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Chalet School - Complete
The Chalet School Christmas Story Book
The Chalet School Christmas Story Book
304 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2007
1 person is currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
171 books113 followersElinor M. Brent-Dyer was born as Gladys Eleanor May Dyer on 6th April 1894, in South Shields in the industrial northeast of England, and grew up in a terraced house which had no garden or inside toilet. She was the only daughter of Eleanor Watson Rutherford and Charles Morris Brent Dyer. Her father, who had been married before, left home when she was three years old. In 1912, her brother Henzell died at age 17 of cerebro-spinal fever. After her father died, her mother remarried in 1913.
Elinor was educated at a small local private school in South Shields and returned there to teach when she was eighteen after spending two years at the City of Leeds Training College. Her teaching career spanned 36 years, during which she taught in a wide variety of state and private schools in the northeast, in Middlesex, Bedfordshire, Hampshire, and finally in Hereford.
In the early 1920s she adopted the name Elinor Mary Brent-Dyer. A holiday she spent in the Austrian Tyrol at Pertisau-am-Achensee gave her the inspiration for the first location in the Chalet School series. However, her first book, 'Gerry Goes to School', was published in 1922 and was written for the child actress Hazel Bainbridge. Her first 'Chalet' story, 'The School at the Chalet', was originally published in 1925.
In 1930, the same year that 'Jean of Storms' was serialised, she converted to Roman Catholicism.
In 1933 the Brent-Dyer household (she lived with her mother and stepfather until her mother's death in 1957) moved to Hereford. She travelled daily to Peterchurch as a governess.
When her stepfather died she started her own school in Hereford, The Margaret Roper School. It was non-denominational but with a strong religious tradition. Many Chalet School customs were followed, the girls even wore a similar uniform made in the Chalet School's colours of brown and flame. Elinor was rather untidy, erratic and flamboyant and not really suited to being a headmistress. After her school closed in 1948 she devoted most of her time to writing.
Elinor's mother died in 1957 and in 1964 she moved to Redhill, where she lived in a joint establishment with fellow school story author Phyllis Matthewman and her husband, until her death on 20th September 1969.
During her lifetime Elinor M. Brent-Dyer published 101 books but she is remembered mainly for her Chalet School series. The series numbers 58 books and is the longest-surviving series of girls' school-stories ever known, having been continuously in print for more than 70 years. One hundred thousand paperback copies are still being sold each year.
Among her published books are other school stories; family, historical, adventure and animal stories; a cookery book, and four educational geography-readers. She also wrote plays and numerous unpublished poems and was a keen musician.
In 1994, the year of the centenary of her Elinor Brent-Dyer's birth, Friends of the Chalet School put up plaques in Pertisau, South Shields and Hereford, and a headstone was erected on her grave in Redstone Cemetery, since there was not one previously. They also put flowers on her grave on the anniversaries of her birth and death and on other special occasions.
Elinor was educated at a small local private school in South Shields and returned there to teach when she was eighteen after spending two years at the City of Leeds Training College. Her teaching career spanned 36 years, during which she taught in a wide variety of state and private schools in the northeast, in Middlesex, Bedfordshire, Hampshire, and finally in Hereford.
In the early 1920s she adopted the name Elinor Mary Brent-Dyer. A holiday she spent in the Austrian Tyrol at Pertisau-am-Achensee gave her the inspiration for the first location in the Chalet School series. However, her first book, 'Gerry Goes to School', was published in 1922 and was written for the child actress Hazel Bainbridge. Her first 'Chalet' story, 'The School at the Chalet', was originally published in 1925.
In 1930, the same year that 'Jean of Storms' was serialised, she converted to Roman Catholicism.
In 1933 the Brent-Dyer household (she lived with her mother and stepfather until her mother's death in 1957) moved to Hereford. She travelled daily to Peterchurch as a governess.
When her stepfather died she started her own school in Hereford, The Margaret Roper School. It was non-denominational but with a strong religious tradition. Many Chalet School customs were followed, the girls even wore a similar uniform made in the Chalet School's colours of brown and flame. Elinor was rather untidy, erratic and flamboyant and not really suited to being a headmistress. After her school closed in 1948 she devoted most of her time to writing.
