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Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6646
Author:  JB [ Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
Trouble at Skelton Hall was published Max Parrish & Co in 1963 and reprinted by GGB in 2009. Other EBD titles published in 1963 were The Chalet School Triplets and Chalet School Reunion.

This is the synopsis from the New Chalet Club site.

The second term for Skelton Hall starts with 50 girls, 17 of which are new. We are introduced to the Quintet, 5 girls in Lower IV, Sally, Van, Harrie, Hilary and Lal. A new girl, Caeros, takes a shine to Sally, who helps her out, but is later jealous when Sally shows friendliness to other girls. New juniors from another school make life miserable for another Third Former, Lesley Selwyn. There is mention of a row which the Quintet were part of last term and talk of “Della” who is unable to walk.

Lesley disappears – she tried to run away as she was so unhappy. The Third form would not let her forget an instance when she sneaked last term and the girls were caught smoking. Lesley is found in the priest’s hole.

The School decides to have a School magazine. The Prefects and Upper V entertain the school at an evening with games and supper. Caeros sees that Sally is very friendly with Della at this evening and tells the latter that she hates her. Sally overhears and tells Caeros that she will be friends with both of them.

Della catches German measles and Sally has to go into quarantine as she had had contact with her. In the middle of the night she goes to apologise to Sally for being such a pig. A fire starts in the East Wing, Sally and Caeros race over to warn the Greys and bump into them coming out the front door, Della walking. As she improves, she joins the school. Mr Grey offers to build a swimming bath as a thank you for the help given to Della by the school.

Here are a few questions to start off the discussion (hopefully):

Did you enjoy the book?
Do you like the way the growing school is portrayed eg staff, junior pupils, new traditions?
New girl Caeros is jealous of Sally’s friendships with other girls. Do you feel this storyline is handled well? How does it compare to other, similar storylines in EBD’s books eg Joey and Simone, Francie and Margot?
There’s a lot going on here in a fairly short book. How well do you think the different plotlines fit together?
Do you think the Skelton Hall school has its own character? Is it sufficiently different to EBD’s other schools?

A transcript is available - PM me if you’re having trouble finding it.
Author:  abbeybufo [ Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
I quite enjoyed this. It is slighter than the CS books, and shorter than most, but it deals successfully with the effects of jealousy and feuding, and the way this is variously dealt with by both staff and the girls themselves.

Several themes will be familiar to those who know their CS, but most of the characters are already assumed from the previous book, so rather like the later Chalets, there is less character-development on show for the main girls, only for the 'new' ones who have to come to terms with them.

It seemed a bit episodic and rushed to get all the events into such a short book, but it ended quite satisfactorily.
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
I've never read it (I might be PMing you if I ever get a moment, JB!) but it certainly sounds like an interesting book. Did you find it very strongly linked to the CS, abbeybufo, or was it easy to set it apart as a separate book in its own right?
Author:  abbeybufo [ Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
I wouldn't say strongly linked, more that I recognised themes and tropes from the CS all piled into this book - as I say, it's very episodic, but the events - jealousy, feuding, measles (AND german measles!) fire in a wing of the building, to mention the most obvious - are all things that happened in the CS over the years, and all happen here within a term :shock:

So it's quite an easy if rather breathless read in its own right, but I suspect it would be better for having read the earlier one in the series, which will put the reader on the same 'knowledge footing' as the main characters - the 'Quintette' - rather than wondering what happened along with the new girl Caeros and the sixth member of the dorm, Viva.
Author:  JennieP [ Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
I read it recently, and just thought it was a rather pale imitation of the CS, with all the disasters thrown into one book - read rather like an unoriginal potboiler. "Oh dear, I don't have any new ideas for a book this year - let's have a quick flip though some of the old ones and see what I can cannibalise..."

The only vaguely new thing was the sneaking bit, which I thought was well done, and relatively convincing.
Author:  JB [ Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
I was confused by the measles epidemic, which is over and done with in a page or so, and the german measles which followed (or was it just quarantine?).

Given that the school had just had the former, I didn't quite see why Caeros felt panic when she thought that Sally had measles.
Author:  hac61 [ Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
I got fed up with the disasters happening and wanted more of the school term events.

I liked the first book but doubt I'll read this one again - it was just too, too much for one small book.


hac
Author:  Catrin [ Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
I found the part when Lesley was talking to the Head very confusing.

First, the Head tells her off for telling tales in the first place, saying that she's got a weak character.

Then, immediately afterwards, she bangs on about how worried Matron and the others must have been to have lost all of these girls, and tells Lesley off for not having explained what was going on immediately!

So, damned if you do and damned if you don't . . .

Also, bearing in mind the slating EBD gives Joey in Jo Returns for picking silly names for her characters . . . Caeros? And Harriott? Hmm.
Author:  JS [ Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
Very unusually for me, especially given that it was such a small book (and I paid £12 for it!) I kind of stalled about a third of the way through and haven't picked it up again :( . Quite liked the first one, but this just didn't grab me.
Author:  Kadi [ Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
There was quite a lot packed into one small book.

The whole thing about the talk the head had with Lesley confused me also. I couldn't see what choice she had when confronted with the matron about the whereabouts of the other girls. Was the head suggested she lie?
Author:  JB [ Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
Kadi wrote:

Quote:
The whole thing about the talk the head had with Lesley confused me also. I couldn't see what choice she had when confronted with the matron about the whereabouts of the other girls. Was the head suggested she lie?


I think the head suggested that she stay silent.

I would have thought it would have been more appropriate to have a conversation along the lines of "there are occasions when it isn't sneaking" ie when asked a direct question by a member of staff (and to have the same conversation with the other girls).
Author:  Elbee [ Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
JS wrote:
Very unusually for me, especially given that it was such a small book (and I paid £12 for it!) I kind of stalled about a third of the way through and haven't picked it up again :( . Quite liked the first one, but this just didn't grab me.


I did get to the end, eventually, but it took me quite a few weeks as I just got so bored with the story :oops: .
Author:  lavender [ Tue Oct 06, 2009 12:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Books: Trouble at Skelton Hall
I've just read this and was quite dissapointed in it as I enjoyed "The School at Skelton Hall".

I thought the themes that could have been interesting were underexploited - eg the form of new pupils nearly all from another school, and how Della adjusts to school after being an invalid.

The themes which were concentrated on - eg jealousy of friendships were recycled chalet school stories.

I liked the part about bullying though, thats not something which is explicitly dealt with very much by EBD.
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