Prefects of the Chalet School
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#1: Prefects of the Chalet School Author: Rachael,  PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 8:52 am

Thre is no summary of this book Starters for discussion: Fave/worst scenes? How does this rate as the last book in the series? What are your views on the motor boat issue? What about Reg and Len? (Does Reg attract floods? Should Len marry him?) Portrayal of Jack Lambert? Anything else?

 

#2:  Author: Ray, Location: Bristol, England PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 3:16 pm

Favourite Scene: Probably would have to be the Reg and Len scene just after the first flood. (IE NOT the proposal scene!!!) It's such a classic EBDish disaster-type aftermath. Least Favourite Scene: The proposal scene. Ugh. It's the total opposite of the first one Len's ooc, Reg is ooc and just...blah. As last book of the series? I think it's reasonable. There does seem to be rather a sense of hastily tied off loose ends, which is a bit of a spoiler, for me, BUT, at the same time, it's nice to have some of those things rounded off and there is a sense, at the end of the book, that things will be continuing. The motorboat issue: I think this was another attempt, by EBD (?) to show that she could move with the times. The fact that they were proposing to bring in things like accountancy and boat maintenance was also quite an interesting step. It would have been interesting to see if, had there been a book beyond Prefects, whether EBD would have followed it up or not. Jack Lambert: Jack, here, finally comes of age. In the conversation she has with Jocelyn, she finally becomes a senior and a responsible one at that, and it's nice to see it's also nice to see her standing on her own two feet about it. This scene was another one that was very EBDish and true to the series (where other scenes, ahem, weren't...). Len and Reg: I don't suppose it will surprise anyone to know that I'm a fan of this relationship, and I am. Although there isn't MUCH in the books to go on, I think there are hints that Len and Reg's relationship is not dissimilar to how Jack and Joey's relationship began. Whether or not Len should marry Reg... My feeling is pretty much, "well, why shouldn't she?" There's nothing in the book (or any of the preceeding ones) to suggest that anyone's forced her to choose if anything Joey's rather reluctant about it in Reunion. It's also not as if they're exactly rushing into it, considering Len's off to Oxford. There is a sense that there's time for Len (and Reg, for that matter!) to change their minds, but - and if you look back to Adrienne, for example - there minds seem to have been made up, at least subconsciously, for quite a while. Ray *tossing change around again*

 

#3:  Author: Ellie, Location: Lincolnshire PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 4:01 pm

Well, if no one else wants to say anything, I might as well get the ball rollingFave/worst scenes? I think, the scenes where they were preparing the sweets for the sale - the catalogue of disasters was fairly amusing, even if it did contain an EBDism - one moment Len is with Margot, a paragraph later Con says "Here's Len." as the oldest trip joins them.How does this rate as the last book in the series? I suppose it does seem a rational place to end, the being the trips last term, with their futures decided and several loose ends tied up. At the same time, I'm not convinced it was definitely meant to be the last book in the series - presumably EBD was aware of her failing health when she wrote this book (or at least began to write it) and it probably seemed a good idea to tie up those loose ends, but at he same time she did seem to be setting Jack Lambert up to become a resposible character who could take on the Joey/Mary Lou/Len mantle. There were also signs that Felicity would become a more visible member of the school after the trips departure.What are your views on the motor boat issue? I thought that the pres were a bit too squashy when the girls first approached them about the idea, their attitude was almost certainly going to set someone like Jocelyn against them. If the pres had taken the trouble to explain why it was such an impractical idea I doubt if there would have been much support for Jocelyn at all.What about Reg and Len? (Does Reg attract floods? ) LOL. Reg does seem to have a magnetic attraction for water doesn't he? Should Len marry him? NOOOOOOOOOOO! Having said that, I can see why EBD wrote the storyline. In her world the highest possible reward for good behaviour was to marry a doctor, and since Len was so wondrous, she deserved an aerly marriage. I'm glad that at Len was at least allowed to go to Oxford before settling down to life as a brood mare.Portrayal of Jack Lambert? Very much in the 'difficult character reforms and becomes one of the best HG's ever' mode.Anything else? Um, probably going against the grain here, but I actually like this book - it's definitely one of the most re-read, although I wouldn't go as far as saying it's in the top ten.The one thing that did seem to jar was Margot deciding to be a nun - there may have been hints in the books leading up to it, but I was obviously too obtuse to see them. Unlike Len's engagement, which had been signposted long before, Margot's announcement came as a complete shock.

 

#4:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 5:38 pm

Ellie wrote:
Fave/worst scenes? I think, the scenes where they were preparing the sweets for the sale - the catalogue of disasters was fairly amusing, even if it did contain an EBDism - one moment Len is with Margot, a paragraph later Con says "Here's Len." as the oldest trip joins them.
I love the fact the sweets are being weighed out into bags of grammes and half grammes Laughing Liz

 

#5:  Author: Lisa_T, Location: Belfast PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 9:31 pm

I remember being quite disappointed when I finished this book the first time, but it kind of grew on me. I think EBD probably did know about her failing health- but even so, she'd still have written this one since it came next chronologically anyway. Perhaps her publishers would have stopped publishing after prefects- it places a nice natural ending to the series- coming full circle, with Joey's daughters leaving. ...which of course begs the question: how much of this DID she write? I have a Phyllis Matthewman, and it's spooky how similar her writing style is, but I'd need to read more of hers to verify that. Len & Reg: never actually worried me much 'til I came here. As Ray says, there were hints, and lots of 'em are in Adrienne, including that lovely conversation with the Head, which makes Len's mind up. Margot as a nun: didn't surprise me- but then the first book I read was triplets, and it's very strongly hinted there, so when I finally got to prefects, it wasn't a total shock. This book is rather strange, but given the way it ends the series naturally, it's a bit like the Austrian Empire- if it didn't exist, someone (else) would have had to invent it!!

 

#6:  Author: Donna, Location: Liverpool PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 10:26 pm

I was very disappointed with this book - boths times i have read it, although I think that was also due to the anticipation of reading it being it so high. (when I was younger and just reading the books I was always annoyed that Armada hadn't published the last one - because, being naive, I supposed it to be the planned finish to the series. I didn't know it was the last one because EBD had died! Although I think it did tie up a lot of loose ends, so it was a good place to finish anyway) *stops rambling* The thing I really dislike about the book is the way it's written - whether this is down to ill-health, or someone else writing it I don't know, but it doesn't read like an EBD book, and on the second reading it seemed very repetitive - not in the sense of the same events being re-hashed, but actually in the words and phrases being used, often within sentences of each other. That aside, as the last book in the series, like I said above, it does tie up the loose ends rather well, and seems a natural end as the triplets leave school. Len and Reg - well as I hadn't read any of the appropriate books before I started reading C&D, I have to say I began rather biased (and don't you feel sorry for me trying to work out who this bloke was that everyone seemed to hate?! Smile)! It seems a bit rushed in this book, in that it all seems to come to a head all of a sudden, despite the hints in previous books. I think EBD was trying to create another Jack, and I don't think it worked terribly well, but Len is allowed to make her own decision, and it's not as if she is forced into marriage, and is even allowed the chance to continue to Oxford. I'm just not sure if Reg is the most sympathetic character! The motor-boat incident - well, the prefects handled it all wrong, and it does seem a bit far-fetched as an idea - who on earth would trust a huge group of teenage girls at the helm of a motorboat?! I agree with Ray in that it was EBD's attempt to move with the times, but I don't like it as an idea. I like Jack Lambert in this book - she grows up, and becomes sensible, and I think EBD handles it well, although I think it's even more obvious that if the series had continued Jack would have played an important role - almost certainly head girl in the mould of Len. Anything Else - I hate the way that the term is split between Althea and this - an opinion which was probably not helped by reading Prefects first and being very confused as to why we were starting just after half-term. I can see the point in that EBD wanted to keep the Triplets for a bit longer, but I think the two books would have been much better as one whole one.

 

#7:  Author: Ruth, Location: Lincolnshire, England PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:25 am

I like this one. My favourite scene would have to be the proposal. I really like Reg and Len is one of my favourites and I was glad to see that Len came to realise that she loved him. I think that Jack Lambert begins to show that she is growing up. By the time I read Prefects it was quite a long time after the others leading up to it and I had forgotten about Margot's wishing to be a nun and I can remember that I dropped the book (good thing I wasn't in the bath!!) in my surprise. I like the way loose ends are tied up but I wish EBD had lived to write more.

 

#8:  Author: Alex, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 11:35 am

Apart from the motorboat thing, and Jocelyn needing a good kicking I like this book. I would have liked to see the follow up to the catching of the thief in Althea, or even a mention of it. I don't mind Len marrying Reg, but the proposal is absolutely dire and she should have turned him down on that basis alone. Never noticed the gramme thing especially before, but they must have been pretty small sweets! I can't help feeling with the first flood that it is EBD's favourite disaster (A dam made from fallen trees high in the mountains....). Jack and Felicity are portrayed very convincingly, it is nice to see Jack grow up.

 

#9:  Author: Laura, Location: London (ish) PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 12:39 pm

Having just flicked through it to read the proposal scene, en route I got to the whole - 'Are there any stilts around? ' bit - what on earth is going on with that?? Actually stilts?? Wouldn't it be ridiculously easy to lose your balance in the water? *visions of Jem in clown shoes on stilts trying not to fall over* How much older than Len is Reg? Isn't it about 15 years??! Oh my gosh. The proposal scene is dire . So, in response to 'Oh you poor dear...are you badly hurt?' Reg immediately assumed they were then engaged? Was that not a little presumptuous? The 'like it, Darling?' is making me feel almost physically sick! She should have refused him on that alone! Rolling Eyes

 

#10:  Author: Ruth, Location: Lincolnshire, England PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:10 pm

I like the proposal!!! Other than the fact that no-one in their right mind would ever propose to me - a proposal like that along un-conventional lines would be the best.

 

#11:  Author: Ray, Location: Bristol, England PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:21 pm

Laura wrote:
How much older than Len is Reg? Isn't it about 15 years??!
It's more like ten. The triplets are three or four in Rescue, which is when Reg first appears, and he's a boy of about 12-14. Ray *can't remember Reg's age in Rescue exactly*

 

#12:  Author: Miriam, Location: Jerusalem, Israel PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:39 pm

I don't think his exact age is ever given. But given EBDs habbits, a ten year gap in Rescue, does not have to imply a ten year gap in Prefects. Wink

 

#13:  Author: Ray, Location: Bristol, England PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:46 pm

*laughs* Very true On the other hand, as Reg is a fully qualified doctor when Len is 16, that still implies about a ten year age gap - and EBD was definitely consistant with how old the triplets were *grin* So I think it's pretty safe to say it was still a ten year age gap in Prefects. Ray *it certainly wouldn't have got larger!*

 

#14:  Author: MrsH,  PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 6:20 pm

I've got a soft spot for this one. Partly because it was the end of the series and partly because it's the first one I read at least semi-critically rather than in an addicted haze. I love the motor boats - just think they are beyond improbable ... what was EBD thinking about? Did she have visions of James Bond style chases? High speed picnics with Karen's wonderful stuffed veal thingys being hurled from boat to boat? Who knows? Mind you, didn't stop me wanting to chuck Jocelyn into the nearest lake minus water wings. Do so agree that Len/Reg seem awfully rushed with in this book - feels as though someone said "Oopsy, no more school, better get this sorted out without any more subtle hinting". I've never been that certain about Margot sticking to the nun idea. Can't help feeling that going to Edinburgh might broaden her horizons in some way and she'll end up doing bizarre fringe theatre based on her family life.

 

#15:  Author: jennifer, Location: Sunny California PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 6:44 pm

None of the last half dozen books are particular favorites of mine. I do like the theory that EBD didn't finish the book - there are parts about it that don't ring true. The motor boat thing does sound like something a bunch of irresponsible middles would think of. It sounds like a great idea at first, but is totally impractical, and the prefects response was dead on - a slightly startled 'what on earth were you thinking of' when they barged in. The Len and Reg thing has always struck me as kind of creepy. Just having a 26 year old doctor speaking to his colleagues about his intentions towards their sheltered 16 year old daughter seems off. If I were Jack and Joey I certainly wouldn't be inviting him over any more, and would be contemplating a restraining order. Joey was at least allowed to grow up a little more. She had been out of school for a few years before Jack said anything to anyone, and wasn't heading off to university. My impression is that Len might feel very different after a few years away from home. The first couple of years when you're out on your own, at school or work, is largely a process of figuring out what parts of you are really you, and what parts are your environment, and that can change your viewpoint dramatically. There's one bit where Reg is thinking "I wish she'd grow up" regarding Len's view of him, and how he wants more. She's still in school at this point! The portrayal of Jack is good. She's definitely starting to mature from the obnoxious little brat she has been, and it's nice to see her subjected to the same sort of behavior she inflicted on poor Len. Laughing There's a general feeling of tying up loose ends - and that because Len is such a good girl, she needs to be rewarded by marrying a doctor really quickly. I can see Margot as a nun, in the more active rather than contemplative sense, although I could also see her running into difficulties with social activism, and conflicts if what she saw as her duty went against church policy.

 

#16:  Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 8:18 pm

I've always seen this book very much as a finishing the series book, esp with the trips growing up and Len being engagaed at the end of the story. I wasn't suprised by the engagement, having noticed the hints in other books, and it was a very EBD thing to happen. From a non book point of view Reg should have been told to wait until at least the next summer, even with Len realising that she worried about him when he was missing, she would have been heartless not to! I loved Jack in this, both her interaction with Felicity, with Jocelyn and with Len. She shows she is growing up, thinking things through and I think she would definalty have been Head Girl if the series had continued, and would have been seen as making a good job of it. I know some people think she wouldn't do a good job, but I think that is how EBD would have written it. The motorboats...a likely suggestion I suppose from middles, but I can't see the school considering it in the way they did, even for the sixth formers. Least favourite scene would have to be the sale, but that's because of plays, pantos and sales, I think sales are the worst!

 

#17:  Author: Joey, Location: Cambridge PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 1:49 pm

I never thought this was in EBD's style. I haven't read any Phyllis Matthewman (yet), but the theory that it was written by someone else does make sense. I don't think EBD would have written such a very finishing-off, "this-is-the-end" kind of story. She would have left some unfinished business. The prefects were very un-EBD-like. They wuld never have been as squashing as that over the motor-boat affair - any Middle worth her salt would carry on plotting after that! I was pleased when Margot said she wanted to be a nun. She'd obviously been thinking about it for a long time - the first hint I've spotted is in Excitements. Didn't like Len's engagement, but in 1958 it probably wouldn't have been as shocking as it seems now. This does ring true as EBD's idea at least, even if she didn't write that farcical "proposal". It was the highest accolade EBD could afford a Chalet girl - to marry a doctor - and the highest accolade for a doctor is to marry a Chalet girl. So Len and Reg's engagement is the best she could do for two of her favourite characters. Also didn't like the way Con was dismissed. Len says, "We'll talk about [your books] in the morning. It's quite as interesting a subject as either of ours." The implication, of course, being that it isn't. I always thought Con was underdeveloped as a character, but there was no need to be rude about her. The sweets being weighed was simply careless. It can't have been hard, even in 1970, to find the size of a gramme! There were a few good bits in this, but sadly few - on the whole a great disappointment.

 

#18:  Author: patmac, Location: Yorkshire England PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 6:13 pm

As others have said, it has some great weaknesses but I think, after Reunion, they all have. I don't think I really have a fave scene. I've not read it for a while and nothing jumps to mind, similar with the worst - I think that shows how bland it was! The motor boat idea is pretty stupid but I'm speaking as an adult and I would have been in there with great enthusiasm when I was a middle Wink The Len/Reg relationship has always fascinated me because EBD really doesn't tell us anything about him from Jack telling Phoebe he's sending him to boarding school because there is no room at the local grammar school and when he appears as a fully fledged doctor. At the end of Rescue I felt really sorry for him as he went off to be with strangers like that. Did they keep in touch, take an interest? I think they must have because he came to work at the San. That would mean that he and Len must have seen one another growing up. I wonder if EBD, thinking herself immortal - like we all do at times Shocked - intended Reg and Len to take Joey and Jack's mantle and become the centre of the next books. I think I was more concerned about Margot deciding to become a nun. In a marriage you do have a life outside the partnership, even if it is mainly work, but within a vocational life, there is no respite. It's probably because I know I couldn't do it myself.

 

#19:  Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!! PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 6:28 pm

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who never really bought into the idea of Margot as a nun. I just can't see it at all.

 

#20:  Author: Cazx, Location: Swansea/Bristol PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 1:41 pm

The whole Reg and Len getting engaged in the manner that they did never really rang true to me. I feel that Len never had the time to love him in the way you should love the person you marry. I think that she loved him in the way that you love your best friend. Also cant see Margot as a nun-she's too impatient!

 

#21:  Author: Alex, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 5:32 pm

I know quite a lot of nuns, some of them quite as feisty as Margot, so it doesn't really seem that incongruous to me. Enclosed orders in particular are said to be full of extroverts - they wouldn't survive without them apparently.

 

#22:  Author: Nicci, Location: UK PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:29 pm

I'm interested in the portrayal of Miss Annersley towards the end of this book. Did anyone else feel that she changed significantly? That's one of the things that always makes me believe that EBD didn't finish it.

 

#23:  Author: Lisa_T, Location: Belfast PostPosted: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:05 pm

I don't know about 'changed' but I think she's more iconic, and less human. Is that the kind of thing you mean, Nicci? She's more of an autocrat, to borrow Lesley's lovely phrase. Very Happy I'm interested to see someone says they can see signs of Margot's vocation as early as Excitements. I have to agree with this- I was skimming my (HB!) copy of it this morning, and you know the bit where one of the triplets says she's writing to Robin? Well, after that there's a whole discussion about vocations between the triplets and Yseult Pertwee, who is really very rude about the whole thing. Margot is the one who defends the idea of a religious vocation most strongly, as she's very flushed when doing so- which could indicate that it's something she's begun to think deeply about, and is embarrassed to mention. The other interesting thing was that the triplets were getting quite heated, and Jo Scott, by dint of pouring oil, shuts the lot of them up by reminding them that they're not supposed to talk about religion. At first that shocked me, with the school's ethos, and then I realised that it was actually very in keeping with the ethos. The CS aims in some ways to be non-denominational, while at the same time catering for both protestants and catholics- and, I suppose, if the girls were allowed free rein to discuss organised religion as opposed to christianity, there could be all sorts of trouble and disputes- and you couldn't really have that in a school where there's a sizeable representation of both!

Last edited by Lisa_T on Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:14 pm; edited 1 time in total

 

#24:  Author: Nicci, Location: UK PostPosted: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:10 pm

Yes, i suppose so lisa. She seems less patient, rather snappish and not very Hilda-ish. Menopause?? Shocked

 

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