Elinor's mother died in 1957 and in 1964 she moved to Redhill, where she lived in a joint establishment with fellow school story author Phyllis Matthewman and her husband, until her death on 20th September 1969.
During her lifetime Elinor M. Brent-Dyer published 101 books but she is remembered mainly for her Chalet School series. The series numbers 58 books and is the longest-surviving series of girls' school-stories ever known, having been continuously in print for more than 70 years. One hundred thousand paperback copies are still being sold each year.
Among her published books are other school stories; family, historical, adventure and animal stories; a cookery book, and four educational geography-readers. She also wrote plays and numerous unpublished poems and was a keen musician.
In 1994, the year of the centenary of her Elinor Brent-Dyer's birth, Friends of the Chalet School put up plaques in Pertisau, South Shields and Hereford, and a headstone was erected on her grave in Redstone Cemetery, since there was not one previously. They also put flowers on her grave on the anniversaries of her birth and death and on other special occasions.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 26, 2025
Pleasant compilation of stories based round Chalet School characters. A light read where not much concentration is needed.
December 14, 2015
I must have read this when it was first published but, as it's a Christmas book, I probably haven't read it since. This would explain why only the extract from Jo was at all familiar.
I'm glad I picked it up this weekend, anyway. It's the perfect book to get you in the Christmas mood: a selection of well-written Christmases, in chronological order (so we start in Devon, pre-Chalet, and end in the Swiss era, having passed through Austria, Armishire and St Briavels on the way) with all the characters we know and love behaving in an entirely believable Chalet-ish way. Hard to pick a favourite but if pressed, I would probably go for Tom Gay's Christmas.
I could have done without EBD's poetry and carol lyrics - she wasn't much of a poet - but the illustrations are lovely, and all in all this is a book no Chalet fan should be without.
I'm glad I picked it up this weekend, anyway. It's the perfect book to get you in the Christmas mood: a selection of well-written Christmases, in chronological order (so we start in Devon, pre-Chalet, and end in the Swiss era, having passed through Austria, Armishire and St Briavels on the way) with all the characters we know and love behaving in an entirely believable Chalet-ish way. Hard to pick a favourite but if pressed, I would probably go for Tom Gay's Christmas.
I could have done without EBD's poetry and carol lyrics - she wasn't much of a poet - but the illustrations are lovely, and all in all this is a book no Chalet fan should be without.
January 9, 2026
This lovely book is an anthology of Christmas stories and poems set in Elinor Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School series. Beautifully done and heart-warming, this is the perfect book for Chalet Series fans at Christmas (or really any time). The stories are listed chronologically in line with the series. There are plenty of lovely black and white illustrations throughout. There is an afterword with information about all the authors. A very special book.
List of Works:
1. Puss-in-Boots by Helen Barber—Set prior to the Chalet School, the story is set in Taverton, with teen twins Madge and Dick and pre-K age Joey getting ready to celebrate Christmas. Dick decides to play a fun trick on a neighbor who is good-humored about it.
2. Christmas in Innsbruck by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a reprint of EBD’s tale of Madge and Joey celebrating a Tyrolean Christmas with the Mensch family, whose daughters attend the Chalet School. Found in her second book, “Jo of the Chalet School”.
3. A Chalet School Nativity Play by Miranda Wenaus—The setting is during Juliet Carrick’s time as Head Girl, which EBD did not write about. In the story, Jo has an idea for a nativity play and is tasked with writing it. The play has a simple French theme and young Jo does the CS proud.
4. Juliet Plays Matchmaker by Caroline German—This story is set during the holidays after the Nativity Play in the above Wenaus story. The older girls from the CS meet up with some Old Girls who have graduated for winter fun, including nighttime skiing. Juliet helps the unhappy Bernhilda and there is a happy Christmas ending.
5. An Austrian Legend by Janet Stow—a traditional Austrian legend about Christmas is retold here
6. A Party at Pretty Maids by Natasha McEnroe—Set the Christmas before “Head Girl of the Chalet School”. Joey and Robin go to England with Miss Maynard at Christmas to celebrate at the Maynard family home, Pretty Maids. A traditional and fun English Christmas is had by all.
7. A Christmas Angel by Heather Paisley—Set after “Head Girl of the Chalet School”. During the early years of Madge’s marriage to Jem Russell, Joey must come to grips with illness and death of those at the Sanatorium. Could there be a Christmas miracle?
8. A Wartime Christmas by Heather Edmonds—Set in England where the school has relocated during wartime, when “The Highland Twins at the Chalet School” is set. Jack Maynard has made it back from the war, and the Maynards, Russell’s, and their many related children all celebrate an English Christmas together.
9. Christmas Legends by Elinor Brent-Dyer—EBD recounts three Christmas legends of the Christmas Rose, Kneeling Cattle and Lavender in this short article.
10. Saving Jack Maynard by Jane Alexander—Told in flashback by an adult Con (Maynard) Frewen (one of the Triplets), Jack Maynard has returned from the war but is suffering from PTSD. The story deals with his struggles and healing.
11. Christmas time is very near by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a poem written by EBD
12. A Donkey by the Manger by Ruth Jolly—Set after “The Chalet School and the Island”. During the school’s sojourn at St. Briavel’s Island, at the behest of toddler Charles, Jo tells her children a fanciful tale of a donkey at the first Christmas.
13. Behold how strange by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a poem written by EBD
14. A Christmas to Remember by Vicki Langdon—Once again set on the Island, Dickie and Cherry Christy, inhabitants of the Island who have become Chalet girls, meet an unpleasant girl, Mary Carrington. Cherry is able to help the bitterly unhappy Mary in a sweet Christmas story.
15. Who comes this way? by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a poem written by EBD
16. O Holy Night by Kim Downing—Set at the end of “Peggy of the Chalet School”. Jo helps Sybil Russell reconcile some of her failings at Christmas time.
17. The Busiest Time of the Year by Katherine Bruce—Set during “Bride of the Chalet School”, Tom Gay shows what Christmas is like for a vicarage family as she delivers baskets to the needy and helps save a stray dog.
18. Till Angels Say Amen by Nicky Wade—Set in Switzerland during “The Feud at the Chalet School”. The Maynard family children celebrate a special Christmas, and Margot has a realization.
19. Christmas in the Bush by Esther Hailey—The Russell family is in Australia and have a summertime Christmas with family friends. Madge misses the cold and ice of Christmas but has a wonderful time after all, despite a scare from bushfire.
20. Christmas is near by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a poem written by EBD
21. Cecil’s Christmas Eve by Carolyn Phillips—Set prior to or during “Challenge for the Chalet School”. Little Cecil Maynard has a special magical adventure at Christmas.
22. The Christmas Rose by Adrienne Fitzpatrick—Set after “Challenge for the Chalet School”. CS Mistresses Kathie Ferrars (recovering from appendicitis) and Nancy Wilmot head to England for Christmas. They get caught up in the local Nativity play, and help a bitter old woman and her niece come to some realizations and recognize their special gifts, resulting in the little girl heading to the Chalet School.
List of Works:
1. Puss-in-Boots by Helen Barber—Set prior to the Chalet School, the story is set in Taverton, with teen twins Madge and Dick and pre-K age Joey getting ready to celebrate Christmas. Dick decides to play a fun trick on a neighbor who is good-humored about it.
2. Christmas in Innsbruck by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a reprint of EBD’s tale of Madge and Joey celebrating a Tyrolean Christmas with the Mensch family, whose daughters attend the Chalet School. Found in her second book, “Jo of the Chalet School”.
3. A Chalet School Nativity Play by Miranda Wenaus—The setting is during Juliet Carrick’s time as Head Girl, which EBD did not write about. In the story, Jo has an idea for a nativity play and is tasked with writing it. The play has a simple French theme and young Jo does the CS proud.
4. Juliet Plays Matchmaker by Caroline German—This story is set during the holidays after the Nativity Play in the above Wenaus story. The older girls from the CS meet up with some Old Girls who have graduated for winter fun, including nighttime skiing. Juliet helps the unhappy Bernhilda and there is a happy Christmas ending.
5. An Austrian Legend by Janet Stow—a traditional Austrian legend about Christmas is retold here
6. A Party at Pretty Maids by Natasha McEnroe—Set the Christmas before “Head Girl of the Chalet School”. Joey and Robin go to England with Miss Maynard at Christmas to celebrate at the Maynard family home, Pretty Maids. A traditional and fun English Christmas is had by all.
7. A Christmas Angel by Heather Paisley—Set after “Head Girl of the Chalet School”. During the early years of Madge’s marriage to Jem Russell, Joey must come to grips with illness and death of those at the Sanatorium. Could there be a Christmas miracle?
8. A Wartime Christmas by Heather Edmonds—Set in England where the school has relocated during wartime, when “The Highland Twins at the Chalet School” is set. Jack Maynard has made it back from the war, and the Maynards, Russell’s, and their many related children all celebrate an English Christmas together.
9. Christmas Legends by Elinor Brent-Dyer—EBD recounts three Christmas legends of the Christmas Rose, Kneeling Cattle and Lavender in this short article.
10. Saving Jack Maynard by Jane Alexander—Told in flashback by an adult Con (Maynard) Frewen (one of the Triplets), Jack Maynard has returned from the war but is suffering from PTSD. The story deals with his struggles and healing.
11. Christmas time is very near by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a poem written by EBD
12. A Donkey by the Manger by Ruth Jolly—Set after “The Chalet School and the Island”. During the school’s sojourn at St. Briavel’s Island, at the behest of toddler Charles, Jo tells her children a fanciful tale of a donkey at the first Christmas.
13. Behold how strange by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a poem written by EBD
14. A Christmas to Remember by Vicki Langdon—Once again set on the Island, Dickie and Cherry Christy, inhabitants of the Island who have become Chalet girls, meet an unpleasant girl, Mary Carrington. Cherry is able to help the bitterly unhappy Mary in a sweet Christmas story.
15. Who comes this way? by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a poem written by EBD
16. O Holy Night by Kim Downing—Set at the end of “Peggy of the Chalet School”. Jo helps Sybil Russell reconcile some of her failings at Christmas time.
17. The Busiest Time of the Year by Katherine Bruce—Set during “Bride of the Chalet School”, Tom Gay shows what Christmas is like for a vicarage family as she delivers baskets to the needy and helps save a stray dog.
18. Till Angels Say Amen by Nicky Wade—Set in Switzerland during “The Feud at the Chalet School”. The Maynard family children celebrate a special Christmas, and Margot has a realization.
19. Christmas in the Bush by Esther Hailey—The Russell family is in Australia and have a summertime Christmas with family friends. Madge misses the cold and ice of Christmas but has a wonderful time after all, despite a scare from bushfire.
20. Christmas is near by Elinor Brent-Dyer—a poem written by EBD
21. Cecil’s Christmas Eve by Carolyn Phillips—Set prior to or during “Challenge for the Chalet School”. Little Cecil Maynard has a special magical adventure at Christmas.
22. The Christmas Rose by Adrienne Fitzpatrick—Set after “Challenge for the Chalet School”. CS Mistresses Kathie Ferrars (recovering from appendicitis) and Nancy Wilmot head to England for Christmas. They get caught up in the local Nativity play, and help a bitter old woman and her niece come to some realizations and recognize their special gifts, resulting in the little girl heading to the Chalet School.
January 3, 2022
A festive selection of short stories written by chalet school fans who are also writers . A nice end to my Xmas holiday reading .
April 8, 2018
This is just a lovely book. A compendium of some of the best Chalet School Christmas "fanfic", all set firmly within EBD's universe and all of pretty high quality. I bought it much earlier this year and I'm so glad I remembered I had it because it really got me in a festive mood. I particularly enjoyed the story about Tom Gay, but they were all lovely in their own ways.
January 7, 2011
Really enjoyed this but very religious which you do have from this series but because it was a Christmas special more so than usual. Still a good read in keeping with the style of Brent-Dyer would recommend to any Chalet School fan
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews