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The Premium Complete Collection of Angela Brazil:
Angela Brazil was one of the first British writers of "modern schoolgirls' stories", written from the characters' point of view and intended primarily as entertainment rather than moral instruction.Collection of 25 Works of Angela Brazil________________________________________A Fortunate TermA Fourth Form FriendshipA harum-scarum SchoolgirlA Pair of SchoolgirlsA Patriotic SchoolgirlA Popular SchoolgirlA Terrible TomboyBosom FriendsFor the Sake of the SchoolLoyal to the SchoolMonitress MerleThe Fortunes of PhilippaThe Head Girl at the GablesThe Jolliest School of AllThe Jolliest Term on RecordThe Leader of the Lower SchoolThe Luckiest Girl in the SchoolThe Madcap of the SchoolThe Manor House SchoolThe New Girl at St. Chad'sThe Nicest Girl in the SchoolThe Princess of the SchoolThe School by the SeaThe Third Class at Miss Kaye'sThe Youngest Girl in the Fifth
2314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 13, 2018
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About the author
Angela Brazil
236 books36 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Born in Preston, Lancashire in 1868, Angela Brazil (pronounced "brazzle") was the youngest child of cotton mill manager Clarence Brazil, and his wife, Angelica McKinnel. She was educated at the Turrets - a small private school in Wallasey - and then, when the Brazils were living in Manchester, at the preparatory department of the Manchester High School, and (as a boarder) at Ellerslie, an exclusive girls’ school near Victoria Park. She subsequently attended Heatherley's Art School, in London, with her sister Amy, and sketching remained a life-long interest.
With the death of Clarence Brazil in 1899, the family left the North-West of England for Llanbedr, Wales, where they took up residence in their former summer house. It is believed that, at some point during this period (1899-1911), Brazil worked as a governess, although she does not mention it in her autobiography, My Own Schooldays (1925). In 1911, she moved to Coventry, where she kept house for her doctor brother, living in that city until her death, in 1947.
Brazil's first children's novel, A Terrible Tomboy, was published in 1904, and is believed to have been autobiographical, featuring the adventures of a young Angela (Peggy), and her friend Leila Langdale (Lilian). It was only with the 1907 publication of her second novel, The Fortunes of Philippa, that she turned to the genre in which she would become so influential: the Girls' School Story.
Brazil is often described by readers as "the first author of modern girls' school stories," and her publisher Blackie once claimed, in a bit of promotional hyperbole, that she had originated the genre! While not actually true - the genre predates her by some time, and other authors of modern girls school stories, such as May Baldwin, were publishing before she was - Brazil was certainly immensely influential, in the genre's move away from a didactic, moralistic model, towards one aimed more at entertainment. Her books are told from the perspective of her girl characters themselves, and were immensely popular with young readers, both in her own lifetime, and afterward. All told, she published close to sixty children's novels, most of them girls' school stories.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Born in Preston, Lancashire in 1868, Angela Brazil (pronounced "brazzle") was the youngest child of cotton mill manager Clarence Brazil, and his wife, Angelica McKinnel. She was educated at the Turrets - a small private school in Wallasey - and then, when the Brazils were living in Manchester, at the preparatory department of the Manchester High School, and (as a boarder) at Ellerslie, an exclusive girls’ school near Victoria Park. She subsequently attended Heatherley's Art School, in London, with her sister Amy, and sketching remained a life-long interest.
With the death of Clarence Brazil in 1899, the family left the North-West of England for Llanbedr, Wales, where they took up residence in their former summer house. It is believed that, at some point during this period (1899-1911), Brazil worked as a governess, although she does not mention it in her autobiography, My Own Schooldays (1925). In 1911, she moved to Coventry, where she kept house for her doctor brother, living in that city until her death, in 1947.
Brazil's first children's novel, A Terrible Tomboy, was published in 1904, and is believed to have been autobiographical, featuring the adventures of a young Angela (Peggy), and her friend Leila Langdale (Lilian). It was only with the 1907 publication of her second novel, The Fortunes of Philippa, that she turned to the genre in which she would become so influential: the Girls' School Story.
Brazil is often described by readers as "the first author of modern girls' school stories," and her publisher Blackie once claimed, in a bit of promotional hyperbole, that she had originated the genre! While not actually true - the genre predates her by some time, and other authors of modern girls school stories, such as May Baldwin, were publishing before she was - Brazil was certainly immensely influential, in the genre's move away from a didactic, moralistic model, towards one aimed more at entertainment. Her books are told from the perspective of her girl characters themselves, and were immensely popular with young readers, both in her own lifetime, and afterward. All told, she published close to sixty children's novels, most of them girls' school stories.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 6, 2020
Angela Brazil was a prolific author of girls school stories, writing between 1904-1947. This e-book compedium is a collection (not as complete as the title suggests, however, as not all the books are included) of her well-known books, now out-of-print, but still sell well at antiquarian bookshops and most of them are free to download on Kindle with good sales rates on Amazon.
The books are well-written in an engaging, literary style and the reader is drawn into the world of girls at their day and boarding-schools, where friendships are made and lost and where daily dramas are played out. The girls at these schools generally come from well-to-do backgrounds. The best way to approach an Angela Brazil book is to look at it as an historical piece, which is exactly what it is. Some of the stories are set during the First World War years and there are references made to this period. Nearly all of them have blatant racist and social prejudice overtones, shocking to our modern outlook. Although relevant to the attitudes of the day, some of this can make uncomfortable reading (the reason I haven't given the book 5 stars). On the other hand, some of the frankly lesbian relationships that develop between the characters might have been deemed shocking for the day, although I understand these friendships were quite a common occurrence in girls' and boys' boarding-schools back then.
If you're looking for a good, long bit of escapism and an insight into how school life was back in those days, and if you enjoy a jolly good school story, I would recommend you dive in.
The books are well-written in an engaging, literary style and the reader is drawn into the world of girls at their day and boarding-schools, where friendships are made and lost and where daily dramas are played out. The girls at these schools generally come from well-to-do backgrounds. The best way to approach an Angela Brazil book is to look at it as an historical piece, which is exactly what it is. Some of the stories are set during the First World War years and there are references made to this period. Nearly all of them have blatant racist and social prejudice overtones, shocking to our modern outlook. Although relevant to the attitudes of the day, some of this can make uncomfortable reading (the reason I haven't given the book 5 stars). On the other hand, some of the frankly lesbian relationships that develop between the characters might have been deemed shocking for the day, although I understand these friendships were quite a common occurrence in girls' and boys' boarding-schools back then.
If you're looking for a good, long bit of escapism and an insight into how school life was back in those days, and if you enjoy a jolly good school story, I would recommend you dive in.
November 8, 2020
Whilst on the surface these stories are pure comfort reading, they are also very much of their time (early 20th century).
A number of the stories express VERY strong (and in cases highly offensive and ignorant) opinions about colonialism and black and minority ethnic cultures which modern day readers are likely to struggle with. A particularly offensive word is also used a number of times. These references are largely incidental to the story, however there are strong themes around British colonial superiority/entitlement running throughout many of the stories.
I'd suggest sticking with Enid Blyton.
A number of the stories express VERY strong (and in cases highly offensive and ignorant) opinions about colonialism and black and minority ethnic cultures which modern day readers are likely to struggle with. A particularly offensive word is also used a number of times. These references are largely incidental to the story, however there are strong themes around British colonial superiority/entitlement running throughout many of the stories.
I'd suggest sticking with Enid Blyton.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews