Elinor Brent-Dyer - Out of print titles

A Head Girl's Difficulties

(A Head Girl's Difficulties is no 2 in the La Rochelle series, which is connected to the Chalet School series) The series as a whole provides essential connectors to the Chalet Series, and A Head Girl’s Difficulties tells the story of Blossom Willoughby’s mother, Rosamund Atherton, when she was a girl. At the end of the book, we learn that the Atherton family will be going on holiday to Guernsey (where they reappear in the next book in the series, The Maids of La Rochelle). Click here to see some pages from A Head Girl's Difficulties. At the beginning of the book, we learn that a few years before, Rosamund’s father had made an unexpected return from being a prisoner of war (in World War 1) and Adrianne Fitzpatrick has filled us in on what happened in her short story, The Gift. An outbreak of diphtheria leads to several deaths of not totally minor characters, and Sally Dore has provided us with an introductory article on EBD and children’s deaths. There are four black and white plates by Nina K Brisley. GGBP published A Head Girl’s Difficulties in June 2008. A Head Girl's Difficulties went out of print in February 2011.

(The Bettanys of Taverton High is set before the start of The School at the Chalet)

In a small town in the south west of England, a young woman named Madge Bettany is facing an impossible situation. Her income has mysteriously dwindled to almost nothing, and her little sister’s poor health means that going out to work is not an option. How Madge and Joey pull together in the face of adversity is the theme of this forerunner to the Chalet School series as we follow the fortunes of the Bettany family in the run-up to the founding of the Chalet School. Meet the Bettanys’ old muddler of a guardian, and see Joey and her friends in their ‘old’ school.  No spoilers – this is a story in its own right, but the discerning Chalet fan can trace the progress of Madge’s evolving plan! Family story or school story? Read it and form your own judgement.

Click here to see some pages from The Bettanys of Taverton High.

Helen Barber is the author of A Chalet School Headmistress (now out of print) and she has also contributed stories and articles to several GGBP Chalet School reprints.

The book has a full colour frontispiece.

GGBP published The Bettanys of Taverton High in November 2008.

The New Chalet School

The New Chalet School was cut in half when published in paperback by Armada, the first half in 1975 as The New Chalet School, and the second half in 1988 as The United Chalet School. Click here to see a few sample pages from The New Chalet School. The ‘new’ of its title refers to the fact that this is the term that St Scholastika becomes part of the Chalet School and Miss Annersley becomes Head, but it is also ’new’ in that Joey really has left, even though she continues to play a major part. This is also the term in which the Mystic M feature with their tricks on the Chalet School, which in the end help both schools to become one. The GGBP edition comes with an article by Adrianne Fitzpatrick on St Hilda, and a short story by Helen Barber on how ’the Abbess’ came by her nickname. GGBP published The New Chalet School in June 2009. It went out of print on 30th September 2012.

The Chalet School in Exile (no 14)

The Chalet School in Exile was published by Girls Gone By a few years ago, and we decided to re-issue it in 2009 in order to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.

Click here to see some pages from The Chalet School in Exile.

Exile was without doubt Elinor’s strongest Chalet School title, and indeed it was this title which enabled the series to continue. Chambers had thought that there should be no more titles after Jo Returns to the Chalet School, and although they did allow publication of The New Chalet School, without the Anschluss and all that Elinor made of it, the series would have finished.

As well as all she does with the issue of the Nazis, Elinor moves the story of the school on, so that by the end of the book, Joey not only is married, but also has her triplet daughters.

The original GGBP edition did not have extra introductory material, but with this new edition we have included a short story from Carol Allan, author of Gillian of the Chalet School, entitled A Fateful Day at the Sonnalpe, which won a competition in the Friends of the Chalet School magazine some years ago, and which fills in one of the gaps in Exile. Ruth Jolly has written a very helpful guideline to events leading up to the Anschluss, and this is illustrated with maps by Peter Jolly.

GGBP published The Chalet School in Exile in April 2003 and reprinted it in August 2009.

Carola Storms the Chalet School (No 23)

Carola Storms the Chalet School is set on St Briavel’s and is the book in which we meet Carola Johnson. Click here to see some pages from Carola Storms the Chalet School. Biddy O’Ryan returns to the School after her years in Australia, and Catharine Vaughan-Pow has written a short story on Biddy’s time in Australia.This is also the book which includes the famous incident at the Bosherton Lily Ponds and Adrianne Fitzpatrick has written a fascinating article on the Ponds and nearby Pembroke Castle, having made a special visit to research this.When published as an Armada paperback, Carola had minor frequent cuts, leaving out many of the things which make the Chalet books so special. GGBP published Carola Storms the Chalet School in August 2008. It went out of print on 9th November 2011.

Bride Leads the Chalet School (no 27)

Bride was one of the first titles GGBP published, back in 2002. Bride is no 27 in the CS series and is set on the island. But this term there are real problems as a result of another Chalet School closing down …  For the 2011 edition, Helen Barber wrote an article about girls who do not fit in at the Chalet School, as background to EBD's portrayal of the impossible Diana Skelton. And Adrianne Fitzpatrick wrote a short story, In the Strangest Places. The new edition of Bride Leads the Chalet School was published in March 2011 and went out of print on 20 January 2012.

A Genius at the Chalet School (no 35)

When published in paperback by Armada, A Genius at the Chalet School  was split into two books, A Genius at the Chalet School  and Chalet School Fête, with extra material being written by Elinor herself. We have included this extra material so that you have the story complete as never before. The publishing history explains just what did happen with the text in the paperbacks, and the mysterious mistake over the timing of Cecil’s birth. Click here to see some pages from A Genius at the Chalet School. The genius of the title is Nina Rutherford, and Sally Dore has provided a ‘musical’ introduction. This is also an important book, since we meet an Old Girl of St Scholastica’s who is to play a major part in the rest of the series. GGBP published A Genius at the Chalet School in September 2007. Genius went out of print in March 2011.

Excitements at the Chalet School  (no 38)

Excitements at the Chalet School is the book in which plans are made about the Chalet School’s Coming of Age. There is also the inevitable new girl, and Adrianne Fitzpatrick has written a short story about Charmain before she comes to the Chalet School. Click here to see some pages from Exciterments at the Chalet School. There is drama as well - hinted at by the cover illustration - and Nina proves that she is more than just a musical genius. The Armada paperback had minor, frequent cuts. As a real ‘extra’ in this book, since it has nothing to do with the plot, Helen McClelland wrote an article about Elinor’s mother’s grave, which was only discovered shortly before GGBP published Excitements and was the last article which Helen wrote for GGBP before she died. GGBP published Excitements at the Chalet School in December 2007. Excitements went out of print in August 2011.

Adrienne and the Chalet School (no 53)

This is the book in which we meet, once again, Robin, last seen in Joey Goes to the Oberland, and such a key person in the first half of the Chalet School Books. This led Ann Mackie-Hunter to write an introductory article on Robin, with particular reference to her vocation.

But Robin is not the heroine of this book, it is a young girl called Adrienne, who appears in grim surroundings at the beginning, and develops into a real Chalet School girl, with a Chalet connection as well.

Click here to see some sample pages from Adrienne and the Chalet School.

The book was only published once in hardback and once in Armada paperback, and is thus very rare.

GGBP published Adrienne and the Chalet School in March 2009.

Two Sams at the Chalet School (no 56)

Two Sams at the Chalet School provides us with not one, but two new girls.

Nina Rutherford appears once again, and Joey’s youngest girl, Phil, goes through a bad patch and is helped by one of the Sams.

At the end, there is a ‘big surprise’ for the two Sams which led Helen Barber to write an introductory article on Long Lost Relatives in EBD.

Katherine Bruce, author of Peace Comes to the Chalet School, has written a short story which, while it begins before School at the Chalet ends during the term described in Two Sams.

Two Sams was published once by Armada and thus is a very rare title both in its original hardback, and in Armada paperback.

GGBP published Two Sams at the Chalet School in November 2008.