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The New Girl at St. Chad's: A Tale of School Life and Irish Heritage
"The New Girl at St. Chad's" by Angela Brazil is a classic girls' school story set in an English boarding school. The novel follows the adventures and experiences of the new girl, Jean Langton, as she joins St. Chad's and becomes part of a close-knit group of friends. When Jean arrives at St. Chad's, she is initially apprehensive but quickly finds herself embraced by her fellow students. She forms deep friendships with her roommates and becomes involved in the various aspects of school life, including classes, sports, and extracurricular activities. The story explores the ups and downs of school life, including academic challenges, rivalries, and the joys of friendship. Jean's character undergoes personal growth as she learns to navigate the complexities of school dynamics and develops her own interests and talents. Throughout the novel, Angela Brazil captures the essence of camaraderie and the importance of loyalty and support among school friends. The characters' adventures and escapades add humor and excitement to the story, making it an engaging read for young audiences. "The New Girl at St. Chad's" is a charming and relatable tale of school life, friendship, and personal development. It is a part of the genre of girls' school stories that were popular in the early 20th century and continues to be enjoyed by readers looking for nostalgic and heartwarming tales of schoolgirl adventures.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1911
About the author
Angela Brazil
121 books36 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Born in Preston, Lancashire in 1868, Angela Brazil (pronounced "brazzle") was the youngest child of cotton mill manager Clarence Brazil, and his wife, Angelica McKinnel. She was educated at the Turrets - a small private school in Wallasey - and then, when the Brazils were living in Manchester, at the preparatory department of the Manchester High School, and (as a boarder) at Ellerslie, an exclusive girls’ school near Victoria Park. She subsequently attended Heatherley's Art School, in London, with her sister Amy, and sketching remained a life-long interest.
With the death of Clarence Brazil in 1899, the family left the North-West of England for Llanbedr, Wales, where they took up residence in their former summer house. It is believed that, at some point during this period (1899-1911), Brazil worked as a governess, although she does not mention it in her autobiography, My Own Schooldays (1925). In 1911, she moved to Coventry, where she kept house for her doctor brother, living in that city until her death, in 1947.
Brazil's first children's novel, A Terrible Tomboy, was published in 1904, and is believed to have been autobiographical, featuring the adventures of a young Angela (Peggy), and her friend Leila Langdale (Lilian). It was only with the 1907 publication of her second novel, The Fortunes of Philippa, that she turned to the genre in which she would become so influential: the Girls' School Story.
Brazil is often described by readers as "the first author of modern girls' school stories," and her publisher Blackie once claimed, in a bit of promotional hyperbole, that she had originated the genre! While not actually true - the genre predates her by some time, and other authors of modern girls school stories, such as May Baldwin, were publishing before she was - Brazil was certainly immensely influential, in the genre's move away from a didactic, moralistic model, towards one aimed more at entertainment. Her books are told from the perspective of her girl characters themselves, and were immensely popular with young readers, both in her own lifetime, and afterward. All told, she published close to sixty children's novels, most of them girls' school stories.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Born in Preston, Lancashire in 1868, Angela Brazil (pronounced "brazzle") was the youngest child of cotton mill manager Clarence Brazil, and his wife, Angelica McKinnel. She was educated at the Turrets - a small private school in Wallasey - and then, when the Brazils were living in Manchester, at the preparatory department of the Manchester High School, and (as a boarder) at Ellerslie, an exclusive girls’ school near Victoria Park. She subsequently attended Heatherley's Art School, in London, with her sister Amy, and sketching remained a life-long interest.
With the death of Clarence Brazil in 1899, the family left the North-West of England for Llanbedr, Wales, where they took up residence in their former summer house. It is believed that, at some point during this period (1899-1911), Brazil worked as a governess, although she does not mention it in her autobiography, My Own Schooldays (1925). In 1911, she moved to Coventry, where she kept house for her doctor brother, living in that city until her death, in 1947.
Brazil's first children's novel, A Terrible Tomboy, was published in 1904, and is believed to have been autobiographical, featuring the adventures of a young Angela (Peggy), and her friend Leila Langdale (Lilian). It was only with the 1907 publication of her second novel, The Fortunes of Philippa, that she turned to the genre in which she would become so influential: the Girls' School Story.
