The CBB :: View topic - Books: Joey Goes to the Oberland

I was quite surprised that Beth went to work for Joey: no offence to "mother's helps" but it seems a strange choice of career after a degree at Oxford (I think Beth went to Oxford - am I wrong there?).

Grandma from the shop

There’s that opal ring Daisy brought me from Australia for Con.

They went off together and Jo grinned at Primula. "The complete elder brother! Still, he's to be trusted anywhere, and that's all that matters. He and Len are the most responsible of the whole eight. I can always trust either of them to look after the rest."

Was it such a huge thing in the 1950's that someone with measles not be out in public?

Madge had German measles (rubella). Was the risk to pregnant women known at the time the book was written?

I find it very sad that Daisy, who had been so close to Robin in the war years, wasn't expecting to see her ever again.

I imagine that Robin and Daisy had said all that needed to be said privately, and this was just the final leavetaking. I think Robin is an unselfish, self-controlled person, who wouldnt want an emotional scene in public, and wouldn't want her affairs to impinge on Daisy's big day.

There, it's done, now you can all come down on me like a ton of bricks, ban me from the site etc. etc.

Liz K wrote:

There, it's done, now you can all come down on me like a ton of bricks, ban me from the site etc. etc.

*PMs Liss to arrange banning*

Why didn't they fly to Switzerland? .

One thing that worries me - how did they manage for money? Back then, the amount that could be taken abroad was very limited indeed - one reason why package holidays took off, as you could go abroad and everything was paid in advance so you didn't have to worry about spending-money.

I did think Joey's comments on 'real' families were appalling and wonder what sort of things EBD herself said that hurt her friends if she's so unthinking about the words she puts in her heroine's mouth.

The use of the 'N' word was a bit shocking to me in 2008 - can't remember noticing it when I read it as a child.

Oh, and another thing that grates: Jo and her b****y damp face flannels. I bet it was Anna who got them all ready in the mornings, and Jo who took the credit.

You've just had me in stitches! Quite agree though - plus slight ewww-factor - they must have got a bit musty!

Author:	Róisín [ Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:38 am ]
Post subject:	Books: Joey Goes to the Oberland
Full synopsis here. The book opens with Daisy's marriage in Howells Village. Madge is in quarantine so the wedding is from Joey's house. After the wedding, Joey and family, including Primula Venables, begin their long journey to travel to the Platz. The first stop is at Simone's chateau in Paris, for a brief visit. There is also an accidental meeting with Evadne. In Basle, they stop to visit Frieda, and her new baby. Once at the Platz, the focus is on setting up Freudesheim, and catching up with the other staff members and Old Girls, including Hilary Graves. So, what did you think of this book? Is the journey realistic? This is the book where many controversial scenes between Joey and her friends happen. What are your opinions on Joey's remodelling ideas for Simone's chateau? Or her comments on Frieda's new baby? What about Beth Chester going to work for Joey as a governess? Do you tend to skip this book in your rereads, because it has so little School material in it? Please join in below, and raise any issue that you like for discussion, to do with Joey Goes to the Oberland Next Sunday: The Chalet School and Barbara

Author:	Alison H [ Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:26 pm ]
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It's nice to catch up with some old friends, although Joey's "proper family" comments to Simone really grate on me - I know that they may have been meant light-heartedly but I really don't like them. The way that so many people - Dick etc - suddenly come into money/property in the series is a bit annoying, but in Simone's case I think she deserved it . The scenes with Joey falling into a packing case are just stupid, but never mind! Sad to see Robin being written out of the series, but lovely to see Primula playing a prominent role for once. I was quite surprised that Beth went to work for Joey: no offence to "mother's helps" but it seems a strange choice of career after a degree at Oxford (I think Beth went to Oxford - am I wrong there?). Oh, and I love the scene near the end in which Karen tells both Joey and Jack exactly what she thinks of them (for leaving the kitchen window open and making her think there'd been a break in) and they both just sit and take it. Well done Karen love - not many people manage to silence Joey so effectively .

Author:	Fiona Mc [ Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:02 pm ]
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Alison H wrote: I was quite surprised that Beth went to work for Joey: no offence to "mother's helps" but it seems a strange choice of career after a degree at Oxford (I think Beth went to Oxford - am I wrong there?). Especially as she had always said she wanted to be a gardener. I wonder what happened there? I also liked the bits about Primula as she was usually forgottened but was disappointed Madge was made to catch the measles and miss out on Daisy's wedding

Author:	Lesley [ Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:27 pm ]
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Was it such a huge thing in the 1950's that someone with measles not be out in public? Personally if I had been Daisy I would have postponed the ceremony. I suppose it was the only way EBD could justify having the Maynards front row centre for the wedding.

