Books: The Chalet School in Exile
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#1: Books: The Chalet School in Exile Author: jenniferLocation: Taiwan PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:08 am
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The Chalet School in Exile marked a major change in the Chalet school series, and is one of the most event filled book. The school opens for a new term under the threat of the Anschluss, and moves up to the Sonnalpe for added protection. Joey and others run into trouble with the Nazis, and eventually have to flee the country on foot. The German and Austrian girls are withdrawn from the school, and many others are removed for safety. Eventually, the school closes and the Russells and wards relocate to Guernsey. Joey and Jack marry. The school reopens over a year later, with a much reduced class size, and Mrs Linton and Margot Venables die during the break. The La Rochelle girls join the school. Mlle Lepattre dies shortly after the start of term. The school is saddled with a German spy, Gertud Beck. Joey has triplets. An enemy plane crashes near the school. Friedel, Bruno and Rufus escape from Austria and make it to Guernsey.


There's so much in this book that it's hard to think up a few questions. What are your general views on this book? What do you think of the way EBD portrayed the events leading up to the war, the political situation in Austria, and the German and Austrian people (including Gertrud)? What do you think of the flight from Austria, and Joey's breakdown. Does Joey and Jack's engagement come as a total shock, and do you like the infamous proposal scene? What do you think about the new form the school takes when it reopens?

#2:  Author: JayBLocation: SE England PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 2:01 pm
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I think the Anschluss saved the Chalet School! I think EBD was struggling to find a new direction for the series, once Jo had grown up, and outside events provided the twist she needed.

I think Exile is a very good book for girls about that period in history. Of course the adventure of fleeing from the Nazis is exaggerated to make an exciting story, but I think the background - the run up to the Anschluss, the fear and anger of the Austrian girls, the different attitudes to Jews, poor Herr Marani - is probably very accurate and realistic.

When I first read the books I read them all out of order, so I knew Jo and Jack would get married, so that didn't come as a surprise to me.

I also enjoy the new, much reduced school on Guernsey. The challenge of starting all over again, with the added difficuties of wartime, make an excellent storyline. Of course, we know now that the school would have to move from Guernsey almost immediately, but EBD didn't know that when she was planning the story. I wonder how she intended to continue the story?

I think Jo is still very immature in the first half of the book. She's very little use on the flight from Austria. With Miss Wilson largely incapacitated, Jo, as an ex-Head Girl and the only other adult woman in the group, should have provided more leadership. She does grow up quite a lot after her marriage.

One of the things I really like about Exile is that we see Robin growing up. Right at the beginning we see that she's no longer a baby and is on much more equal terms with Jo and Madge. On Guernsey she has become a lovely, helpful teenager, a real companion for Jo while Jack is away.

#3:  Author: Alison HLocation: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 2:13 pm
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I really like teenage Robin as well. And I think it's interesting that it's Robin, rather than Joey or anyone else, who is the first to rush to Herr Goldmann's assistance.

I think it'd been clear for a while that Jack was interested in Joey, and the obvious thing for EBD to do to keep Joey in the series was to marry her off to one of Jem's colleagues (as she didn't seem interested in becoming a teacher permanently, and hanging around at Die Rosen not doing much wouldn't have been very interesting), so their engagement didn't surprise me. I found the way it happened rather odd - I could understand the shock of everything that happened that afternoon making Joey see Jack in a new light, but it seemed odd circumstances to propose under. I'm very sorry that we don't get to see the wedding: I know that the usual explanation is that EBD wasn't good with romance, but we do see Madge's wedding, and also Janie Temple's wedding.

This has to be the pivotal book of the series ... it just changes everything, and the fact that circumstances forced EBD to direct events in this way probably did save the series, as Jay said. It's a huge leap from the fairly happy CS world of pre-Exile to the reality of the events portrayed in this book, and I think EBD handled things very well.

When we had the "favourite books" opinion poll last year this came out on top by a mile. That says a lot.

#4:  Author: JennieLocation: Cambridgeshire PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 2:26 pm
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It isn't my favourite book, though I do appreciate the way EBD tackled the Anschluss and having to get out of Austria on foot, but that was, for me, where JMB started to become a nuisance.

She should have supported all the others, instead of clinging to Jack, and the other thing that I dislike about it is that this is really the start of Jo's emotional fragility as opposed to her physical frailty. If anyone should have broken down, it was the Robin because of her ill-health, or Nell Wilson because of the responsibility that she felt, especially when her foot injury flared up.

In fact, Jo doesn't come out of it well at all, and I often think that this was EBD's opportunity to move the series back to being about the school, not about JMB at all.

#5:  Author: Mrs RedbootsLocation: London, UK PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:55 pm
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I think it _is_ my favourite book, because it is exciting, and because of the wonderful way she teachers her readers to distinguish between Nazis and ordinary Germans and Austrians.

One thing that grates is the episode with the gardening-tools once the school has settled down on Guernsey. Were I her editor, I'd have made her cut that, as I find it too pedestrian, too ordinary, in a term where the other events are spies and burning aeroplanes!

#6:  Author: LesleyLocation: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:39 pm
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I love the book, it is easily the most exciting and action packed and for a childrens book it imparts a very powerful message. We see and hear of acts of complete brutality and there isn't a happy ending for everyone. People we've known from the very first book die while others are never quite the same. If it has a fault it is that there is too much in it and too much is missed. Considering Joey is the pivotal character of the books to omit her wedding seems very strange and also not to follow through on how the School got out of Austria seems unusual (though did give me the opportunity to do it instead! Wink )

In some ways I feel the book should have finished when they reached Switzerland. Having a ten month gap between one chapter and the next is very disconcerting. Overall though a favourite.

#7:  Author: RóisínLocation: Ireland PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:57 pm
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Even though the marriage scene is omitted, Exile could be viewed as EBD giving her main character the ultimate of romances - that kind of romance that is carried out against the backdrop of an intense, dangerous, unsure situation. The relationship highlights against this much more sharply than if they had carried on living on the Sonnalpe and had married and continued living quietly like, for example, Gisela and Gottfried. Even with Madge, EBD engineered a traincrash and the death of a traindriver, in order to maximise the intensity and excitement of her meeting with Jem. She had to go one better with Joey - could it be said that she even engineered the use of a War? Wink

#8:  Author: TaraLocation: Malvern, Worcestershire PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:36 am
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I love Exile, I think its's brilliant. I, too, think it saved the series, and EBD's treatment of the war is so different from everyone else's. Having sited the school in Austria, she didn't have the option of ignoring it as most children's authors did, I suppose, but it gives us some of the most realistic scenes in the whole of her writing. That scene with Herr Goldmann is amazing. It is Robin, who is young and unaware, who goes to the rescue, the others get involved trying to rescue her, and, as Lesley said, there is no happy ending, either to that episode or in general. There are one or two other authors who mention the camps, but their characters escape - EBD's die (Luigia and Herr Marani).
EBD's firm distinction between the ordinary Germans and the Nazis is also most unusual (I guess it might even have been seen as unpatriotic at the time), and her treatment of Gertrud bears out this compassionate attitude.

I agree that Jo is exceedingly feeble and totally useless (not to mention irritating!) during the flight, as if her fragile maturity can't bear the stresses of the adult world.
I, too, would like to have seen the school actually leaving (thank you, Lesley - and Cath!) and to know more of what happened to the staff, particularly, in the interim, and how they were affected - but I suppose that's not appropriate for a children's book.

I like seeing the school start again, too, and I'm afraid I don't give two hoots about Joey's wedding, I'm perfectly happy to do without it, though I do think it makes sense for her and Jack to get together after the intensity of the experience they'd been through.

Definitely a favourite for me.

#9:  Author: ElbeeLocation: Surrey PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:29 am
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Exile is my favourite book in the series, and also one of the very first I read, if not the very first (I wish I could remember for sure!). It has everything in it for me - the school still in Tyrol, the Second World War, escape and intrigue, a bit of romance (albeit only EBD style!), an exciting new location and new characters, the idea of the Peace League etc.

I agree that Joey was overly pathetic during the escape, which didn't fit in with the Joey of previous books. However I did appreciate the message EBD gave us about it being Nazis rather than Germans who were the enemy. I don't recall picking up that message from any other books I read as a child, or even as an adult, but it is one that has stayed with me.

#10:  Author: RoseClokeLocation: In my pretty box-like room PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:12 am
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Exile was one of the first books I read as well. When I was little and the age (I suppose) that the books were intended for Embarassed I enjoyed Exile because Joey got married and for the scene where the girls all have to hide in the caves.

It's still one of my favourites, but mainly for the way she portrays the rest of the flight and deals so evenly with the distinction between 'Nazi's' and 'Germans'. I suppose she couldn't declare girls like the Emmie and Joanna Linders 'enemies' overnight, but I still think it's a nice touch.

I have to say every time I reread the book I'm completely surprised by the 'ten months later' part. I always forget that there's more of the book to read. I would have loved to see more of the escape, mainly to learn how exactly they managed to get so many belongings out of Nazi Austria and also to see more of Belsornia, as I think that's where Nell Wilson and co. were planning on going after Switzerland.

#11:  Author: PadoLocation: Connecticut, USA PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 12:51 am
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Like RoseCloke, I too forget every time that the book continues on in Guernsey. For me, the excitement of the escape from the Nazis still holds me in the same way it did when I first read it (at about the same age that I first fell in love with "The Sound of Music").

Jo does ward off the soldiers by pretending to beg in Romany during the flight, so she's not completely useless. Given how protected a life she had, I can see how the shock of the flight would squash her a bit.

#12:  Author: Fiona McLocation: Bendigo, Australia PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:43 am
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I feel sorry for Daisy in this book. Her mother dies and she didn't get to say good bye but was instead sent away. I know it doesn't say whose idea it was (either Margot or Jem's) but I think that would be extremely hard on the kid to come back from holidays and not even have a chance to say her last good bye. I wonder if that was the reason she lived with Jo and Jack because she blamed Jem for it all. I know in a later book its said Auntie Madge had a very special place in her heart but nothing is said about her Uncle Jem. And being sent to Jo's without Primula did mean Daisy could grieve without worrying about her younger sister the way she tended to throughout the War books

#13:  Author: JayBLocation: SE England PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:31 am
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Daisy probably did get more attention at Jo's than she would at Madge's, at least while Jack was away and before the triplets arrived. She had Robin to be a big sister, but close enough in age to be a companion too. At Madge's she would have been the oldest herself by quite a long way, hence somewhat isolated in the family, and expected to take responsibility for the little ones. Also, Robin and Daisy were old enough to provide companionship for Jo.

#14:  Author: KatherineLocation: London, UK PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:00 pm
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Exile: I just love it for all the reasons people have already stated.

When I first read it I had already most/all of the Tyrol books so one of the things that really made it work for me was the fact that here we have a group of people living in a safe, cosy little world we have come to know and accept. And it’s not a world that Nazi’s are supposed to enter into; just like in our own lives, it’s not supposed to happen here. But it does and lives are blown apart and it just makes you so angry for all the injustices and misery humans seem to want to inflict upon one another. But set against that you have to good side of human nature; the Peace League and the Vater Johann. It makes me fiercely proud of the people involved and I would like to think that the book has helped make a few more people just a little more determined that it really will happen ‘never again’.

Having said all that it does have its flaws as a book. It just feels like there’s a huge chunk missing although to be fair at this stage is wasn’t as if EBD was writing every term as she later did. I sadly only have the paperback but I have read the missing chapter on-screen and yes, it’s nice to have a missing chapter but it doesn’t fill nearly enough of the gap. I think maybe the reason that it jars is that most other CS books don’t leap around like that. Yes there’s the odd, ‘several weeks later’ jump but it’s just moving forward a few weeks; it’s still term, it’s still a tale of day-to-day life. This gap is different. Maybe Exile should end with Jo and Jack’s wedding the next book should pick up with the school restarting? I think the reason I’m complaining is that it’s a CS book, therefore it should fit certain CS conventions and it doesn’t. But then that’s part of what makes it such a special book.

This challenging of CS convention is what makes it all the more uncomfortable later in the series when we just seem to settle down to ‘one book a term, new girl makes an enemy’ territory although maybe that helps to keep Exile fresh and special.

When I read it as part of my read through it will be nice to read the full version in one go for the first time.

#15:  Author: CarolineLocation: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 12:40 pm
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This has always been one of my favourite CS books, and unlike some others, I quite like the disconnect in the middle - although I'm very glad I have a hardback and have the extra chapter.

I think EBD was inspired in the way she portrayed the Tyroleans, the different attitudes of different people to the Jews and to the Nazis, and her firm belief in German not automatically equalling Nazi. Considering she wrote this book so early in the war, she gets a huge number of things right - all apart from having the school settle on Guernsey, of course - unlucky!

I also like the mundanity of the restart in Guernsey - it's business as usual with middles being middles, only it isn't, not really. There's a girl-spy, an enemy plane crashing and half their friends might be in prison or starving or on the run in Germany, but the school goes on. Really powerful stuff, and a great contrast between the school and the war.

Joey and Jack - things have been leading up to this for several books. Not a surprise to me. I also like Jo being more affected, emotionally, than the others on and by the flight from Austria. To me, it seems quite natural. She is quite a bit older than the other girls, and much more aware of the danger they are all in, but she is not as mature / experienced as Bill or the men, and is thus less able to control her fears and hide them from the others. I suspect the other adults are just as terrified as Jo, but are just able to hide their feelings much better - they would be used to doing so, as doctors and a teacher.

Also, we know Jo has always had an emotional temperament - it's entirely consistent with her characterisation going right back to the early books - Jem is always talking about her temperament and how she needs to learn more control. And I thought she held it together pretty well on the trip - it's afterwards when they are "safe" in Switzerland she has a bit of a breakdown.

The "proposal scene" - you know, I've never thought of the whole solid lump of comfort thing as the actual proposal. I had assumed Jack popped the question properly later on... I don't mind it, anyway - it's almost iconic by now. And I'm not bothered about not seeing the wedding, either.

A hit!

#16:  Author: KBLocation: Melbourne, Australia PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 12:52 pm
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Caroline wrote:
The "proposal scene" - you know, I've never thought of the whole solid lump of comfort thing as the actual proposal. I had assumed Jack popped the question properly later on... I don't mind it, anyway - it's almost iconic by now.


Actually, I think he popped the question earlier. I have been looking through the books to see what Jo calls him to his face, and in every book except Exile, it's 'Dr Jack'. Suddenly in Exile, admittedly in the stress of the moment, it's:

Quote:
Jo turned to him. ‘Jack! Do you think Austria’s in for a bad time?’

Instead of replying, Jo turned to the doctor. ‘What about it, Jack?’

‘Those beauties will have to come out into the open now,’ she said. ‘There’s no cover anywhere. Round this boulder, Jack. Now give me your hand. Then when I’m up, you can give the others a boost.’...

Jack!’ she cried, and her beautiful voice was hoarse with fear. ‘I’ve been to the cave, and they aren’t there! There isn’t a sign of them anywhere. But that little Nazi beast was there, and I shook it out of him that he had seen them go in. I told him to come with me — here he is,’ she added, as the doctor slipped an arm round her to steady her, for she was shaking with fear. ‘Beat the truth out of him if you must!’

Jack! What does it mean? Have they gone? Or have they never been there?’

and

‘Then — then — oh, where are Robin and Hilary? Jack, I can’t bear it!’


And then later we are told this, which confirms it:

Quote:
‘It isn’t,’ insisted the Robin, who had begged to be allowed to be the one to tell Grizel Cochrane and Juliet Carrick, now Juliet O’Hara. ‘That night we had the picnic up the Sonnenscheinspitze they were engaged; but Joey asked us not to tell anyone till after the holidays, as Juliet’s wedding was coming, and she did not want to spoil the excitement for her. But they really have been engaged for nearly four weeks. Jack gave her her ring the day the School broke up. She would not have it before, lest anyone should see it and guess.’


Admittedly it may have been another picnic, but that doesn't seem likely. Can't imagine Madge letting them go again considering what happened in that adventurous picnic! However those two things together suggest that they were already very much engaged by that point.

#17:  Author: LesleyLocation: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 12:55 pm
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I wonder then at the surprise shown by Madge at the SLOC scene.

#18:  Author: JackiePLocation: Kingston upon Hull PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 1:00 pm
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I think I always presumed that while there was all the worry about Robin and Hilary they just agreed that they wanted to be together, not so much as a proposal, but something akin to Laurie & Amy in Good Wives.

JackieP

#19:  Author: CarolineLocation: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 3:36 pm
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KB wrote:

And then later we are told this, which confirms it:

Quote:
‘It isn’t,’ insisted the Robin, who had begged to be allowed to be the one to tell Grizel Cochrane and Juliet Carrick, now Juliet O’Hara. ‘That night we had the picnic up the Sonnenscheinspitze they were engaged; but Joey asked us not to tell anyone till after the holidays, as Juliet’s wedding was coming, and she did not want to spoil the excitement for her. But they really have been engaged for nearly four weeks. Jack gave her her ring the day the School broke up. She would not have it before, lest anyone should see it and guess.’


Admittedly it may have been another picnic, but that doesn't seem likely. Can't imagine Madge letting them go again considering what happened in that adventurous picnic! However those two things together suggest that they were already very much engaged by that point.


Well, I really just meant later that day - doesn't Madge leave them to it to come to their common or garden senses after they have done the whole SLOC thing?

But, fair point, I do agree that they already have an understanding by this point. Jo has already collapsed into his arms at least once on the picnic, when they get to the cave and find Rob and Hilary aren't there.

#20:  Author: macyroseLocation: Great White North (Canada) PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 12:34 am
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Exile is one of my favourite books in the series and in terms of importance in the series, to me it's second to School At. It's a transitional book in many ways and the events in it have repercussions that last throughout the rest of the series. The school leaves Austria, the first of its moves. Jo and Jack marry which leads to the birth of the triplets who will play important parts in future books. Josette Russell is born, a future Head Girl. The La Rochelle characters join, who will also play important roles in the future. Using a real life event - the Anschluss - also brings the Chalet School firmly into the real world and by doing so dates it in real time which, depending on one’s opinion, can be either a good or a bad thing.

I never thought the SLOC scene was the proposal. I thought it came afterwards and happened “off-screen”. I didn’t read the books in order so didn’t catch beforehand the hints of Jack’s feelings towards Jo in Camp and New House, which is probably why their romance, engagement and marriage seemed to me to happen too quickly. I was disappointed that their wedding wasn’t shown since Jo is the central character of the series and still am not sure why it wasn’t. Did EBD feel unable to write it? Did the differing religions of Jo and Jack make a difference (I’m not sure when Jo converted)?

The chapter A Nazi ‘Sport’, the events of which lead to the deaths of Herr and Frau Goldmann, as well as Vater Johann, is where we are shown a different aspect of some Austrians than we have ever seen before. The anti-semitism of the mob is very realistic of the time and place and EBD was probably one of the few writers to have written about the evils of Nazism in a children’s book at that early date. Her distinguishing between Nazis and non-Nazi Germans and Austrians is probably also unusual for a writer at the time.

One of the things that puzzled me is how well Robin withstood the hardships of the flight from Austria since her extreme fragility had been emphasized so much before and would be again in later books. Robin is my favourite character so it’s nice to see her develop into a mature, helpful teen, and she seems more realistic as a teenager than she was as das Engelkind.

And there’s also EBDisms where Frieda finds out about Jo’s triplets twice, and Marie von Eschenau gets confused with the United States and Toronto in her letter. Very Happy

#21:  Author: JayBLocation: SE England PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 12:15 pm
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Quote:
I was disappointed that their wedding wasn’t shown since Jo is the central character of the series and still am not sure why it wasn’t. Did EBD feel unable to write it?

Exile is quite a long book, and quite fast-paced - there's always something happening. Joey's wedding, if EBD were to do it justice, would make it quite a lot longer, and slow it down, because it wouldn't really do anything to advance the plot or develop character.

And there are several technical questions EBD would have to get round. Where would the wedding take place? How to go about introducing Jack's family? Had she already thought up the story of Rolf, and Lydia not liking Joey? Wouldn't really be appropriate to introduce those things into a happy wedding chapter.

Then there's Margot Venables. If she'd recently died or was clearly dying, that would mean the wedding couldn't be the wholly happy affair EBD would want. Daisy couldn't be a bridesmaid.

I think, overall, EBD and/or her editor made the right decision in leaving out Jo's wedding and jumping forward to the School restarting. It marks, I think, the point at which the School, rather than adult Joey, becomes the focus of the series, and makes it clear to readers that the School, and hence the series, will continue.

#22:  Author: Sarah_LLocation: Leeds PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:31 pm
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Something I've always wondered was whether it was necessary for Joey and the others (the non-Austrian minors at least) to flee in secret. Are there any real-life examples of the Gestapo seriously mistreating foreign nationals, especially before the declaration of war?

#23:  Author: Kathy_SLocation: midwestern US PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:04 am
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I agree that Exile is among the best CS books, though I feel as though it must have been cut drastically to fit the standard length.

I can't agree that Joey is particularly feeble during the escape, though obviously she doesn't come across as Super-Fearless-Heroine. That, along with the remarkable-because-contemporary Germans vs. Nazis distinction, is actually one of the greatest strengths of the book from my perspective: that each member of the escape party has something to deal with, even bulwark Gottfried, feeling as though he's bearing the guilt of his people. Nell, in great physical pain, is burdened by primary responsibility for the girls. Jack's lack of acting skill almost brings disaster on those he loves. Robin has to be carried a lot of the way, though the mountain air (the higher, the better, in usual EBD fashion) has remarkable curative powers. Joey, despite managing to save the day with her Romany imitation, is worn to an emotional frazzle even before the incidents in town. She manages to hold herself together, requiring only one warning from Jack, until they reach the safety of Switzerland. Only then do we see just how badly the nightmares are affecting her. I think it quite realistic, particularly for a young person with an excellent imagination who is portrayed as knowing at least one of the murder victims fairly well, and who has reason to fear similar fates for others who have been far closer. I don't think I'm quite as excitable as she is, and I certainly reacted in some of the same ways after a friend was murdered. It makes a lot of sense to me that Jo grows up significantly during this book, but that she only exorcises much of the trauma later, after writing Nancy meets a Nazi.

It's a very busy book, with the many excitements plus all the emotional repercussions. EBD really paints the latter well, always highlighting those most affected: Daisy's coming to terms after Margot Venables' death, Corney's grief for Madamoiselle Lepattre, poor Maria Marani's ultimate collapse. Gertrud is not just a stereotypical Nazi spy, but a girl wracked by fear for her mother and the slow realization of what the Nazis were doing. I was so primed for the next disaster that I was astounded when the first aid lessons didn't foresage their use - only the airman's rescue – and probably find Biddy's "niver a wan of us" comment inordinately funny for just that reason. I imagine it was a relief for the normal readership to see the book anchored in normalcy by ordinary Middles playing about with garden tools, and pepper in the charcoal. All in all it's no wonder that it takes the combined power of triplets, Rufus, the dramatically returned Frieda & Bruno & Friedel, and Jack's revelation of the Peace League document for a properly rousing finish.

#24:  Author: jenniferLocation: Taiwan PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:52 am
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I really think of this as two books - one covering events in Austria, and the other one in Guernsey with the re-establishment of the school.

This is one of my favourite books in the series. A lot of deep stuff happens, both to the characters and in the larger world, and I like the balanced and compassionate view of the non-Nazi population of Germany and Austria, and what they faced.

Joey is an interesting character in this book. At the beginning she is her usual schoolgirl self - insouciant, enthusiastic, and still rather childlike. By the end she is a married woman with three children, and responsibility for two more.

The flight from Austria is a huge strain on her, and really does highlight the root of her fragility. She's not particularly physically fragile at this point, but she is mentally - her active imagination, volatile emotional temperament, her tendency to fling herself into the middle of things and her lack of emotional self control mean that she isn't good at handling periods of extended stress. All of her heroic actions and excitements as a school girl were brief - a sudden burst of violent action or emotion, followed by a period of extended recuperation. After saving Elisaveta, for example, she's sent to sleep for 12 hours and then kept in bed for a week to recuperate. In this case, they have to keep going for days of stress, and Joey can't handle it. Robin, on the other hand, is physically frail, but handles the whole experience much more evenly.



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