The CBB :: View topic - Oberland and some other questions

#1: Oberland and some other questions Author: keren, Location: Israel

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:20 am

I have a few questions about chalet schcool goes to the oberland.

There seem to be a few EBDs here.
1. Wasn't Miss Nalder called Grace, here she is Phyll.

2. Here they say Karen is in the cook. In Joey goes to the Oberland, she is already back in the main school.

3. Why didnt EBD write more about St Mildred's it seems she is developing an interesting story line, but we never hear any more about it. Come to that we do not hear more about the English branch as far as I recall, except that Doris Hill and the twins transfer from there, we do not hear about other girls transferring from the English branch (where was it exactly? Earnest Howell had his house back, the ISland was out, so where??)

Any ideas

thanks

#2: Author: Ray, Location: Bristol, England

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:45 am

1) It's an EBDism. Quite a big one since Miss Nalder originally left the CS to get married!
2) It's another EBDism - but there are quite a few regarding Karen the cook and just what she's doing, where and when.
3) The English Branch was at Glendower House (it's where the juniors go in Peggy - so in Carnbach, or there abouts). As for why didn't EBD write more about the English Branch/St Mildred's, she probably either thought her readers wouldn't be interested (after all, the main story was the main Swiss Branch) OR it would get too confusing, OR her editors advised her against it, or possibly some combination of all three. Given the wonderful EBDisms she managed to concoct basically only writing about one branch, it's probably a good thing she didn't, imagine all the fun we'd have trying to sort things out then!

Ray *sensing a plot bunny*

#3: Author: claire, Location: South Wales

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:46 am

EBDism explains most of it.

The Welsh branch (even if she does call it English) is in Carnbach, in the house where the Juniors were based on the mainland

#4: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:50 am

I think the Miss Nalder thing is just an EBDism - one of the many!

Karen is at the finishing branch in The Chalet School in the Oberland, but later she's at the main branch of the School. When I wrote my story about her I said that she'd moved from one to the other, just to make sense of it, but again I think EBD got muddled!

I think it's a shame that we don't hear more about St Mildred's. It was a chance to do more "grown-up" storylines, like the one with Elma Conroy and her dodgy boyfriend - not saying that I'd've wanted that all the time but it did make a change, and the plots in the later books got very repetitive so some different storylines would've been welcome.

I assume she left the Carnbach branch in existence because she thought it would've been unrealistic for everyone to've sent their daughters to Switzerland, especially as the Swiss branch didn't take anyone under 12 at first, but I don't know why people like Doris Hill and the Dawbarns got left behind only to come to Switzerland later on. Maybe she intended to wrote more about the Carnbach branch but never did.

It's interesting to speculate!!!

#5: Author: Changnoi, Location: New Mexico, USA

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:16 pm

Alternatively, EBD is abiding by the little-known rule that All Cooks Are Named Karen.

Just like All Cats Are Named Minette.

A very simple explanation!

Chang

#6: Author: Alex, Location: Cambs, UK

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:14 pm

I think that's it, after all, All Maids are Named Miggi (clearly the swiss for Megan).

Apart from Anna who is special, and so is her cat - I seem to remember it's called Nox.

#7: Author: Le Petite Em, Location: Cheltenham

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:37 pm

*joins in* Most SLOCS Names Begin With J*

#8: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:46 pm

Alison H wrote:

I think it's a shame that we don't hear more about St Mildred's. It was a chance to do more "grown-up" storylines, like the one with Elma Conroy and her dodgy boyfriend - not saying that I'd've wanted that all the time but it did make a change, and the plots in the later books got very repetitive so some different storylines would've been welcome.

Honestly, though, EBD does not write adults as effectively as she does younger children. There aren't as many possible storylines for her to play with - no tricks, not as much jealousy, no rebellion against the prefects, no 'it's just the Middles'. Many people view CS Oberland as one of the weaker books in the middle of the series and part of that is likely to be because of limited storyline possibilities and also because EBD is better at writing children.

#9: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 4:30 am

I get the feeling that EBD may have had St Mildred's in the background for possible other books, but either lost interest or was discouraged by her publishers.

In the early Swiss books, St Mildred's and the Millies play a fairly large role - participating in the sale, recruiting people for the pantomime, sports matches, and a large percentage of the girls spend a year or more there after leaving school.

However, they gradually drop out of sight, and rarely rate a mention by the end. Peggy and Bride each spend two years there, Mary-Lou and her friends spend a year, as does Sybil. Josette wants to go but isn't allowed, and it doesn't seem to occur to Maeve to go. The triplets two year in upper sixth at the school, the second doing specialised work, rather than going to St Mildred's.

#10: Author: Lisa A., Location: North Yorkshire

Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 8:37 pm

I found this one interesting as a description of a Swiss finishing school - don't know how authentic it is however! I felt a bit frustrated that staff and the girls were sort of waiting to see what happened with the new school and deciding on rules and expectations as they went along. This should have been insightful but gave me a rather raggedy feeling - there was no tension from people being adventurous and "completely disregarding all rules" - compare School At where Madge strode around laying down the law and shaping the school the way she wanted it. Then there was all that tedious description of St Nicholas' night and the pantomime. I was quite amused by CS girls suddenly discussing perms and lipstick and arguing about smoking, cards and boys, but it just didn't have the narrative thrust of a good storm and redeeming accident. Did this book need to be written at all???????

#11: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:34 pm

The Grace/Phyll Nalder thing bugs me - it's obviously meant to be the same person. I posted a question the other day and Lesley had some interesting theories.

#12: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:39 pm

francesn wrote:

The Grace/Phyll Nalder thing bugs me - it's obviously meant to be the same person. I posted a question the other day and Lesley had some interesting theories.

I think it was lost in the hacking though! Will try to remember all of them! Laughing

#13: Author: patmac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:51 pm

Publishers today split childrens books very definitely by ages -
0 - 6 picture books,
5 - 7 beginning readers,
7 - 9 Series books,
9 - 12 Tween agers
Teenagers - young adults.

I don't know if that was the case in EBDs time but it may well have been.

Of course, to lots of us that seems nonsense as no two people are alike in reading skills and tastes - I dread to think where it puts me. It also fails to appreciate that readers grow up too! I read that Harry Potter will soon be a 'young adults' series as Harry et al are growing up in each book.

#14: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:56 pm

Well I remember that one was her being divorced, and the other was escaping from a white slave trade ring...

And then there were one or two more prosaic ones like her husband dying or the wedding not happening.

#15: Author: Tiffany, Location: madthesispanicargh

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:09 pm

francesn wrote:

Wasn't there one where she changed her name (and her teaching subject) in order to hide herself from the Mafia? Or maybe that was the slave ring.

Maybe she married a man who coincidentally had the same surname; hse died, and, distraught, Philip Nalder the widower took on her old job...

#16: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 3:56 pm

Lesley wrote:

francesn wrote:

The Grace/Phyll Nalder thing bugs me - it's obviously meant to be the same person. I posted a question the other day and Lesley had some interesting theories.

I think it was lost in the hacking though! Will try to remember all of them! Laughing

I have it on the other computer - I will try to dig it out and post it

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