The Chalet School Books and the Twentieth Century

<p>The first full-length study of this beloved children’s series, <i>The Chalet School in the Twentieth Century</i> moves beyond the largely-generic analysis within which it has previously been discussed. Published between 1925 and 1970, the series moves from European reconciliation after the Great War, through a second global conflict to a post-war world increasingly defined by increased secularity and emerging consumerism. Reproducing cover illustrations, Miles Booy’s book examines both those issues which author Elinor M. Brent-Dyer consciously explored (such as the exceptional <i>The Chalet School in Exile</i>, which sought to explain the Nazi occupation of Austria to her young readers) and those aspects of the text which must be read symptomatically. This is a book which will engage students with historical and cultural interests beyond children’s literature. With barely a midnight feast in sight, but much anxiety about social change, it’s a familiar genre, but not as you think you know it. Hurry up, new girls, class is about to begin...</p>