Author:	JayB [ Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:29 pm ]
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I must say that for an experienced traveller, Joey's preparations for going to the Oberland were disorganised in the extreme. Why on earth couldn't the trunks have been sent in advance, as the school pupils' trunks always were, and Joey's party just carried what they would need for the journey? I also think they needed another experienced adult in the party. Primula was only there as an afterthought, and she was really too shy and inexperienced to be much use. Peggy or Bride or even Dick should have gone with them. Or Biddy or one of the other mistresses. This book is in some ways a tying up of loose ends in preparation for the new start in Switzerland. Robin and Daisy, who were such an important part of the Plas Howell years, are effectively written out. (EBD evidently didn't feel able to could tackle Robin's farewell scene.) Madge and Jem are pushed into the background the the extent that Jem isn't even allowed to give his own niece away at her wedding.

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Books: Joey Goes to the Oberland http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4674

Author:	patmac [ Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:10 pm ]
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I agree with JayB that this book was setting the scene for the rest of the series and so Madge, Jem, Daisy and Robin were 'disposed of'. Lesley, The measles vaccination (single vaccine not the triple one) was introduced in 1968 and so the risk of Madge infecting children she came into contact with would come into the equation and also she probably felt rotten! After the school and the Maynards moved to Switzerland the books went downhill in my opinion and became very inward looking. The 'English enclave' became the whole universe, apart from the nostalgic visits to the Tiernsee, and all main characters had to move to the Platz or, at least visit. in order to be included in the action. We lose most contact with the outside world and I was always disappointed that we learnt nothing of Swiss culture. I loved scenes like the Christmas visit to Frieda's family in the early books. There aren't even any 'real' outside characters like Grandma from the shop or The Sodger. I was quite excited when I first read the book and envisaged the future books telling stories of Swiss characters - but it never happened

Author:	JayB [ Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:27 pm ]
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Quote: Grandma from the shop Surprising (for EBD) bit of continuity at the start of Joey Goes, when she refers to 'Thirlbeck the shop'. The family evidently stayed in Howells! One bit I didn't get: When Robin is disposing of her bits of jewellery, she says to Joey: Quote: There’s that opal ring Daisy brought me from Australia for Con. When did Daisy bring Robin anything from Australia? Had she been back there after leaving school? Or is it an EBDism for Biddy? (Or is it a typo in the transcript I've got?)

Author:	Miriam [ Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:38 pm ]
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It could be one that Margot had, which Daisy inherited, and for some reason chose to pass on to Robin. Or Daisy could have gone to Australia during her medical studies. Either option does seem stretching things though. It's more likely to be EBD.

Author:	jennifer [ Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:32 am ]
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I have mixed feelings about this book. I like the scenes with both Daisy and Primula. Primula, in particular, was ignored a lot during her school days, so seeing her bond with Daisy and how they interacted was lovely. Some of the other stuff, though - the plot is very centred around Joey's inability to take care of herself. She falls in a box, and has to be sedated for the rest of the day. As others have mentioned, she seems terribly disorganized when it comes to the actual move, forgetting and misplacing things all over the place. She doesn't plan for her own needs - she sets out a gruelling international trip with loads of children (including two infants) and it's up to everyone else to ensure that she gets time to rest. What would have happened if Simone hadn't had an estate to put them up at for a few days, they hadn't run into Evadne and her father, and they hadn't had a stopover with Frieda? I'd've like to have seen Robin travel with them, for one last hurrah before going to Toronto, and to see their new home in Switzerland before she left. I can see why EBD felt the need to remove Jem, Madge, Daisy and Robin from the stories. By this point, Madge and Jem are redundant compared to Joey and Jack - the series needs only one set of parental figures for the school. Daisy and Robin are both adults at this point too, and would be rivals for Joey in her place in the series (former students with long standing ties to the school, appealing to the students, good powers of empathy). One comment that gets me Quote: They went off together and Jo grinned at Primula. "The complete elder brother! Still, he's to be trusted anywhere, and that's all that matters. He and Len are the most responsible of the whole eight. I can always trust either of them to look after the rest." This doesn't sound so bad until you realize that Len is ten and Steve is seven and the people they're to look after include Margot and Michael.

Author:	Sunglass [ Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:59 am ]
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I don't skip it. Part of me enjoys all the demented amount of sheer detail on the preparations and travelling - we practically see every towel being folded at Plas Gwyn - and the re-encounters with Simone and Frieda. I remember the first time I read it assuming that the journey to the Gornetz Platz would be accomplished within a chapter or two, and the rest of the book would be about the school and settling in - little did I know! Like other people, I am a Simone fan, and am delighted she inherits a chateau, even if I get maddened that she apparently needs Jo to tell her how to redecorate. I think, even more than the Obviously Filler stuff in this one - Joey in the crate, the boys putting blacking on themselves, ENDLESS details on how everyone arranges themselves in the various cars, boats, trains and bedrooms - my real problem with this one is simply that it's Joey at her most bumptious, even though, as someone else said, this is a novel where we're encouraged to see her as fragile and tired. Yet she dominates every single scene, is incapable of letting anyone else have the last word, ever. She even manages to take centre stage at Daisy's wedding ceremony, and grabs the limelight again as they leave for their honeymoon by hurling wedding cake and wit after the car - and interferes with Daisy and Laurie's plans to cut their honeymoon short for work-related reasons. She's very free with her opinions on other people's children, what they look like, whether they have enough of them - and the 'nigger child' and 'real family' comments, while of their time, are still obnoxious - and can't refrain from topping Simone's pleasure in having a second male child by pointing out that she has four of her own. She can't even invite people for tea without making Ecccentric Look-At-Me sandwiches. (Yet she's unwilling to be the butt of other people's jokes, expressly forbidding any discussion of her crate accident and the boys' blacking encounter.) I really find her at her most tiresome as an adult in this novel. I know EBD intends us to find her charming, unconventional and witty, as well as mother of millions, but the idea of spending ten minutes in a room with Joey as she is in this book makes me tired...

Author:	JayB [ Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:23 am ]
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Quote: Was it such a huge thing in the 1950's that someone with measles not be out in public? Madge had German measles (rubella). Was the risk to pregnant women known at the time the book was written? I find it very sad that Daisy, who had been so close to Robin in the war years, wasn't expecting to see her ever again. I think it was reasonable that Robin needed to move to the background as the new generation grew up and took over, but why did EBD need to send her all the way to Canada? It's not as if she was joining a closed Order - surely she could have joined a convent in Europe somewhere, where friends and family could visit her, even if she never appeared in the books.

Author:	Sunglass [ Thu Jun 19, 2008 11:19 am ]
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JayB wrote: Madge had German measles (rubella). Was the risk to pregnant women known at the time the book was written? I find it very sad that Daisy, who had been so close to Robin in the war years, wasn't expecting to see her ever again. No idea about whether the foetal risk was known, but did Madge even actually get German measles herself? I thought I remembered it was just one or more of the children, and that it was only a matter of waiting out quarantine in her case. And as, I think, the quarantine ended the day after Daisy's wedding, I thought it was a bit overly sticking to the letter of the law. Surely the chances of developing the infection on the final day is absolutely minimal? At least Madge could have come and stood by herself in the churchyard at a distance, not approaching anyone, or something. Uncharitably, I assume this was EBD's way of making sure Joey had no one to steal her thunder as the 'Mother' of the Bride from Hell. I also found it sad that Daisy and Robin don't expect to meet again, and also a bit odd. These two have been virtual sisters for years, as Joey's wards, from back in the early Guersey days, yet their parting is quite brief and abrupt, as though they had a far less close relationship than they must have had. It does seem strange to me that, as various Russells and Maynards trek nack and forth to Canada quite a lot over the series, that there's no assumption that Daisy's equally likely to do so. (As a medic married to a medic, they wouldn't be exactly paupers.) But more than that, does the fairly unemotional nature of this parting mean EBD simply forgot how close she'd depicted Daisy and Robin as being over the years?

Author:	Alison H [ Thu Jun 19, 2008 11:36 am ]
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I found it odd that there was no mention of either Gwensi nor Beth being at the wedding. I would've thought Daisy'd've asked them to be bridesmaids. Robin spends some time at a French convent in/just before Adrienne IIRC, but none of the "family" go to visit her there .

Author:	JayB [ Thu Jun 19, 2008 11:43 am ]
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Madge had actually been ill herself. I imagine that Robin and Daisy had said all that needed to be said privately, and this was just the final leavetaking. I think Robin is an unselfish, self-controlled person, who wouldnt want an emotional scene in public, and wouldn't want her affairs to impinge on Daisy's big day.

Author:	Bethannie [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:20 pm ]
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As a child, I travelled extensively - my dad was in the forces. We only flew once - to Singapore (35 hour flight !!!)We travelled fairly often to Germany - and the first time I flew there was 1979; we always took the train & boat. Often dad would be absent (working or gone on ahead); mum would travel with up to 5 children and baggage - main trunks sent on ahead but a dozen or so cases with us. Joey's journey sounds natural to me! Oh and we children were accomplished travellers - each had their own bag with a book/ puzzle/ doll/colouring book and wax crayons et.c Mum would have a packed meal - we never bough food on the journey - and always had damp flannels/face cloths!

Author:	Mel [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:33 pm ]
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The sheer numbers always makes me gasp in this one - eleven people in the party to be provided with beds, bedding, food etc. So much of it is idiotic, with forgotten raincoats (new bought in Paris for all the kids - did it rain again?) eight separate towels and flannels! Was it sensible to provide baskets of raspberries for the entire party? They would need those flannels after all. As for Andre's car which seated twelve not very comfortably on a longish journey. And Jo of course being the centre of all attention, needing to sleep on the train, needing a dainty supper at Simone's - what about Anna and the once delicate Primula?

Author:	Sunglass [ Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:33 pm ]
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JayB wrote: I imagine that Robin and Daisy had said all that needed to be said privately, and this was just the final leavetaking. I think Robin is an unselfish, self-controlled person, who wouldnt want an emotional scene in public, and wouldn't want her affairs to impinge on Daisy's big day. That's a nice reading of it, and you're right that neither is the histrionic type. It feels like a slightly odd omission to me, though, in this 'filler' novel, where it's not as though EBD is rushing ahead with a packed plot, or trying to fit in the events of an entire term. Mind you, the things we wonder about, because she never chooses to write about them, or only fills us in after the event (like, say, Robin's realisation of her vocation and breaking it to Jo) can feel quite jarring, to me anyway. Especially when she skips a huge plot point and then gives endless details about exactly where everyone is sitting on the trip across Europe and where they sleep at Frieda and Simone's houses, and what everyone eats at every meal. The difference appears to be that Joey is involved in the details of who's sitting where and eating what! Though you'd have thought EBD would have loved a scene in which Robin says she has a vocation, and Joey has to be all generous and wise and cover up her sadness at not having her around any more. And say things about God and callings in her 'golden voice'.

Author:	Jennie [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 11:36 am ]
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I can't stand this book, I find it absolutely unnecessary. Daisy's wedding would have been much better without Jo, and my dears, the endless packing. Why weren't those damned trunks sent off in advance, and why didn't they fly to Switzerland? A four hour flight, then night in a hotel before travelling on the next day, but no, dragging endless children and voluminous luggage all across Europe, putting other people out, what with the meals, the beds, the baths, and the long car journeys. They were staying at the school until their furniture arrived, so they could have sent enough bedding and towels on the removal vans to see them through, but no, we had to have a display of Jo at her tactless best, upsetting sevral households, not to mention several work schedules, for the people who were driving her round from one place to another. NOT one of my favourites. ETA: I find Madge far more intrinsically interesting than Jo, so I would rather she had gone to the Oberland.

Author:	JayB [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:09 pm ]
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They talk about how much the move is costing, but they're not that hard up that they couldn't have found the money for flights, and then economised in other areas. Even if only Joey and the babies had flown, and the other children travelled by train with Anna and another responsible adult, it would have been better. (I bet Anna would have a much easier time with just the children, without Joey to worry about as well.) And in any case, shouldn't the San have covered some or all of the expenses of the move?

Author:	Jennie [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:48 pm ]
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Would the youngest children have travelled free by flying. Oh, and another thing that grates: Jo and her b****y damp face flannels. I bet it was Anna who got them all ready in the mornings, and Jo who took the credit.

Author:	Liz K [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:16 pm ]
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I see no-one else has mentioned it yet, so I'll risk it! The fact that this is the book where Joey calls her children "brats". There, it's done, now you can all come down on me like a ton of bricks, ban me from the site etc. etc.

Author:	JayB [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:29 pm ]
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I was sort-of looking out for it when I was re-reading for this discussion, as it's been talked about here before, and I noticed that Jack does it too. I don't think it's intended as anything more or less than an alternative to 'kids', which I think was also sometimes used in a derogatory sense in the past - by Enid Blyton villains about the Famous Five, for example. (In fact the almost universal use of 'kids' today by everyone from Tony Blair downwards when 'children' or 'young people' would be more dignified is a pet peeve of mine, but that's another topic.) I think the use of 'brats' in Joey's case is also perhaps intended to be faux-dismissive, as in 'I wouldn't want anyone to think that I think my children are perfect or special in any way'.

Author:	Katherine [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:28 pm ]
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Liz K wrote: There, it's done, now you can all come down on me like a ton of bricks, ban me from the site etc. etc. PMs Liss to arrange banning

Author:	Liz K [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:39 pm ]
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Katherine wrote: Liz K wrote: There, it's done, now you can all come down on me like a ton of bricks, ban me from the site etc. etc. PMs Liss to arrange banning

Author:	Róisín [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:51 pm ]
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I'm really glad you brought it up Liz, as I can never remember every detail of a book myself when I'm raising these discussions. I'm sure there is plenty I've left out! That's why I always put at the end 'please raise things as you think of them' because I'm so sure of my own forgetfulness

Author:	JustJen [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 3:28 pm ]
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I call this book "Joey's grand tour and how she annoyed her friends." I never understood why Joey dragged all the kids across Europe by train when they flown. And why did she wait so long to start the packing? Not one of my favorite books

Author:	Kate [ Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:04 pm ]
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I love this book and I don't know why... I think it's the sort of mundaneness of it. It's a comfort read for me.

Author:	jennifer [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:52 am ]
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I could understand not flying - I'm not sure what plane tickets cost in those days, but I'm guessing it wasn't cheap, and the San probably covered travel by train and boat. They had eleven people with their group. and I think babies only fly free if they are in someone's laps. My family always drove on family vacations because of cost (Vancouver to Toronto - it takes five days). What doesn't make sense is Joey's complete lack of planning for the practicalities! I can think of several ways they could have made the trip less grueling. They could have gone straight for the train. Get off in France, have a meal and wash, get on a train and put the kids to sleep, rather than the motor tour of Europe. Or, get some more adults - get Beth a few weeks early, or Peggy or Bride, or even pay someone to go with them. Send Anna ahead with all the keys to sort out the movers before all the kids got there. Pack a box with nothing but linens, the tea kettle, cups and a few other essentials for the first night, and so on.

Author:	Sunglass [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:51 pm ]
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Yes, you have another instance of the Sometimes Delicate minor character in Primula - I remember the first time I read this and was amused to see Primula breezily staying up for dinner at Simone's as a matter of course, while Joey retired with light supper on a tray and nervous exhaustion, despite being able to delegate most of the childcare to Primula, Anna, Len and Steve. One thing I did notice too is that, although Primula is eighteen in this book, she doesn't count as one of the 'grown-ups' in being given wine at Andre's picnic lunch en route to Belfort.

Author:	Kate [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:20 pm ]
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We have family friends who supply whiskey liberally to anyone who calls to their house - except me. This includes my younger brother, who is 18 but doesn't drink (especially whiskey). I am 23. I don't know what it is about me... sigh They must think I'm about 14. I asked for a glass once when they asked me what I wanted to drink - they laughed uproariously and gave me a 7up.

Author:	Lesley [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:00 pm ]
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Take your own next time and make a point of drinking it so they can see - if they say anything just say that at the age of 23 you're perfectly entitled to drink alcohol and if they aren't going to provide it you have your own supply.

Author:	Mrs Redboots [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:22 pm ]
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Jennie wrote: Why didn't they fly to Switzerland? . People didn't, in those days. There may have been one or two flights a week, but they would have been extremely expensive and only used by the ultra-rich going mountaineering or ski-ing. Cheap air travel is a phenomenon of the last 20 years, and in the 1950s even Transatlantic crossings were normally done by sea. Having said that, I don't know why they didn't go by train! But then, there would have been no book - and to be honest, I don't think I'd have missed it! Re Madge - I think the link between rubella and foetal deformity may have been known then (I could be wrong!). And yes, quarantine was very, very stringently observed in those days for any of those illnesses. One thing that worries me - how did they manage for money? Back then, the amount that could be taken abroad was very limited indeed - one reason why package holidays took off, as you could go abroad and everything was paid in advance so you didn't have to worry about spending-money.

Author:	Lesley [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:18 pm ]
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Definitely the link between ruebella and foetal deformity was known then - my father tells me that, at the age of about nine, he was suddenly extremely popular with all the girls of his age when he contracted German measles - the girls Mums all sent them round to play with him in the hopes they would catch the illness then and save trouble later on. Dad's the same age as the triplets. There's also an Agatha Christie novel with that as the reason for murder. That said though - what about Jem Russell? Not only is he flitting here there and everywhere, he's visiting the Maynard household and is operating - which was the reason why he was unable to give Daisy away. Surely he should have been under quarantine too? And if not then causing him to miss being able to give away his own niece is criminal - is he the only doctor at his San able to perform surgery?

Author:	Clare [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:23 pm ]
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Mrs Redboots wrote: One thing that worries me - how did they manage for money? Back then, the amount that could be taken abroad was very limited indeed - one reason why package holidays took off, as you could go abroad and everything was paid in advance so you didn't have to worry about spending-money. That's a point, as they'd have needed sterling in Britain, francs in France etc. No wonder Joey collapsed at the first sign of hospitality - she wanted to avoid changing a load of moeny into whatever currency was needed

Author:	Kathy_S [ Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:11 pm ]
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Since this is only one book after the 'not a sausage' incident tells us just how exorbitant flying would be, I don't find it at all surprising that a party of eleven would go by train. I'm pretty sure the concept of coach fares for air travel was only just beginning in the 50s (in the U.S. -- no idea about the UK), and remember, it wouldn't have been a large capacity, high speed jet plane. (First commercial jet service in the UK began in 1952, and I don't think it was for travel within Europe -- not to mention being grounded for safety problems the year Joey Goes was published.) Of course, I especially enjoy seeing Jo's reunions with Evvy & Simone & Frieda, so am hardly likely to quibble with an itinerary that makes them possible and extends the visits with S & F. I find it odd that others think that Simone "needs" Joey to tell her what to do with the castle. From my perspective, it's more a matter of Simone looking forward to getting a rise out of Jo over such things as the bathroom, and enjoying having someone with whom to discuss things. It's pretty clear she and Andre have already come to similar conclusions, e.g. on the discomfort of stone floors, as lovely as they may be. The bantering style with only occasional heart-to-hearts is meant to convey close friendship in an "unsoppy" way acceptable for school stories, rather than negative character traits. We've also heard in two books before the "real family" bit how desperately Simone has wanted more children, and how happy Joey is when she achieves her desire -- "thrilled to the last toenail" is how it's worded in Changes, though of course she expresses it by sending off a gigantic hat. The thing that struck me as most peculiar was the idea that Primula might fall apart at being abandoned by Daisy for three weeks. Hasn't she already spent ages apart in Canada, and remained at the CS while Daisy went through her (totally ignored in this book ) medical studies? Of course she may just be nervous at the idea of making a home with Laurie Rosomon, nice boy though he seems. I do totally approve of their staying the extra day for the party. It would be downright nasty to have Prim do so much work, and then not get to stay for the fun -- especially when it's clear it won't cause a problem at the other end. Robin's farewells and vocation discussion were nicely done. I'm only sorry to see so little of her afterwards. I also enjoy having all the detail of the journey: part of what makes it real. Least favorite parts: falling in the packing case and the stove blacking incident.

Author:	JS [ Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:01 am ]
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I actually really like this book - I remember thinking it was quite grown up, when I first read it, although having just re-read it, I can see why people might find it a bit annoying. I still enjoyed it, though. The use of the 'N' word was a bit shocking to me in 2008 - can't remember noticing it when I read it as a child. Joey's suggestions on the chateau weren't as dreadful as I'd been anticipating having read other threads on the subject. She does suggest keeping what is salvageable in the way of tapestries and so on and Andre does say that while he'd love to restore it all it its former grandeur, it's just not financially possible, which seems quite realistic to me. I did think Joey's comments on 'real' families were appalling and wonder what sort of things EBD herself said that hurt her friends if she's so unthinking about the words she puts in her heroine's mouth. As for the packing minutiae, I wonder if writing this book coincided with one of EBD's major house moves? It does seem very true to life (okay, apart from the trunk episode......) Anyway, and somewhat trivially I know, I really like the cover of this book. It takes me back to childhood and the glorious booky smell of Menzieshill library, although the triplets are ALL wrong - too young and identical to boot.