Brazil is often described by readers as "the first author of modern girls' school stories," and her publisher Blackie once claimed, in a bit of promotional hyperbole, that she had originated the genre! While not actually true - the genre predates her by some time, and other authors of modern girls school stories, such as May Baldwin, were publishing before she was - Brazil was certainly immensely influential, in the genre's move away from a didactic, moralistic model, towards one aimed more at entertainment. Her books are told from the perspective of her girl characters themselves, and were immensely popular with young readers, both in her own lifetime, and afterward. All told, she published close to sixty children's novels, most of them girls' school stories.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 26, 2025
Honour is an Irish girl, who runs a little wild in her father's country estate and is, in the usual manner of British parents, shipped off to school in England. There, she gets tamed and learns how to make friends and get along with people. She also learns to care about getting accolades and doing better for herself.
Only issue is that she is wildly patriotic and supports Home Rule for Ireland passionately. But the English girls don't give a shit and we get to see such beautiful gems of racism as ...
Is that Ireland? Then I suppose your name is Biddy?
Certainly not!
I thought all Irish girls were called Biddy; are you sure you're not?
My name is Honor Fitzgerald.
Really? I'm astonished it isn't Mulligan, or O'Grady.
Her being Irish is a constant refrain and it does get tiresome because the plot doesn't really go anywhere with it. Another gem was I'm sorry we've no potatoes to offer you That's especially disgusting since it had just been 60 years since the potato famine of Ireland when this book was published. There was just too much of this nonsense for me to enjoy this book even at a superficial level.
Honour herself is a nice character but the school is ridiculous, including not allowing her to talk to her own brother in church! The students are ridiculous and racist. Also, why does every Angela Brazil book have mothers lying in bed throughout? What was wrong with these women, who are always sleeping and being 'delicate' after shipping off the kids to boarding school?
I disliked this book.
Only issue is that she is wildly patriotic and supports Home Rule for Ireland passionately. But the English girls don't give a shit and we get to see such beautiful gems of racism as ...
Is that Ireland? Then I suppose your name is Biddy?
Certainly not!
I thought all Irish girls were called Biddy; are you sure you're not?
My name is Honor Fitzgerald.
Really? I'm astonished it isn't Mulligan, or O'Grady.
Her being Irish is a constant refrain and it does get tiresome because the plot doesn't really go anywhere with it. Another gem was I'm sorry we've no potatoes to offer you That's especially disgusting since it had just been 60 years since the potato famine of Ireland when this book was published. There was just too much of this nonsense for me to enjoy this book even at a superficial level.
Honour herself is a nice character but the school is ridiculous, including not allowing her to talk to her own brother in church! The students are ridiculous and racist. Also, why does every Angela Brazil book have mothers lying in bed throughout? What was wrong with these women, who are always sleeping and being 'delicate' after shipping off the kids to boarding school?
I disliked this book.
March 9, 2012
Flawed heroines are what Angela Brazil does best, and her books sparkle more when her heroines are really not all that nice. Impulsive, hot-tempered joker Honor, who can behave with utter disregard for the rules, is one of her most likable heroines. The tale of what happens to her between being sen from Ireland to school in English in disgrace and ending up in a scrape so bad that expulsion seems the only outcome is fun reading in the best tradition of school stories. Honor is very likable in her utter refusal to be a cowed new girl who is too well-behaved to step out of line and demand attention. She develops a very sweet friendship with quiet little Janie, too, which deepens to the point that, despite the brisk disavowal of "sentiment" being allowed at the school, extends to Honor kissing Janie's hair as she sleeps.
May 13, 2020
A childhood favourite, passed down through the family having been won as a school prize by a great aunt in 1920. The new girl is from Ireland, sent away to school because she is becoming difficult for her father to cope with, in addition to an invalid mother and some ingrained wilful habits. It is a morality tale really: Honor learns to curb her impulses and become more obedient and understand the point of rules and discipline, and in the process is encouraged to befriend a shy girl who hates games, and bring her out of her shell and help her to be more active. I used to love the descriptions of the school and its houses. It is a bit didactic but done in a way which doesn't impinge too much on the flow of the story. Some of the girls' conversations are quite enlightening (on slang, for instance). I do still feel that making an Irish patriot wear orange is a bit much!
March 26, 2023
Early school drama
It was a clean cut drama that was not dull or catty. I liked it with fast chapters and solid work
It was a clean cut drama that was not dull or catty. I liked it with fast chapters and solid work
December 4, 2012
I quite enjoyed this story! I much prefer Angela Brazil's school stories to her other work, she had a real grasp on the school story genre, and makes the reader love the characters she presents. Honour is a great character, immensely likeable and easy to relate to. She has many things to learn and a bit of growing up to do in order to conform to school life, but I never feel as if she lets the essential parts of herself go while learning these things. I love these kinds of stories, and to my great delight this was another of the free kindle books I've recently downloaded. If you have a kindle, give it a go, it's a free book after all!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews