Rachael Eyre's Blog - Posts Tagged "genres"
Favourite Genres: Girls' School Stories
(I've hit upon a sensible solution for the blogs. Rather than write one every week, which was an insane amount of work and distracted me from my primary goal, i.e. completing my current novel, I'll write one whenever I feel moved. There will still be regular updates on my Facebook page and Twitter feed).
Every reader has a pet genre that they'll deny if asked about it, but indulge to their heart's content. Numerous generations of my family enjoyed what I'll call, for want of a better phrase, sex and pirates; others prefer the 'paranormal being starts up a detective agency' subgenre (vampires being the likeliest candidates for this career move). Mine is girls' school stories with an edge.
The genesis seems clear enough. I'd inherited boxes of my mum and grandma's books, meaning oodles of plucky working class girls winning scholarships to celebrated private or boarding schools. They must have been heady fantasies for girls destined for their local comp. Then I achieved one of these coveted 'assisted places' (as they were known) and learned it was no laughing matter.
The conventional school story, as produced by Elinor Brent Dyer or Enid Blyton by the bucketload, is one of comforting predictability. Heroines are hardworking and honest, desperate to conform; there may be the odd wildcard with delusions but she's always squelched by the story's end. God help you if you ever crossed Joey Bettany, Brent Dyer's author avatar! Anyone who tried it would be forced to publicly recant and reduced to a pathetic, snivelling wreck. (Only confirming my suspicion that Joey was in fact the Anti Christ).
As I grew older and discovered that life in girls' schools wasn't all jolly hockey sticks and house points - was, in fact, a hothouse of injustice and emotion, I sought out books that told the truth about these institutions. Though it's years since the prison gates clanged shut - and years since my schooldays were laid to rest with Rose Grubb - it remains one of my guilty pleasures, and the one I automatically identify with.
Here are three of the best the genre has to offer. Whether you like sinister nuns, passionate vampires or sapphic school mistresses, there's something for everyone.
Frost in May by Antonia White
Frost in May scores points for being barely distinguishable from the "traditional" school story - at first glance. I first read it aged nine, and completely missed its undercurrents. It's only when you read it as an adult that you find yourself outraged by the nuns' mind games and dictatorial rulings on class and sex. (The heroine is reprimanded for admiring her friend's eyes, for crying out loud!)
The story is short and simply told. Nanda goes to school at the Convent of Four Wounds to please her starchy convert father. Unfortunately she's too stubborn and individual to submit to their brainwashing, and is eventually expelled for writing a "dirty" book. (Bear in mind she's only fourteen, and has no idea what these "nameless depravities" actually are). It contains the chilling statement that "no human will is any good unless it has been broken and reset in God's own way." Brr.
No Talking After Lights by Angela Lambert
One of the first 'adult' school stories I read, it's notable for having three perspectives: Constance the bookish, despised new girl; Henrietta the genteel headmistress, nursing her dying husband - and Sylvia the Biology teacher. Sylvia is a monster, a predatory lesbian who lusts after Hermione, the prettiest girl in school (but also one of the most vapid). It goes without saying that she is the reason why I've read this book so many times.
The action covers a single term at the less than top drawer boarding school. Who is committing all the thefts? Will Constance make any friends? Will Sylvia seduce Hermione? The story cleverly keeps you guessing.
The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein
The Moth Diaries is the only entry where the characters are the same age as its intended audience, i.e. sixteen. Don't let that, or the execrable film starring Lily Cole, put you off.
Our nameless diarist has been at boarding school for a year. She is best friends with sweet, saccharine Lucy, who she possibly loves. (She refuses to admit she's gay, though). Everything changes when Ernessa, a moody sophisticate from Austria, turns up. She steals Lucy, which is bad enough, but the narrator's course on the supernatural raises disturbing questions. Could Ernessa be a vampire?
Honourable mentions go to:
The Wives of Bath by Susan Swan - Very loosely adapted as Lost and Delirious, this is a story about first love, gender identity and a terrible crime.
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay - The subject of one of Australia's most acclaimed art house films. A group of schoolgirls and their teacher vanish without trace on a picnic, shattering their community.
Cracks by Sheila Kohler - When schoolgirl rivalries and inappropriate teacher/student relationships collide. The film version (starring Eva Green) is superior.
Every reader has a pet genre that they'll deny if asked about it, but indulge to their heart's content. Numerous generations of my family enjoyed what I'll call, for want of a better phrase, sex and pirates; others prefer the 'paranormal being starts up a detective agency' subgenre (vampires being the likeliest candidates for this career move). Mine is girls' school stories with an edge.
The genesis seems clear enough. I'd inherited boxes of my mum and grandma's books, meaning oodles of plucky working class girls winning scholarships to celebrated private or boarding schools. They must have been heady fantasies for girls destined for their local comp. Then I achieved one of these coveted 'assisted places' (as they were known) and learned it was no laughing matter.
The conventional school story, as produced by Elinor Brent Dyer or Enid Blyton by the bucketload, is one of comforting predictability. Heroines are hardworking and honest, desperate to conform; there may be the odd wildcard with delusions but she's always squelched by the story's end. God help you if you ever crossed Joey Bettany, Brent Dyer's author avatar! Anyone who tried it would be forced to publicly recant and reduced to a pathetic, snivelling wreck. (Only confirming my suspicion that Joey was in fact the Anti Christ).
As I grew older and discovered that life in girls' schools wasn't all jolly hockey sticks and house points - was, in fact, a hothouse of injustice and emotion, I sought out books that told the truth about these institutions. Though it's years since the prison gates clanged shut - and years since my schooldays were laid to rest with Rose Grubb - it remains one of my guilty pleasures, and the one I automatically identify with.
Here are three of the best the genre has to offer. Whether you like sinister nuns, passionate vampires or sapphic school mistresses, there's something for everyone.
Frost in May by Antonia White
Frost in May scores points for being barely distinguishable from the "traditional" school story - at first glance. I first read it aged nine, and completely missed its undercurrents. It's only when you read it as an adult that you find yourself outraged by the nuns' mind games and dictatorial rulings on class and sex. (The heroine is reprimanded for admiring her friend's eyes, for crying out loud!)
The story is short and simply told. Nanda goes to school at the Convent of Four Wounds to please her starchy convert father. Unfortunately she's too stubborn and individual to submit to their brainwashing, and is eventually expelled for writing a "dirty" book. (Bear in mind she's only fourteen, and has no idea what these "nameless depravities" actually are). It contains the chilling statement that "no human will is any good unless it has been broken and reset in God's own way." Brr.
No Talking After Lights by Angela Lambert
One of the first 'adult' school stories I read, it's notable for having three perspectives: Constance the bookish, despised new girl; Henrietta the genteel headmistress, nursing her dying husband - and Sylvia the Biology teacher. Sylvia is a monster, a predatory lesbian who lusts after Hermione, the prettiest girl in school (but also one of the most vapid). It goes without saying that she is the reason why I've read this book so many times.
The action covers a single term at the less than top drawer boarding school. Who is committing all the thefts? Will Constance make any friends? Will Sylvia seduce Hermione? The story cleverly keeps you guessing.
The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein
The Moth Diaries is the only entry where the characters are the same age as its intended audience, i.e. sixteen. Don't let that, or the execrable film starring Lily Cole, put you off.
Our nameless diarist has been at boarding school for a year. She is best friends with sweet, saccharine Lucy, who she possibly loves. (She refuses to admit she's gay, though). Everything changes when Ernessa, a moody sophisticate from Austria, turns up. She steals Lucy, which is bad enough, but the narrator's course on the supernatural raises disturbing questions. Could Ernessa be a vampire?
Honourable mentions go to:
The Wives of Bath by Susan Swan - Very loosely adapted as Lost and Delirious, this is a story about first love, gender identity and a terrible crime.
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay - The subject of one of Australia's most acclaimed art house films. A group of schoolgirls and their teacher vanish without trace on a picnic, shattering their community.
Cracks by Sheila Kohler - When schoolgirl rivalries and inappropriate teacher/student relationships collide. The film version (starring Eva Green) is superior.
