A Difficult Term at the Chalet School

Chalet School - Complete

by Lisa Townsend

A Difficult Term for the Chalet School covers the term between Three Go to the Chalet School and The Chalet School and the Island. This is the term when Annis Lovell arrives at the School, and when things go wrong with the drains. It is the last term at Plas Howell.

Genres: School Stories, Childrens, Fiction, School

268 pages, ebook

First published November 11, 2010

Reviews

[Betsy A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story by Lisa Townsend is one of the many “fill-in” novels to EBD’s Chalet School series. It takes place in the Spring Term, in between “Three Go to the Chalet School” and before the “The Chalet School and the Island”. In EBD’s Chalet School series, a character named Annis Lovell is referenced as being a problem in “The Chalet School and the Island”, but her introduction to the school was never written as a separate story. Here, Lisa Townsend writes Annis’s story, and provides the back story for the school’s move to St. Briarel’s Island from Armiford.

Annis Lovell is an orphan, for her father has been lost at sea and her mother is long dead. She was given into the care of her cousin, and lives a gypsy existence. Her cousin, Mrs. Bain, constantly moves and does not wish to be saddled with Annis. Rather than letting her stay with Annis’s friends, she forces her to attend the Chalet School. Annis is determined to act out as much as possible so she will be expelled and go live with her friends. She is the only new Senior, and refuses to adapt to CS ways, confusing her fellow students. She refuses to speak German, blaming them for losses in her family, including her father, won’t listen to the prefects, is rude to the mistresses, and manages to divide the form into factions. A visit to Joey’s house as a new girl helps her feel better, but things go downhill nonetheless. She has trouble sleeping, and her health suffers. Hearing Margot’s story and seeing how ill the little girl has been, she feels a connection to that particular Triplet. A midnight dare in the Lower Third embroils both Annis and Margot unexpectedly, but they make it through. Soon after, the school is hit with an unexplained ailment that affects almost everyone at different times, with much instruction time lost. Everyone is puzzled, and the inhabitants of the school keep getting sick, including Margot who is in grave peril but manages to pull through. Annis gets in trouble for keeping her father’s cigarette case as a keepsake, and winds up in full scale rebellion after a terrible letter from her cousin. Before she can be punished however, she succumbs to the school sickness. The staff determines the illness is from faulty drains, and make plans to close school early and find another location where the school can reopen. The annual Sale still continues, although outside people cannot attend due to the illnesses, but they still have a successful Sale, particularly due to Tom’s dollhouse. Annis settles down, and the stage is set for a successful upcoming term.

This story is one of my favorite fill-ins. Everything is well done and fits in completely with the series; the characters are spot on, the story is compelling, and the reader is made to root for Annis despite her obstreperous behavior. Lisa Townsend does an excellent job in crafting plausible scenarios for the events in EBD’s books. It includes the usual excellent and informative afterword and foreword most GGBP fill-in novels have. This is a don’t miss!

[Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really Really great!

[Keren · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like CS fill ins this is well worth the read.

Lisa keep to EBDs style of writing.

The details are things we wanted to know.

This book definitely fits in with the chalet school series.

[Readsandeats · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice to read this fill and get teh background on some of the characters like Annis. It also expelined more about the reason the Chalet School had to move.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very similar style to EBD, with the awful Joey acting as the boss of everyone. Imagine if ordinary parents acted the way she did. And heads of a San not knowing what caused an epidemic. Very EBD!

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Chalet School fill in since Helen McClelland's back in the day. And I enjoyed it and thought the plot and writing were a good match to EBD. I don't remember her using exeat (I first came across it much later) for weekends out, but that was the only think that I really noticed - as I haven't read the whole original Chalets in original form I'm not the best source for accuracy.

I liked this - and I need to go back and read the next book in the series proper to remind myself how this all works out.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done Lisa. This must have been one of the hardest 'missing terms' to write about, but Lisa makes a good job of it, writing an enjoyable, believeable story.

Her description of Annis and her troubles is very good, giving a beliveable plot, without taking anything away from the plot of Island.

Also she resolves the rathet vague EBD description of the mystrey illness into a plausible, interesting story. A very good fill-in book. Read 'Island' straight after.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the fill-ins are excellent but I particularly like this one because it does such a good job of piecing together a term we subsequently hear quite a lot about. It even slips in a convincing explanation of how it was possible to pack up and remove an entire school at the drop of a hat at the beginning of Island (everything was completely packed away at the end of term because of the workmen coming in to look at the drains - genius).

[Margaret Conmey · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started on my first ever read through of the entire series in order I wondered whether to include the fill-in books by other authors and the answer was sometimes, especially if covering on of the missing terms
Ok for a fill-in book and managed to provide good back story for Annis Lovell who features prominently in the next book
Cleaver balancing of providing interesting story to tie in with, but not spoil, the plot of the next book in the series

[Muff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it better than I thought I would at the start. Annie's is not one my favorite Chalet girls, and Island is one off my least favorite offs EBD's oeuvre, Townsend does a good job writing about the difficult term, and Island continued seamlessly when I read it right afterward. So I'm upgrading the stars. Good job, Lisa.

[KarenV · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Chalet School "fill-in" title that I've read and the author did a pretty good job. The characters and style were very much in keeping with EBD and the story moved along at a good pace. I have to say I was skeptical about the idea of the fill-in books but I would read another if it was a good as this one.

[Shawne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable with some good ideas on how to fill in the gap between two books in the Chalet School series. But, apart from a very unusual hockey match at half-term, nothing quite stands out about this book, nor does it ultimately recall Elinor M. Brent-Dyer's writing in either style or (sadly) substance. 2.5 stars

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fits into the series seamlessly. The story of Annis continues in The Chalet School And The Island so her story doesn’t resolve in this book.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

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