The Chalet School and Robin

Chalet School - Complete

by Caroline German

The Chalet School and Robin covers the term immediately following The Chalet School Goes To It.

Genres: School Stories, Childrens, School, Fiction

267 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2002

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad filler but I feel there's lots of missed opportunities. It's well researched from the surrounding books. The dialogue is stilted, even allowing for the time period, and phrases are constantly repeated to the point of irritation and the plot is flimsy.

[Betsy A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a “fill-in” story to Elinor Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School series. It covers the school term immediately after “The Chalet School Goes To It”. Robin does not expect to be the Head Girl, but when Cornelia Flower is unable to return to the Chalet school, Robin has to take charge. Her upbringing was not conducive to her being a leader, so this new position is a real challenge for her. However, as with all good EBD heroines, she rises to the occasion, despite some initial missteps. There are problems with Betty Wynne-Davies, a perennial problem child, and some bouts with ill health plague various members of the CS series. Through it all, Robin learns to cope and become an excellent head girl.

Caroline German does one of the best jobs of any of the outside authors of writing and sounding like EBD in her fill-in books. Chapter 15 of the book, “The Triumvirate Goes Ski-ing” is an original short story by EBD which Caroline incorporates into her story. It fits perfectly. This is one CS book everyone will enjoy, and helps to cover a missing era in the CS series. Caroline also provides a very informative foreword and afterword, with a timeline of dates. A don’t miss for any CS fan.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone agrees Robin Humphries is the best choice for Head Girl, but they all have some concerns. Is Robin’s health up to the job? Will she be able to stand on her own feet? Will someone so naturally obedient be able to deal with naughty juniors and difficult older girls? It’s the older girls who cause the most problems as Robin has some downright nastiness to deal with, but by the end of term her beloved Jo is able to tell her that everyone agrees she has done a splendid job.

This is one of my favourite Chalet fill-ins: Caroline German captures EBD’s style and typical subject matter perfectly, while at the same time reflecting readers’ debates about how far Robin might be able to manage without her beloved Jo. A sympathetic treatment is also given to girls who have some very Brent-Dyerish problems with jealousy and mischief, and we also get a look at the staff room and the arrival of Pam Slater. Altogether a delightful read, which elegantly explains why Robin managed to be Head Girl but then spend time half-attending school in later books.

[Readsandeats · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always liked Robin as a character. It was good to have a book dedicated to her.
In this book Robin becomes Head Girl, she does not have things easy. She has to learn to stand on her own two feet and not lean on either Joey or Madge.
We see the development of other characters and the arrival of new characters and mistresses.

A well written fill in and a great addition to the series.

[Shawne · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I've previously mentioned, writing a fill-in book for a series this long and riddled with factual inconsistencies (with all love and respect to Elinor M. Brent-Dyer) is quite a feat. It involves mining close to 60 books for minute details, and ensuring that none of the invented/new plotlines is significant enough to not be mentioned again in future novels. A recipe for a boring novel? Not necessarily, as Caroline German proves quite adeptly with The Chalet School And Robin. This is a decent effort at a fill-in, packed with just enough incident to keep the reader interested.

The main gist of the novel is Robin Humphries' promotion to the position of Head Girl (with poor Cornelia Flower written offstage rather hastily by default). She must resolve problems such as jealousy among the prefects and spats between former friends, while reining in her instinct to run to her adopted sister (and champion butter-in) Joey Maynard. Through it all, the School itself is wracked by ongoing air raids and a bout of influenza.

German's novel is a swift, easy read - her prose isn't quite as effortless as Brent-Dyer's (that would be a tall order), but it isn't as clunky and awkward as that managed by some other fill-in authors. It's nice to get a little peek into Robin's inner life, since she seems to morph from a pampered, sickly angel-baby to a grown-up, perfectly level-headed lady in the series proper. (This really isn't German's job, since Brent-Dyer didn't do it much herself, but I'd have enjoyed a mention of Robin's staunch faith in this time of hardship - it would help to foreshadow a little what she eventually chooses to do in life.)

The myriad incidents that make up a hectic but relatively trouble-free term are present and accounted for - including a short story written retroactively by EBD in which the Triumverate of Daisy Venables, Beth Chester and Gwensi Howell go skiing (on skis they made themselves!). It's nice to see new mathematics mistress Pam Slater arrive and try to adjust to the very different morals and priorities of the Chalet School.

But the book does get away from German a little bit towards the end. In an attempt to reconcile the countless inconsistencies that were Brent-Dyer's prerogative (as creator of the series), German spends quite a few paragraphs sketching out the girls' advancement within the School's ranks. It slows the story up, especially since Brent-Dyer herself played fast and loose with her characters' ages and educational developments. The final chapter focused on Robin ruminating also drifts from Brent-Dyer's more action-oriented ethos, without enough of the latter's skill at crafting gorgeous prose in the slower-moving sections.

All in all, however, a rather decent fill-in - my second-favourite among German's efforts (in between Deira Joins The Chalet School and Juliet Of The Chalet School.

[Verity W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really nice Chalet School fill-in title for one of the terms in one of the larger gaps in the series. I thought Caroline German did a really good job of creating an interesting and engaging story without messing up series continuity or creating new characters that you never hear from again. I'm a big old sceptic when it comes to titles in a series not written by the original author - but so far I've really enjoyed all the Chalet Fill-ins I've read and will keep an eye out for more.

I also want to have a look out for the articles the author has written about the gaps in the series and the chronology because I'm sure there's a lot of detail (and EBD-isms) that I've missed in my haphazard reading of the series since I was 10!

[Margaret Conmey · Rating 4 out of 5]

On re - reading I have given this 4 stars
Very good fill-in book , at times I forgot that this was not written by EBD