What do you think?
Rate this book
By Honour Bound: A School Story for Girls
"By Honour A School Story for Girls" by Bessie Marchant follows the story of Dorothy, a student at a girls' school, who displays bravery and quick thinking during a rescue mission at sea. The narrative delves into themes of courage, friendship, and determination as Dorothy navigates challenges, reconciles with rivals, and strives for success amidst school life. The book highlights the importance of integrity, perseverance, and the bonds of friendship in overcoming obstacles and achieving recognition.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1925
7 people want to read
About the author
Bessie Marchant
172 books5 followersElizabeth Marchant was born in Petham in Kent in 1862 and attended the local primary school. She preferred to be known as Bessie and moved to London in her early 20s when she taught at a Baptist School. She married Jabez Ambrose Comfort, a clergyman in 1889 and became Mrs J A Comfort. the couple lived in Charlebury in Oxfordshire and had one daughter.
She is reputed to have written over 150 adventure novels, many of which were set in exotic places (vide Among the Torches of the Andes (1898)) although she never left England.
She began her literary career in the 1880s and, perhaps not surprisingly, wrote in the style of the Victorian adventure novel. She was so good at the genre that she was at one time called 'the female Henty'. However, she differed from Henty in that in many of her novels the lead characters in her books were very often female, although she did write books with male heroes.
Her first published book was Broken Barriers (1889) and she produced around three or four volumes per year, mostly marketed as 'books for girls', and she continued to write until the end with her last book The Triumphs of Three being published posthumously in 1942. Her output ran to around 143 novels.
Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010
She is reputed to have written over 150 adventure novels, many of which were set in exotic places (vide Among the Torches of the Andes (1898)) although she never left England.
She began her literary career in the 1880s and, perhaps not surprisingly, wrote in the style of the Victorian adventure novel. She was so good at the genre that she was at one time called 'the female Henty'. However, she differed from Henty in that in many of her novels the lead characters in her books were very often female, although she did write books with male heroes.
Her first published book was Broken Barriers (1889) and she produced around three or four volumes per year, mostly marketed as 'books for girls', and she continued to write until the end with her last book The Triumphs of Three being published posthumously in 1942. Her output ran to around 143 novels.
Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 28, 2025
I enjoyed this school story. It's relatively early (1925), and some of the conventions of the genre are still developing. It's unusual in being set in a girls' school linked to a boys' school, and the schools mix at weekends. Dorothy tells her father "lots of the boys and girls are pally. It is rather looked upon as the right thing in our little lot". The headteacher, whose "slim white hand" Dorothy kisses "in the ardour of her devotion and admiration", has some feminist views - "Taken in the broadest sense, I should be inclined to think that the great mass of women are less honourable than men. But that is the result of long ages of being regarded as irresponsible beings - the mere appendage or chattel of man - with no moral standing of their own. Taken in the individual sense, I believe that when a woman or a girl is honourable, she is far more so than a man - that is to say, she would be honourable down to the last shred of detail, while a man under like conditions would be honourable in the bulk, but absolutely careless of the smaller details".
There's a discussion of punishment for boys, as Dorothy's brother Tom has been involved in gambling. Their father says "The great majority of [the fathers] were in favour of flogging, but our suggestion met with no encouragement from the Head. He told us there were some things for which flogging was a real cure, but gambling was not one of them. The only real and lasting cure for gambling was to lift the boy to a higher level of thought and outlook - in short, to fill his life so full of worthier things that the love of gambling should be fairly crowded out".
The emphasis on Dorothy's hero-worship of her father is also unusual, though did remind me a bit of Darrell in Malory Towers - Dorothy's father is a doctor too.
The Edinburgh Evening News described the book as "an inspiring tale of a feud between two schoolgirls which begins through one witnessing the theft by the other of a jumper in a London store, and which is carried on through the sporting, social, and educational activities of a big school. The story is inspiring because of the spur which the rivalry gives to our heroine to defend the honour of the school at all points. The story is splendidly told". The Scotsman wrote that it was "a spirited school story by Bessie Marchant [with] a convincing quality which makes the characters stand out as real persons. The central figures are Dorothy and Tom, and there is shadow as well as sunshine in their school experiences. It is a pleasant and attractive story".
It's interesting to have an older heroine, too. Dorothy goes straight into the Sixth on joining the school, and thinks of herself as "nearly a woman". The scene at the start where she's shopping for "a little frock for evening wear" is enjoyable; "Dorothy knew what she wanted, and was not going to be satisfied until she got it ... the garment was as satisfactory as it could be, and the price was so reasonable that there was a margin left over for shoes and stockings to wear with the frock. Oh, life was not such a tragedy after all ... "
There's a discussion of punishment for boys, as Dorothy's brother Tom has been involved in gambling. Their father says "The great majority of [the fathers] were in favour of flogging, but our suggestion met with no encouragement from the Head. He told us there were some things for which flogging was a real cure, but gambling was not one of them. The only real and lasting cure for gambling was to lift the boy to a higher level of thought and outlook - in short, to fill his life so full of worthier things that the love of gambling should be fairly crowded out".
The emphasis on Dorothy's hero-worship of her father is also unusual, though did remind me a bit of Darrell in Malory Towers - Dorothy's father is a doctor too.
The Edinburgh Evening News described the book as "an inspiring tale of a feud between two schoolgirls which begins through one witnessing the theft by the other of a jumper in a London store, and which is carried on through the sporting, social, and educational activities of a big school. The story is inspiring because of the spur which the rivalry gives to our heroine to defend the honour of the school at all points. The story is splendidly told". The Scotsman wrote that it was "a spirited school story by Bessie Marchant [with] a convincing quality which makes the characters stand out as real persons. The central figures are Dorothy and Tom, and there is shadow as well as sunshine in their school experiences. It is a pleasant and attractive story".
It's interesting to have an older heroine, too. Dorothy goes straight into the Sixth on joining the school, and thinks of herself as "nearly a woman". The scene at the start where she's shopping for "a little frock for evening wear" is enjoyable; "Dorothy knew what she wanted, and was not going to be satisfied until she got it ... the garment was as satisfactory as it could be, and the price was so reasonable that there was a margin left over for shoes and stockings to wear with the frock. Oh, life was not such a tragedy after all ... "
October 5, 2019
Bessie Marchant wrote books for girls that are filled with active and admirable heroines. By Honour Bound is a fun school story written in 1925.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews