The Chalet School Returns to the Alps

Chalet School - Complete

by Lisa Townsend

Set during the same term as The Chalet School and Barbara

Genres: School Stories

293 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2021

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life is now complicated for CS fans. There are the original hardbacks, gradually being reprinted by GGBP. There are the (often heavily edited) Armada paperbacks. There are sequels, and prequels, and short stories, written by fans. There are fill-ins, covering terms EBD herself missed out. And, more recently, there are simultales, each one about a period EBD did cover, but with a new focus and lots of Chalet Schoolish detail. (EBD herself did this once, as CS Oberland and Shocks both cover the same term, but in completely different locations).

I am going to 'fess up from the start: I love the simultales, and I am lost in admiration of those authors who have produced them. Where EBD was quite slapdash, regularly contradicting herself, simultale authors are not only meticulously consistent, but also often come up with inventive (yet still plausible) explanations for EBDisms which may have been bothering CS fans for decades, while still producing something which reads like a genuine CS book written when EBD was at her best.

For those of us who simply sit back and enjoy the result, we get the excitement of a brand new CS book which never disappoints. CS Barbara, to which CS Alps is the simultale, is one of my favourites - it was probably the first one I read - but I had no anxiety about reading CS Alps, because GGPB have been doing this for so long now that I was absolutely confident it would be excellent.

And it is. I had read it twice within 48 hours of its arrival in the house and it is really, really, (I cannot stress this enough) really good. All our favourite characters are there, along with ones we only vaguely remember, and it all works brilliantly. Bits of dialogue from CS Barbara pop up in exactly the right place, but from the other direction. It's like a patchwork quilt, with bits of fabric you recognise, but turned into something completely new and beautiful.

Lisa also manages the difficult trick of making both Mary Woodley and Leila Elstob (who are, I'm fairly confident, nobody's favourite minor character) understandable if not actually nice. The focus, though, is on Nancy Wilmot and Sue Meadowes, and the narrative for both is believable and nuanced. We spend lots of time in the staffroom with Nancy, and at home with Sue, and it all flows to make an excellent addition to the CS canon. Full marks, and then some more.

[Avril · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new Chalet School fill-ins are uniformly excellent, and The CS Returns to the Alps is no exception. I found the story of Nancy Wilmot returning to her old school as a teacher much the more interesting part; with the best will in the world I don’t think Lisa Townsend can make Sue Meadows interesting and I’ve always found Leila and Mrs Elstob teeth-grindingly annoying. But I very much enjoyed Nancy’s first term teaching, and Lisa sets her up well to become Kathy Ferrars’ bosom companion in later years.

[Trish at Between My Lines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent add on book. I loved that it ran in dual timeline with Barbara and the Chalet School as that was one I’ve always liked.

And nice to see a plotline from a teacher point of view. I think if you enjoyed New Mistress then you’ll like this one equally as much.

Lovely old school vibe very true to Elinor M Brent Dyer.

Now I feel like binging all my chalet school books which is bad news for my tbr!

[Betsy A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the many fill-in stories that populates Elinor Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School series. The story is set at the same time as “Barbara of the Chalet School” by EBD and “The Chalet School at Glendower House” (fill-in by Sheryl Burke) in the Autumn Term. The story focuses on two characters, Nancy Wilmot, an Old Girl and the new Maths Mistress at the Chalet School and a new girl, Sue Meadows, who is there with her aunt and cousin.

Nancy comes to the school with some trepidation, wondering how she will fit in as she feels set apart in some ways due to being a former girl of St. Scholastika’s, and therefore not a “true” Chaletian. This is a separation due to her own making and lack of confidence, but it affects how she settles into the school.

Sue is a very interesting character; she goes with her aunt and young cousin Leila to the San in Switzerland as a help to the very ill Leila, as her parents have been forced to travel abroad for her father’s job. She is to attend the Chalet School as a day girl while acting as Leila’s companion. It has been impressed upon her to not “gossip” about the family situation. This prohibition, along with her not being a boarder, causes Sue to keep separate from the others in her form. She too struggles with loneliness and her complicated home life, as well as unkindness from Mary Woodley.

This is a beautiful story, with clear story arcs for both characters that develop our understanding of them and demonstrate the spirit inculcated in the Chalet School. Nancy finally begins to feel she belongs as she builds relationships with the other mistresses, and she keeps a caring eye out for both Sue and Mary.

Sue demonstrates true sacrificial love towards her spoiled cousin, and genuinely tries to do her best for those around her, meeting needs as she recognizes them—even for those who have been unkind to her, including her aunt and Mary. Sue is a girl you want to root for, and as she was a bit of an unknown quantity in EBD’s original stories, Lisa Townsend rises to the occasion spectacularly as she brings Sue to life.

I highly recommend this story whether a person is a Chalet School fan or not for the character development alone. That being said, it is not a typical CS story, as there are no shenanigans and the usual school happenings. The focus remains on the two characters, while still integrating seamlessly with EBD’s stories set at the same time and not rehashing the same scenes. For this reason, it is an excellent addition to the series. As usual with GGBP books, there is an excellent forward and afterward that all readers will appreciate and enjoy.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s the Chalet School’s first term in Switzerland, and two newcomers to the school have more to cope with than most. Nancy Wilmot was a pupil in Tyrol - but only for a short while, leaving her unsure whether she can call herself an old Chaletian. Sue Meadows is a day girl, and not allowed to forget that she’s in the Alps to keep her ill cousin company. By the end of term will both of them truly belong to the Chalet School?

Lisa Townsend has written a book that does feel authentically part of the Chalet School series. Everyone behaves in character, the language is that of EBD, and there are lots of little details brought in from the books and new additions that are all completely in character. The only thing is that I personally don’t find Nancy and Sue particularly fascinating characters, and it takes far too long for me for this book to get them out of England and at the Chalet School. When Jo, the triplets, Mary-Lou and Miss Annersley make appearances, the book springs to life. I could have done with more of Jo stepping in with Mrs Elstob as the wife of the head of the San, and maybe more of the staffroom relationships being developed beyond Biddy O’Ryan and Peggy Burnett being somewhat annoyingly insouciant. I do give a lot of credit to the author for giving us in Mrs Elstob a thoroughly EBD-ish problem parent in the vein of Anne Chester and Carola Johnstone’s Aunt Maud: someone who is concerned with her sick daughter and her own interests at the expense of poor Sue. I’m slightly disappointed that a key conversation between Miss Annersley and Mrs E takes place offstage, but the whole storyline is very well done. In short, a good addition to the GGBP series of fill-ins, but one which shows why EBD was right to centre her books on the characters she chose. in spite of some modern readers’ opinions.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent "fill-in" book, covering the same term as The Chalet School and Barbara, but from other points of view — those of the other two newcomers that term: Sue Meadows, a form-mate of Barbara's; and Nancy Wilmot, once a "Saint" and then a Chalet School pupil herself, now returning as a mistress. I really enjoyed this book. It captures the feeling of the series. Recommended.


Not really a spoiler, but more of a quibble. The author for some reason gives Miss Armitage the first name of Cicely, but, if I recall correctly, her name was actually Davida.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comforting read, returning to the childhood world of Elinor M. Brent-Dyer's Chalet School series with a 'fill-in' book written by another author but very much in the style of the original. The book is set post ww2 as the eponymous school, forced into exile back in mainland UK during the Anschluss, returns to the mountain setting, this time in Switzerland. The narrative, over one term, focusses on the the experiences of a former pupil, returning as a Maths teacher and a new pupil, struggling with separation from her parents and life as a day girl in a predominantly boarding environment. Decency, routine and good clean fun prevail.

[Christine Brealey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent imitation of EMBDs style. If you did not know it was by another author, I doubt you would question its place in the Chalet series.

I liked the greater focus on staff here. Its a side EMBD doesnt always explore and, as a teacher myself, interests me. Townsends main departure from the EMBD style is in the greater focus given to the emotional and psychological lives of the adult characters but here it adds to rather than detracts from the narrative.

[Margaret Conmey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good ‘fill-in’ / extra Chalet story
I am still not sure about doing a parallel story during the same term as one of the Chalet books but I enjoyed the background to Nancy Wilmots arrival as a teacher
One of the features that I always enjoyed about the Chalet series was the inclusion of the staff as real characters unlike many school stories

[Keren · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does a topnotch job.
If you are a chalet school fan, it is worth reading this book. It deals with 3 characters that appear in the CS and Barbara.
The author fills in details that were missing and keeps to the original style of the author. I highly recommend this.

[Readsandeats · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed seeing how Nancy Wilmot came back to the Chalet School as a teacher and how she found the experience. It was also good to read how the school settled into it's new home.
Sue Meadows is a new character in this fill in and it was interesting to learn more about her.

[Tassiemouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite of the fill ins I have read. Brilliant. I enjoyed the new staff idea & the new pupil. Definitely almost indistinguishable from EBD and a ripping read.

[Anne Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great fill-in, which works to make sense of the really quite peculiar characters that EBD created, in particular the spoilt Leila and her mother.
As always this is one for the fans.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable addition to the Chalet School chronicles.
Good to have some newish characters and also the old characters coming together, we have four main characters in this novel and it makes this novel a special one.
A new mistress at the school, a new student, a child with TB and very ill, and her mother.
These characters and the Chalet School community all come together in this novel.

Recommend this to all lovers of this series, also to new readers