Theodora And The Chalet School
It seems as though Theodora Grantley is going to be one of the Chalet School's more troublesome new pupils. Her own mother writes to Rosalie Dene to warn her that Theodora has been expelled from three schools already "for bad behaviour and insubordination". Then Miss Carthew, the much-beloved 'Carty' from Tirol days, writes to Joey Maynard to admit that it was she who recommended the Chalet School to Myra Grantley for her wayward daughter.
Joey suggests that Theodora should be assured that at the Chalet School the slate will be wiped clean for her; she is particularly insistent that Theodora should be given a new name, Ted, to go with her new start. Luckily for Joey, 'Ted' agrees readily to this.
Ted's schoolwork proves to be so patchy that she is placed in Inter V to start with in the hope that she can be promoted to Vb at half-term. In fact, she settles down comparatively well, making frends with Rosamund Lilley and Len Maynard.
Many of the girls attend the May procession and Vespers at the little Catholic chapel beyond the school. After the service the chapel is invaded by a large swarm of cockchafers which get entangled in people's hair and headgear, and the chapel has to be evacuated immediately.
Trouble for Ted comes from an unexpected quarter. Margot Maynard is intensely jealous of Ted's friendship with the other triplets, and in an especially underhand way, she discovers the truth of Ted's background and sees it as a way to torment the new girl.
Margot is also troubled by her conscience; she has accepted the gift of a clock from her great friend Emerence Hope, knowing that it's too expensive to be considered a trifle. Her uneasy state leads to a violent quarrel with her sisters and Ted in the course of which she lets slip Ted's secret. In the end, it is the indomitable head girl, Mary-Lou Trelawney, who takes it upon herself to 'butt in' and resolve the trouble between the triplets and Ted.
Christina Erskine, England __ working from a hardback edition
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