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Feud in the Fifth Remove

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#1: Feud in the Fifth Remove Author: Josie, Location: London

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 7:00 am

Please discuss here...

#2: Author: Guest,

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 3:51 am

Can someone give me a plot summary? This looks interesting...

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

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 7:10 am

This is a brief summary from the New Chalet Club site:

Philathea Marriott returns to the Abbey High School for the Christmas Term to discover that she and two of her friends, Dorcas Boyd and Dorinda Chesney have been moved up, but Agatha Finlayson is left in Upper Fourth. Two new girls, Beatrice and Brenda Lowe (no relation) are also members of the Fifth Remove.

It soon becomes clear that Brenda, who is from a wealthy family, looks down on the girls who are not well off, and opposes the school atmosphere that is 'utterly unsnobbish'. She is particularly contemptuous of Philathea, whose father owns a bookshop, and of Beatrice, who won a scholarship to the school.

A feud erupts between Brenda and her friends, including Lotty and Adeline, the most badly behaved girls in the school, and the rest of the form. Several conflicts occur within the form, including Philathea's selection of the netball team, and outside it, as Brenda and her friends defy the prefects, including Vida, Philathea's sister.

Matters come to a head when a quarrel between Brenda and Philathea leads to a terrible accident, but the term ends happily when the feud is ended.

Spoiler version here

This book is basically a showcase for EBD's pet topic of class snobbery. As with Gerry Goes To School, there is a strike led by Brenda against the power of the Prefects.

There is also echoes of the Triplets incident where Margot throws the bookend at Betty Landon, with Philathea pulling Brenda off a desk and they end up fighting, badly bumping Philathea's head in the process. 'Another eighth of an inch and she might have been killed.' - familiar, anyone?

#4: Author: Guest,

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 10:13 pm

Looks really interesting . Wish there was a transcript...

#5: Author: Catrin, Location: Wirral (holidays), Oxford (term)

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 1:17 pm

Philathea? And the Thrilling term at Janeways has Philomena, Philomela, etc - is there a reason for all these Phils?

#6: Author: Gabrielle, Location: Near Paris, France

Posted: Mon May 02, 2005 1:16 am

I actually own it, sadly its not with me now. I was never overly impressed with it, it was long, convaluted and things that didn't matter did. There are more bizarre names besides Philalthea but can't remember them.

#7: Author: Joey, Location: Cambridge

Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 10:16 am

I quite enjoyed this. Not as good as Janeways or Lost Staircase, but infinitely better than New Housemistress!

Some aspects of the school struck me as quite Chalet-y (is that a word?) - the prefect system, for instance (though they seem to be even stricter at the Abbey High School!), and the insistence on non-snobbishness.

I would have liked to know more about the history of Philathea's family. The little we got was quite tantalising, and I do think historical writing is one of EBD's strengths and it's a shame she didn't do more. Though I must say, even if your ancestors have had a penchant for ladies with unusual names (Vida, Philathea and Salathiel), perpetuating the tradition in the names of your daughters is a little excessive!

I'd also have liked to see the idea that Brenda and Beatrice might be related expanded on. Although Brenda denies it hotly, there is some resemblance, and I think that was an idea EBD could have developed.

On the whole, though not one of EBD's best, this is a good book and worth reading.

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