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Myra Dakin #1
Val Forrest in the Fifth
Going to her mother's old school should have been the most exciting experience for Val Forrest, but life never seems to turn out quite as expected. Her mother is in Canada with relatives, Val is boarding one Mrs Wilby, an unpleasant old schoolfriend of her mother's, and the other new girl in the Fifth is so spoilt that she creates difficulties for everyone. This is the first book in the Myra Dakin pair.
- GenresSchool StoriesChildrens
231 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1925
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Evelyn Smith
108 books4 followersBorn in Leamington Spa, in 1885, British children's author Constance Evelyn Smith was the daughter of Henry Bartlett Smith, high bailiff of Warwickshire County Court, and his wife, Eleanor Langford. She was educated at Leamington High School (now known as the Kingsley School), and at Royal Holloway College, where she graduated with first class honors in English, in 1907. She taught at Glasgow High School from 1909-1923, until ill health forced her into an early retirement. She turned to writing at this period, and edited plays and collections of poetry, in addition to publishing her girls' school stories. She died of pneumonia in 1928.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 8, 2020
"Oh, I'd like some money!," declares Val (Valentine) at the beginning of Evelyn Smith's Val Forrest in the Fifth, "A pocket-book with a fat wad of notes, or a leather bag of gold!" A not unnatural desire in a young woman whose family had recently lost all their money, making everything from buying stamps to affording the games subscription something of a challenge for the new girl at Myra Dakin's girls' school.
Boarding with Mrs. Wilby - an old school-friend of her mother's - at Dakin Priors, and struggling to find her feet in her new school and new life, Val seemed to meet with ill luck at every turn. Her efforts to reconcile her friends in the Fifth with fellow new student Aileen Ellerton - whose occasional petulance and "mother's pet" attitude hid an essentially good-hearted girl - seemed doomed to failure. Her efforts to earn some pocket-money by working as a Latin tutor proved short-lived, and her lovely time camping with some friends ended in disaster, when she was falsely accused of starting a fire. Worst of all - and not unrelated to these other misfortunes - was the fact that Mrs. Wilby seemed incapable of sympathizing with her, and constantly misinterpreted her actions.
An immensely enjoyable tale, with an engaging heroine who does the best she can in circumstances well beyond her control, Val Forrest in the Fifth differs somewhat from the other girls' school stories I have read. Myra Dakin's seems to be a day school, rather than the more usual boarding school, and although school affairs, from tennis games to a production of Twelfth Night , are important, just as much emphasis is placed on Val's non-school environment and activities. The main area of narrative tension, in fact, has nothing whatsoever to do with Myra Dakin's. I have no idea how typical this is of the genre as a whole, but it provided an interesting wrinkle in my reading experience thus far.
Boarding with Mrs. Wilby - an old school-friend of her mother's - at Dakin Priors, and struggling to find her feet in her new school and new life, Val seemed to meet with ill luck at every turn. Her efforts to reconcile her friends in the Fifth with fellow new student Aileen Ellerton - whose occasional petulance and "mother's pet" attitude hid an essentially good-hearted girl - seemed doomed to failure. Her efforts to earn some pocket-money by working as a Latin tutor proved short-lived, and her lovely time camping with some friends ended in disaster, when she was falsely accused of starting a fire. Worst of all - and not unrelated to these other misfortunes - was the fact that Mrs. Wilby seemed incapable of sympathizing with her, and constantly misinterpreted her actions.
An immensely enjoyable tale, with an engaging heroine who does the best she can in circumstances well beyond her control, Val Forrest in the Fifth differs somewhat from the other girls' school stories I have read. Myra Dakin's seems to be a day school, rather than the more usual boarding school, and although school affairs, from tennis games to a production of Twelfth Night , are important, just as much emphasis is placed on Val's non-school environment and activities. The main area of narrative tension, in fact, has nothing whatsoever to do with Myra Dakin's. I have no idea how typical this is of the genre as a whole, but it provided an interesting wrinkle in my reading experience thus far.
March 1, 2015
What a wonderful novel.
Girls Gone By Publishers are reprinting lots of school books of a by gone age.
This one was written in 1925 and is so of it's time.
Beautifully written with gorgeous illustrations.
I wonder if the younger generation read these as they would learn alot about manners and decorum and how to treat others.
I was quite taken with the lovely cover picture of a girl in a blue pinafore and wonder if my Mum read it when young.
Will be looking out for more.
Girls Gone By Publishers are reprinting lots of school books of a by gone age.
This one was written in 1925 and is so of it's time.
Beautifully written with gorgeous illustrations.
I wonder if the younger generation read these as they would learn alot about manners and decorum and how to treat others.
I was quite taken with the lovely cover picture of a girl in a blue pinafore and wonder if my Mum read it when young.
Will be looking out for more.
May 9, 2024
vanaaegne lasteraamat, mis tõotab tüdrukute (internaat)kooli! kui selline mulle heategevuspoes või tasuta raamatute riiulis ette jääb, tarin alati koju, üle kolme naela nad kunagi ei maksa ja pärast saab sinnasamma tagasi viia, aga vahepeal saab nautida asjaolu, et lihtsalt mingi... sada aastat vana ese on niiviisi vabalt saadaval. ok, see konkreetne on 99.
lugu täitsa suutis mind üllatada, sest esiteks on kogu asja võti selles, et kool ei ole internaat ja et Val peab peret tabanud ebaõnne tõttu elama ema kunagise kooliõe juures. teiseks ei oodanud absoluutselt sedasorti intriigi ja eriti sedasorti lahendust - siin oli hästi kõva Frances Hodgson Burnetti "Väikese printsessi" vaib, kus üks lapsuke peab elama väga vaesena teiste, kas väga või vähemalt keskmiselt rikaste inimeste seas, ja võidab neist suurema osa austuse ja armastuse sellega, et on ise lihtsalt nii tubli ja hea ja ettevõtlik.
tõsi, 16-aastasel Valil on seda natuke lihtsam korraldada kui vaesel Saral pööningukambris, aga kaikaid lendab kodaratesse ikka täitsa uskumatutes kogustes. ma tõesti ei suutnud ära arvata, kuhu see lugu lõpuks välja jõuab, aga täiesti hämmastaval kombel ongi siin veel hullem pahalane kui seal printsessiloos võtta oligi - kui Sarat kiusasid võimulolevad täiskasvanud sellepärast, et isa oli tõesti kadunud ja rahalaev tõesti ei saabunud, siis Val langeb lihtsalt... psühhopaadi ohvriks.
