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Jennings #8

Thanks to Jennings

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It's an action-packed term for Linbury Court School, and especially everyone connected with Jennings and his friend, Darbishire. First there's the problem of the missing guinea pig, and then the diastrous episode of the midnight feast that nearly sets the school on fire.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

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About the author

Anthony Buckeridge

110 books45 followers
Anthony Malcolm Buckeridge was born in London but following the death of his banker father in the First World War he moved with his mother to Ross-on-Wye to live with his grandparents.

At the end of the war they returned to London where he developed a taste for theatre and writing. A scholarship from the Bank Clerks' Orphanage fund permitted his mother to send him to Seaford College boarding school in Sussex. His experiences as a schoolboy there were instrumental in his later work, particularly in his famous Jennings series of novels.

Following the death of his grandfather, the family moved to Welwyn Garden City where his mother worked in promoting the new suburban utopia to Londoners. In 1930 Buckeridge began work at his late father's bank but soon tired of it. Instead he took to acting including an uncredited part in Anthony Asquith's 1931 film 'Tell England'.

After marrying his first wife, Sylvia Brown, he enrolled at University College London where he involved himself in Socialist and anti-war groups and he was later to become an active member of CND. Unfortunately at university he did not take a degree after failing Latin.

By then the couple had two children and, with a young family to support, he found himself teaching in Suffolk and Northamptonshire, which again provided further experiences for his later work. During the Second World War, he was called up as a fireman and wrote several plays for the stage before returning to teaching in Ramsgate.

He used to tell his pupils stories about the fictional character Jennings, who was based on an old school chum of his, Diarmid Jennings. Diarmid was a prep schoolboy boarding at Linbury Court Preparatory School, where the headmaster was Mr Pemberton-Oakes.

After World War II, he wrote a series of radio plays for the BBC's Children's Hour chronicling the exploits of Jennings and his rather more staid friend, Darbishire. 'Jennings Learns the Ropes', the first of his radio plays, was broadcast on 16 October 1948. And then in 1950, the first of 26 Jennings novels, 'Jennings Goes to School' was published.

'Jennings Follows a Clue' appeared in 1951 and then Jennings novels were published regularly through to 1977 before he reappeared in the 1990s with three books that ended with 'That's Jennings' in 1994. The books were as well known and as popular as Frank Richards' Billy Bunter books in their day and were translated into a number of other languages.

The stories of middle class English schoolboys were especially popular in Norway where several were filmed. The Norwegian books and films were rewritten completely for a Norwegian setting with Norwegian names and Jennings is called "Stompa". And in France Jennings was, rather oddly, known as Bennett!

He also wrote five novels featuring a north London Grammar School boy, Rex Milligan, one other novel, 'A Funny Thing Happened: The First [and only] Adventure of the Blighs' (1953), wrote a collection of short stories, 'Stories for Boys' (1957), his autobiography, 'While I Remember' (1999) and edited an anthology, 'In and Out of School' (1958).

In 1962 he met his second wife, Eileen Selby. They settled near Lewes where he continued to write and from where he also appeared in small (non-singing) roles at Glyndebourne.

He was awarded the OBE in 2003.

He died on 28 June 2004 after a spell of ill health with his second wife Eileen and three children, two from his first marriage, surviving him.

Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010

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5 stars
63 (37%)
4 stars
73 (42%)
3 stars
31 (18%)
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2 (1%)
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1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Darnia.
769 reviews114 followers
January 3, 2017
Kemampuan membuat kesimpulan tanpa mengecek benar tidaknya suatu berita, sepertinya itu keahlian anak-anak Kelas Tiga di Linbury Court, atau lebih spesifiknya, seorang J.C.T. Jennings. Bagaimana tidak? Gara-gara tutup tempat garam yg lepas, Jennings berakhir pada kesimpulan bahwa para guru makan ekstra diam-diam di ruang guru setelah makan bersama mereka.

Belum lagi insiden jalan-jalan sekolah bagi klub kamera yg akhirnya melibatkan Pemadam Kebakaran desa Linbury, yg hanya diawali dengan tupai yg nangkring di papan "Dilarang Menginjak Rumput". Lalu, insiden yg melibatkan seekor marmot bernama F.J. Saunders dan....uh, pak Wilkins. Puncaknya, ketika seorang inspektur pengawas sekolah, yg mana ketika sampai di Linbury Court berubah menjadi inspektur gas, inspektur bis hingga inspektur polisi, hingga sang Bapak yg selama ini bangga dengan kesabarannya bisa langsung habis persediaan sabarnya.

Dan di buku ini, gara-gara Jennings, pak Wilkins berkali-kali naik darah sampai dibuat malu. Namun, khusus peristiwa terakhir, pak Wilkins malah "diselamatkan" oleh Jennings hingga beliau bisa berkomentar: untung ada Jennings!

*buku Jennings terakhir yg ada di tumpukan*
Profile Image for Aravena.
678 reviews37 followers
January 21, 2017
Ini salah satu buku Jennings yang paling tebal (rata-rata buku dalam seri ini hanya 200-an halaman, sementara yang ini sampai 300 halaman). Namun walau niatnya hanya mau baca satu-dua bab menjelang tidur, entah bagaimana tahu-tahu sudah kelar semua... haha....

Judul favorit saya masih tetap Serahkan Saja Pada Jennings dan Laporan Jennings karena plot/misi utama di kedua buku itu memang yang paling bagus, tapi buku yang ini juga bagus & memuat rangkaian adegan yang paling lucu di seri Jennings: insiden-kepala-Jennings-terjepit-di-pagar. Ditambah lagi soal teori ngawur Jennings tentang 'konspirasi makan diam-diam' para guru di sekolah asramanya, puas lah saya ngakak sampai guling-guling saat tengah malam.

Kali ini, saya juga ingin menyorot kepiawaian penerjemah dan editor seri Jennings. Benar-benar luar biasa bagus: ocehan anak-anak Inggris dan gaya narasi Mr. Buckeridge yang penuh olok-olok bisa dialihbahasakan dengan sangat mulus. Khusus di buku ini, saya suka caranya menjelaskan lawakan 'mengembalikan dongkrak (car jack) ke orang yang bernama 'Jack Carr. Umpatan Jennings dkk. yang aneh-aneh juga tidak pernah gagal membuat saya cengengesan.

"Keju kaku!"
"Pancing peot!"
"Keju bulukan!"

Hahaha.... jangkrik....
205 reviews4 followers
April 30, 2016
This is certainly one of the most consistently funny Jennings books, along with "Jennings and Darbishire".

This one is full of misunderstandings and hilarity, as Jennings and Darbishire puzzle over the fact that Mr Wilkins appears to be shutting himself in his study and gleefully feasting on outside cabbage leaves from the bin, and Mr Wilkins later finds himself accused of calling out the Dunhambury fire brigade under false pretences.

Highlight: A school inspector comes to Linbury Court and is perplexed by the reactions of Venables, Temple and Mr Wilkins, all of whom have jumped to erroneous conclusions about the reason for his visit.
Profile Image for Speakercoret.
478 reviews2 followers
May 26, 2011
Sekolah Linbury gempar karena kedatangan Inspektur.. inspektur gas, inspektur kebersihan, inspektur bis, inspektur pendidikan, inspektur polisi *ngakak gugulingan*

soal Inspektur di buku ini bikin gw diliatin orang pas gara2 cengengesan pas lg berdiri di pinggir jalan nungguin angkot AL 08 otw ke kantor :p
Profile Image for Roberta .
1,295 reviews28 followers
January 15, 2018
Whenever Jennings is involved, confusion is sure to follow.

This book includes an eventful outing by the photography club, an incident involving Irish stew, as well as a disappearing guinea pig and a school inspector who is given the run around.

When the boys decide that school portions are too small and that they are going to starve, a plan is hatched to ask a cooperative grandmother to bring them tins of Irish stew. With perfect grandmotherly logic, she decides to bring her grandson a guinea pig instead. When the guinea pig goes missing, there is all kinds of "hoo-ha."

Buckeridge stopped aging Jenning very early in the series but it might have been interesting if he had written at least one little story about Jennings as an adult. I would like to know how Buckeridge thought Jennings might turn out. There are a lot of comparisons made between Buckeridge and Wodehouse and, in some ways I suppose, this holds true. But, as far as their characters are concerned, Jennings has very little in common with Bertie Wooster and Derbishire is nothing like Jeeves.
Profile Image for Matthew Eyre.
418 reviews9 followers
August 7, 2023
Contains one of those rib tickling laugh out scenes that never fail to delight. Jennings peering through the wrong his end of a telescope at his already microscopic prunes as Mr Wilkins glowers behind him. Sent out of the dining room and told to wait outside the masters common room, he witnesses Matron taking in extra dinners for the masters! Only we know they are for the two visiting auditors, Jennings quickly spreads the devastating news that Old Wilkie and Co chow down on furtive extra rations! They just don't write 'em like that any more. Nowadays Jennings would send a tweet and the Wokerati would be down there in a nanosecond...
2,802 reviews9 followers
August 31, 2025
Jennings and Darbishire are at it again, causing chaos at school without even really meaning to.
First there is the midnight feast they plan which goes all wrong and then an errant guinea pig running about the school and the hunt to catch it.
To top it all off when a school inspector visits the school a case of mistaken identity ensures confusion and calamity is the order of the day as the inspector, children AND masters are totally baffled as to the inspector's presence and what he is even there to inspect!
A fun and wacky read with some classic comedy children's characters.
Profile Image for Marchel.
538 reviews13 followers
July 10, 2011
Pinjam dari Iyut, lewat Mute.
-----------------------------

Coba bayangkan.

Sekolah Linbury akan kedatangan akuntan, inspektur, dan akan mengadakan rencana jalan-jalan bagi klub kamera.

Itu sih kejadian biasa bagi sekolah asrama. Tapi dengan Jennings terlibat di dalamnya, hasilnya jadi nyaris bencana.

1. Kedatangan akuntan untuk memeriksa pembukuan sekolah dan bekerja di ruang guru, serta makanan untuk mereka diantarkan ke ruangan sehingga tidak perlu berjalan jauh.

Dengan Jennings mengetahui ada makanan tambahan yang diantarkan setiap waktu makan. Hasilnya... *ngakak*

2. Acara jalan-jalan klub kamera.
Dengan Jennings, acara tersebut malah melibatkan dipanggilnya mobil pemadam kebakaran. *tambah ngakak*

3. Kedatangan inspektur sekolah untuk mengecek kualitas pengajaran di sekolah.

Dengan Jennings, malah jadi ada inspektur gas, inspektur polisi, dan pengawas pertandingan. *ngakak guling-guling*

SARAN:
Jika mau membaca Jennings, JANGAN baca sendirian. Lebih baik ajak teman, biar nda disangka gila sendiri :P
Profile Image for Mirella Grace.
244 reviews19 followers
August 20, 2011
Lucu bin kocak... baru baca beberapa halaman pertama aja, saya udah ngakak abis. Apalagi waktu Pak Wilkie harus menerangkan kepada Mr. Jack Carr tentang misteri hilangnya si dongkrak mobil alias the car jack. eeeehmmm bahasa inggrisnya pan rada ribet tuh, hehehe...

Masalah si dongkrak mobil... boleh juga idenya Darbishire... Oh iya, ngakak abis juga baca adegan kejar mengejar mobil Mr. Jack Carr, buat balikin si dongkrak. Yang bikin ngakak ya, adegan pas Darby berhasil nyusul Jennings & Venables, disertai bunyi napasnya yang seperti "truk tua naik bukit"... yah, semacam itulah...
Author 4 books2 followers
December 31, 2024
Though not totally devoid of Buckeridge's annoying writing habits, this for me is the clearly best Jennings of all. I remember, as a child or young teenager, thinking of what my favourite bits of the series were and then realising that all of them were in this book.

Highlight: Jennings and Darbishire obey Mr Carter's instruction to take their collection of outer cabbage leaves from the rubbish to Mr Wilkins.
Lowlight: Jennings is granted village leave before school (not allowed!) in order to advance the plot.
Profile Image for Ty Sakumoto.
Author 4 books20 followers
January 25, 2013
Pernah baca dari perpus waktu SMA dulu XD ada beberapa seri Jennings, tapi judulnya udah pada lupa lagi, dan ternyata... Olala... terbitnya juga udah lama bangeet ya, pantesan pas minjem udah buluk bukuny. hehehe...

However, aku inget banget dulu suka banget baca seri Jennings ini dan suka ngikik-ngikik sendiri sama kepolosan dan kebandelan Jennings, kalau terbit ulang, mau beli dan koleksi deh. Soalnya ceritanya lucu dan ngegemesin.
Profile Image for Peter Brooks.
Author 9 books7 followers
May 17, 2012
Anthony Buckeridge is dated, and Jennings school not that similar to modern children's experience. However, Harry Potter is popular and, though Jennings doesn't get involved in magic, his school life is as interesting, I think, as Harry's and funnier.

That's the delight of Jennings, it's very funny. A real small-boy's perspective of life, and a kindly, human view of life; comforting, and gentle.
Profile Image for Vatsala.
48 reviews33 followers
August 23, 2015
In the words of Old Wilkie...'with that boy Jennings in the party almost anything could happen- and practically everything did!'

A rollickingly funny Jennings book...missing guinea pigs, midnight feasts(Irish Stew) cooked on furnaces, 'organised outing', surprise inspection by'Inspectors'...everything gets muddled with Jennings and ole Wilkie in the middle of every muddle.
Profile Image for Nop Ica.
7 reviews1 follower
September 26, 2016
"Aha..!"

Kenapa khayalan harus selalu dihadapkan pada kenyataan ?

Rumes gnigad nagned gnatnek nad naruyas .

lucuuuuu deh pokoknya !
dunia anak-anak lucu, menggemaskan, banyak akal dan happy happy selalu ..
Profile Image for idpramudita.
36 reviews3 followers
August 21, 2011
bacaan jaman SD. pengen baca ulang. semoga bukunya masih ada.
Profile Image for Pandafeet.
70 reviews1 follower
November 21, 2012


Brilliantly funny! Wish I'd read these years ago. As enjoyable as Wodehouse.
Profile Image for Ayacchi.
741 reviews13 followers
July 5, 2020
Selalu aja saja tingkah polah Jennings!
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