and also for "how on earth did you manage to absolutely wreck yourself with a bit of string on the floor like that???") but it's kind of delightful in a sort of absolutely baffling way as well. It's not what you'd call "good" by any means because I think we've rapidly got beyond such ideas in this series, but it still does it. We have genuine emotion and genuine heart in the tale of Miss Annersley returning to the fold, and then we have have [spoiler] pouring a ton of olive oil on her head. Amazing. What a series.
March 5, 2010
This book is actually two books combined into one. The Mystery at the Chalet School comes first, in between, there's Tom at the Chalet School which is a separate book, followed by The Chalet School and Rosalie.
In The Mystery at the Chalet School, there's a new girl who doesn't talk about her family at all. She's willing to talk about everything else, but her family is the one thing that she's quiet about.
In The Chalet School and Rosalie, there's a new girl called...Rosalie, of course. She meets Tom Gay at the train station on the way to school. Tom was a new girl last semester, so she takes Rosalie under her wing. Rosalie develops a deep affection for Tom, and Tom, being a real tomboy has no idea what to do.
In The Mystery at the Chalet School, there's a new girl who doesn't talk about her family at all. She's willing to talk about everything else, but her family is the one thing that she's quiet about.
In The Chalet School and Rosalie, there's a new girl called...Rosalie, of course. She meets Tom Gay at the train station on the way to school. Tom was a new girl last semester, so she takes Rosalie under her wing. Rosalie develops a deep affection for Tom, and Tom, being a real tomboy has no idea what to do.
January 29, 2008
This was actually two stories in one volume. The Mystery was first, and was a rather obvious mystery, but still enjoyable. I'm pondering how Dorcas came to keep that big a secret and still be a 'proper Chalet School girl' without being branded as sly, and I think it's one of those things where these are the kids who were popular, or the popular kids' groupies, in school, and who remained obsessed with their schooldays for the rest of their lives.
Rosalie Way is another character I want to come back to school (along with the Robin) and firebomb the building. So the fuck what if she had a crush on butch (or possibly ftm) Tom?
Rosalie Way is another character I want to come back to school (along with the Robin) and firebomb the building. So the fuck what if she had a crush on butch (or possibly ftm) Tom?
May 20, 2009
Seriously, Rosalie was so gay for Tom. Just love it.
December 26, 2020
Stories are other way round from the title. Read "Tom tackles" in between
May 26, 2019
Good but not the best
November 26, 2021
Fun. Tom Gay is still my fave.
June 5, 2025
One of EBD's better efforts
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews