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#1: Books: Two Chalet School Girls in India Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:03 pm
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Published in December 2006, this Bettany Press filler was written by Priyadarshini Narendra.

"Two Chalet Girls in India" was a real manuscript written by EBD and then lost. She had written it as a holiday story, and kept the details of what happened during this book in her head and referred to them later. The events took place during the seventh year since School At. We know a few things that took place in this lost book. These are: that Joey had trouble with the attentions of a young doctor at the San; that Joey and Robin visited Dick and Mollie in Coorg; that Joey made friends with Dacia there (later mother of Erica Standish); and that Maeve and Maurice are born whilst they are there. Narendra is the second fill-in author to attempt a description of these events - the first was Carol Allan in Gillian of the Chalet School - however Allan concentrated on school happenings and only told Joey's story in India via letters.

In Two Chalet School Girls in India, Joey has to deal with an unwanted suitor and the Robin is in need of a break after losing her father earlier that year. Dick and Mollie send an invitation and the two girls go to India for a visit, to spend the winter there. Mollie helps Joey try some new hairstyles and clothes. Robin discovers a new relation in a young prince. There is an episode where the girls with Mollie are threatened by a wild elephant, but it turns out to be a mistake. The book is very strong on detailed descriptions of Indian culture - Joey tries to immerse herself in it.

So what did you think of this book? Do you think that Narendra was right to break with GGB tradition/canon and give Joey's suitor a different name? Was the Robin's outburst realistic? Were the mishaps and adventures suitably 'EBD-ish'? What do you think about the characterisations and the lifestyle of Mollie and Dick? What about the way that Narendra handled the material that EBD left us to work with - could this book have been written a very different way?

There are lots of things that can be discussed about this book - please join in below Very Happy

Next Sunday: Gillian of the Chalet School

#2: Author: Miss Di, Location: Newcastle, NSW

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:38 am
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Generally I liked it. But (there is always a but isn't there) I found the Robin related to Maharani plot annoying as it is never mentioned again. Lovely and romantic, yes. But Not Cannon. Also it reminded me too much of the plot of Adrienne.

I can see exactly why Joey was so horrified at the goings on of the girls out looking for husbands - she had been brought up in a very sheltered environment - at school, either learning or teaching, pretty much up to this point. So their attitudes and antics would have been a shock.

#3: Author: Fiona Mc, Location: Bendigo, Australia

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 6:14 am
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After reading a lot of negative comments about this book, I really liked it. Yes it was disconcerting to have a different name for the doctor after Jo but I did like how it was handled here better and the way it showed how Jo grew up and matured from girl to adult and tried different thing such as hairstyles and clthes. I also thought the author captured the feel of Anglo-India. They are some of my favourite parts of the book. All up I did enjoy the book but like Miss Di I found the thing about Robin's relative although nice was out of sync with the books

#4: Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:03 am
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I really enjoyed this book - it was fascinating seeing the India of that time, and the English community over there. I don't have a problem with the things like the renaming of the doctor - EBD didn't name him, so IMO Priya was entitled to do as she did and come up with her own name for him. Character names are a very personal thing for a writer, I think, and therefore the name has to be right for the character as you (the writer) see them.

All the stuff with Dacia and her friends was lovely - I loved Jo becoming more grown up, changing her look and then learning that she actually liked herself better as she originally was - I think that was really well handled. And the little romances work well, too, as part of Jo's maturing. Nice contrast between the way Jo deals with the young Sonnalpe doctor and with her Indian romance.

The Robin's relatives plot, whilst quite EBDish, didn't quite work for me, but I liked the attempt, and enjoyed seeing the girls get out and about and see other parts of India.

There's a few anachronisms here and there - the English Christmas actually sounds completely un-English to me, much more American - but nothing hugely significant or that a UK based editor couldn't fix pretty easily.

The one thing that really jarred was Mollie. I just can't buy lovely, jolly, friendly, down to earth, mother of four Mollie as a superficial 1930s upper class party girl. I like the fact that Jo meets girls like that, obsessed with husband hunting, flirting, cards, dances, frocks etc. but I don't like the fact that Mollie is one of them. And I didn't like the rather brittle, ships-that-pass-in-the-night impression given of the Bettany's marriage. I don't think any of that really gels with what we later see of the Bettanys as a loving couple, as much friends as partners, who adore their kids.

If Priya could have suggested that Mollie was missing her children desperately / was lonely with Dick working so hard, and that throwing herself into the life in that way was perhaps her way of getting by and not thinking about things too much, then maybe I could have accepted it, but....

All in all, though, for a book that many of us had preconceived ideas about and high expectations of (given that we have all probably spent years wondering what happened in the "real" Two Chalet Girls in India), I think it works really well.

#5: Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 1:32 pm
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I absolutely loved the descriptions of 1930s colonial India in this book - the author really brought it alive in a wonderful colourful way. But the novel was spoiled for me by the depiction of Mollie, to be honest. I could never, ever, imagine Mollie Bettany to be like that. Neither could I picture her giving Joey a makeover. The closest EBD came to makeovers was in Oberland when Peggy puts a light shade of lipstick on Edna.

Overall I liked the idea behind the book but there were too many interjections that the author had thought up herself and which weren't proper filler material because they were never referred to again in the series. I'd include the Robins' coincidental relationship in this, as well as Joey's makeover.

Maybe another read of it would be good Very Happy

#6: Author: Fiona Mc, Location: Bendigo, Australia

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:44 am
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I actually thought Joey's makeover was handled well because it shows that she thought about it, tried other things and then went with what she was comfortable with.

#7: Author: Rosalin, Location: Swansea

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:09 pm
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I'm another one who really enjoyed the descriptions of India in this book. I liked the way Joey grew up too. The experimentation with her hairstyle and dress seemed realistic to me, and I wasn't really bothered that it was never referred to again. There aren't many places later in the series where she might have wanted to tell someone about her teenage experiments with a different look. The only place where I think it might be relevant is when Len is discussing wearing her hair in a ponytail, and as Joey isn't in favour she is unlikely to encourage Len by talking about her own image change.

At the time of reading I also liked the upper class party girl portrayal of Mollie, but only because I wasn't thinking of her as the same Mollie from EBDs books. I thought the portrayal was convincing, but it really wasn't our Mollie.

Two things jarred for me. Some of the writing just didn't feel authentic, and the Robin's long lost relative. There are too many of them in canon, without adding any more. And him not being mentioned again did bother me. Robin is around for quite a long time after this and it's very unlikely she would never again mention her only living (as far as she knew) relative. I suppose he could have died in childhood, but I think he would have been mentioned again.

#8: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:22 pm
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I just had to go and look up what the doctor was called in Gillian, and now I can't stop laughing - Dr Hunter! It is supposed to be a joke, isn't it?

It's fab. I'm so going to write my crossover drabble now *inspired*

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

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:23 pm
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*lol* Yes, and there was this joke that amused me:

Quote:

Jo calls him ‘Fortune Hunter’, and I’m beginning to think she may have a valid point.

#10: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:43 am
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Now that I've read this one....

Overall, I don't think I'm going to be able to accept it as "real" the way I do some of the other fill-ins. I haven't completely figured out why, maybe just general atmosphere, but I think partly it's the dialog, particularly with Jo, who doesn't seem to have her usual sparkle and throws around some stage-Englishman words that aren't usual for her, and Mollie, who sort of ratchets between supercilious socialite and affectionate Irish. Also I think Dr. Hunter is too deeply ingrained in my world view, so I found the American guy annoying in more than the way he's supposed to be annoying.

I did enjoy the book, though. As everyone's said, the perspective on India not too long before independence is fascinating. I was also highly amused by the author's engineering local versions of the handy hut in a blizzard, cooking disaster, and even Robin's lost relative, which works for me in a drabblish sort of way. Oh, yes, and I loved Elisaveta's romantic flying lessons, and quite liked the way Jack's status morphed and Joey became more engaged with Catholicism, though I think EBD would have been more oblique.

I appreciated the efforts to bring in the "knowns" about the original version, including the pictures from Queechy. Laughing

I can't believe I'm saying this given that I often skim the pageant scenes in EBD, but I wish there'd been more detail on the play, since I was sitting there thinking Jo'd need quite an imagination -- particularly getting a Christmas play out of a book with no Christmases on stage. Maybe it was a case of confuzzled LMMs, or another instance of titles being swapped around in other countries? (Yes, I had to reread the LMM to make sure I wasn't going crazy.)

Quote:

The English Christmas actually sounds completely un-English to me, much more American

It didn't seem particularly American, either, with the possible exceptions of the popcorn strings and the out-of-place (I virtually always think it's out-of-place Confused

) 'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.' I was assuming it was supposed to be a unique amalgam cum homesickness preventative -- though perhaps Jo's reference to English Christmas would oppose this. (Q: At this point, wouldn't Jo be more homesick for Tyrolean Christmas?) I was a little startled that there was no reference to Christmas services, even in the absence thereof.

I really would like to see a GGB version of the book, preferably with a more sympathetic Mollie & a less invisible Dick. I'm also still overwhelmingly curious about "the forestry," but that's probably just me.

#11: Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:03 pm
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Quote:

I'm also still overwhelmingly curious about "the forestry," but that's probably just me.

Some Googling brought up this:
http://www.edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/forestry/history.htm
Don't know how accurate it is.

I remember Dick once complaining about his boss insisting on trying to grow species that were unsuited to the local conditions.

#12: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:23 pm
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I didn't like Mollie at all - she was too different to the Mollie we see everywhere else. Robin's new relation was a bit forced and unreal - he woud definitely have been emntioned again.
I don't have any problems with the doctor's name. Only the original EBD books are cannon, so names for people she didn't name are fair game.
Overall I enjoyed the book as a book, though not necessarily as a fill-in, and will re-read at some point.

#13: Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:00 pm
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Kathy_S wrote:

Quote:

The English Christmas actually sounds completely un-English to me, much more American

It didn't seem particularly American, either, with the possible exceptions of the popcorn strings and the out-of-place (I virtually always think it's out-of-place Confused

I think that was my comment Very Happy

What made it seem American (or rather, un-English) to me? I think (and it's ages since I read the thing!) it was the popcorn strings and the food, mainly - where were the sprouts and carrots? And the latter, I probably wouldn't have thought anything of, given that they are in India, if PN hadn't made such a thing of it being a really English Christmas.

Can anyone remind me of what they did eat for Christmas lunch? Then I can see if my memory is playing tricks on me...

Very Happy

#14: Author: Angela, Location: Huddersfield

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:05 pm
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I wasn't keen at all, in fact it's the only fill in/continuation book I have only read once. I thought the Robin story line was improbable.

I will read it again though, to see if I change my mind Smile

#15: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 3:52 am
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Quote:

Can anyone remind me of what they did eat for Christmas lunch? Then I can see if my memory is playing tricks on me...

Decor:
Tall pillar candles
little lights in mud pots
crêpe paper streamers
strings of popcorn (not on the Christmas tree = un-American)
altar with beautiful statue of Christ and a cross (Has anyone ever experienced this?)

beautifully decorated table
place-cards
boxes of crackers
gleaming white tablecloth
ruby coloured glasses
Willow Patter plates
Christmas ornaments on Thuja tree in clay pot.

Pre-lunch activities:
Christmas Bible reading (which gospel not specified)
Dick reads from A Christmas Carol
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer (Dacia)
Silent Night in German & English (Joey)
Carols from different countries

Menu:
oyster soup with tiny cheese crackers
roast duck with new potatoes and peas
crisp green salad
enormous Christmas pudding, blazing merrily, and containing thimble, gold coin & delicate filigree gold ring.

It's the Christmas crackers and pudding that sound English to me, presumably because I've never seen either in person. Not sure about the duck, as in my experience they inhabit Chinese restaurants, and the new potatoes I associate with Easter. But this is India, after all!

#16: Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 12:05 pm
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Quote:

altar with beautiful statue of Christ and a cross (Has anyone ever experienced this?)

Not at Christmas - it sounds more like Easter. You'd be much more likely to have a model of the Nativity scene in the stable, with all the characters.

Quote:

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Was this even written at the time the book is set? Anyway, it's definitely American. It doesn't really fit in with the Bible reading and carols. I doubt if it would have been part of a Bettany Christmas in the 1930s.

Quote:

oyster soup with tiny cheese crackers
roast duck with new potatoes and peas
crisp green salad

Goose or turkey, roast potatoes, stuffing, selection of veg, gravy etc would be more typical of an English Christmas. But I suppose they would go with what was locally available and appropriate to the climate.

#17: Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 12:41 pm
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Quote:

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Not according to here. It was written in 1939 and became popular in the years after that.

#18: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 1:59 am
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The author does say explicitly that "Dacia contributed a gay American song, 'Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer'," so she's not trying to palm it off as part of a traditional Bettany Christmas. She also makes it clear that Joey is originally very worried about how different Christmas in India is going to be from home, but is trying not to hurt Dick & Mollie's feelings by letting them know. So perhaps Joey's "It's hard to believe this isn't Christmas in England" during the pudding is just meant to show that the meal has felt right after all.

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

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:12 am
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The only problem with the song is that it hadn't been written at the time that Joey and Robin visited! They must have visited before the Anschluss (1938) and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer wasn't published untol 1939! Laughing

#20: Author: Katherine, Location: London, UK

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 2:56 pm
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Roast duck seems fair enough to me. I think goose would be more traditional though.

#21: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:59 am
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Lesley wrote:

The only problem with the song is that it hadn't been written at the time that Joey and Robin visited! They must have visited before the Anschluss (1938) and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer wasn't published untol 1939! Laughing

Dacia knew the author and got an advanced copy?

From what I can find, the story was written in 1939 (for a US department store), but the song was even later than that - 1947 or 1949 (ish) depending on the source.

And, the originally story is very different from the song and movies (Rudolph didn't live in the North Pole - he was an ordinary deer that Santa ran into whilst delivering presents).

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