õnneks on sellistel lugudel lõpp alati õnnelik ja seegi siin kulmineerub hubase laagritule ümber koos sõprade ja tähtsamate toetajatega. ainus, mis närima jäi, oli, et loo tegelik kangelane - teenijatüdruk, kes omal initsiatiivil Vali hädast välja aitas ja asjad õigele rajale suunas - ei saanud justkui mingit kiitust ega krediiti lõpuks, laagrisse teda ka ei kutsutud (seda oleks aastast 1925 muidugi ka palju oodata olnud). samas muidugi põhipaha jääb ka karistamata ja nenditakse lihtsalt, et kui veab, siis ei pea sellise inimesega elus enam kokku puutuma.
lugu täitsa suutis mind üllatada, sest esiteks on kogu asja võti selles, et kool ei ole internaat ja et Val peab peret tabanud ebaõnne tõttu elama ema kunagise kooliõe juures. teiseks ei oodanud absoluutselt sedasorti intriigi ja eriti sedasorti lahendust - siin oli hästi kõva Frances Hodgson Burnetti "Väikese printsessi" vaib, kus üks lapsuke peab elama väga vaesena teiste, kas väga või vähemalt keskmiselt rikaste inimeste seas, ja võidab neist suurema osa austuse ja armastuse sellega, et on ise lihtsalt nii tubli ja hea ja ettevõtlik.
tõsi, 16-aastasel Valil on seda natuke lihtsam korraldada kui vaesel Saral pööningukambris, aga kaikaid lendab kodaratesse ikka täitsa uskumatutes kogustes. ma tõesti ei suutnud ära arvata, kuhu see lugu lõpuks välja jõuab, aga täiesti hämmastaval kombel ongi siin veel hullem pahalane kui seal printsessiloos võtta oligi - kui Sarat kiusasid võimulolevad täiskasvanud sellepärast, et isa oli tõesti kadunud ja rahalaev tõesti ei saabunud, siis Val langeb lihtsalt... psühhopaadi ohvriks.
õnneks on sellistel lugudel lõpp alati õnnelik ja seegi siin kulmineerub hubase laagritule ümber koos sõprade ja tähtsamate toetajatega. ainus, mis närima jäi, oli, et loo tegelik kangelane - teenijatüdruk, kes omal initsiatiivil Vali hädast välja aitas ja asjad õigele rajale suunas - ei saanud justkui mingit kiitust ega krediiti lõpuks, laagrisse teda ka ei kutsutud (seda oleks aastast 1925 muidugi ka palju oodata olnud). samas muidugi põhipaha jääb ka karistamata ja nenditakse lihtsalt, et kui veab, siis ei pea sellise inimesega elus enam kokku puutuma.
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October 13, 2025No, sorry, you have it all wrong.
Val is Canadian and her father died and she was living in Canada and her English mother had an appalling mental breakdown (back in the 1920s). She thought that the best thing for 15 year old Val was to send her to her happy and beloved day school in England staying with her best friend.
Val is decent and nice and gets on with everyone. But the Mother's Friend with whom she lodges is subtly nasty. When Val visits a rich friend who gives her a huge posy of pansies, that woman accuses Val of being selfish keeping the flowers to herself and hides them on top of a shelf. Val is constantly warned not to upset her mother who is terribly ill, never to suggest she is unhappy when frankly she is half-starved.
Val wants to take private tennis lessons and decides to teach a little boy Latin in order to fund it. The Friend goes mad at the disgrace of it all. But the Mother of the Little Boy was also a friend of Val's mother at school and suspects something is not right. She contacts Val's mother who is really not so terribly ill and Val's mother returns to rescue her daughter and the "best friend" (who was always jealous) does a runner.
Imogen
Val is Canadian and her father died and she was living in Canada and her English mother had an appalling mental breakdown (back in the 1920s). She thought that the best thing for 15 year old Val was to send her to her happy and beloved day school in England staying with her best friend.
Val is decent and nice and gets on with everyone. But the Mother's Friend with whom she lodges is subtly nasty. When Val visits a rich friend who gives her a huge posy of pansies, that woman accuses Val of being selfish keeping the flowers to herself and hides them on top of a shelf. Val is constantly warned not to upset her mother who is terribly ill, never to suggest she is unhappy when frankly she is half-starved.
Val wants to take private tennis lessons and decides to teach a little boy Latin in order to fund it. The Friend goes mad at the disgrace of it all. But the Mother of the Little Boy was also a friend of Val's mother at school and suspects something is not right. She contacts Val's mother who is really not so terribly ill and Val's mother returns to rescue her daughter and the "best friend" (who was always jealous) does a runner.
Imogen
June 19, 2018
I think the culture divide between now and 1925 was just to wide for me with this book. It was very well written but I found it depressing.
May 25, 2019
Val's tribulations are rather depressing, so not my favorite Evelyn Smith, but I do like her writing lots.
March 24, 2016
I stayed up late to finish this book because I just needed to find out whether there was a happy ending for Val.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews