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The Nicest Girl in the School
The Nicest Girl in the School
140 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1909
19 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Angela Brazil
118 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 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 9, 2022
Angela Brazil is eminently readable as a writer of schoolgirl stories, but I would say nowhere near the league of Enid Blyton or Frank Richards. Her heroines are far too cheerful and "nice" for my taste, and have little to no character arcs. There is a lot of cheesiness in these books, of the type that I feel can be rather cringeworthy. However, Brazil was prolific and her books are free on Gutenberg, so when I want some respite, I go pick up another one!
The protagonist of The Nicest Girl in the School is Patty Hirst, who lives up to the title. Born in a family with too little money and sense, but too many children, Patty was parentified and spent her time playing mother to the younger ones. Her rather smarter uncle with only two kids (and hence richer) comes to the rescue and offers to send her to school along with his own daughter, Muriel.
Muriel hates Patty for no ostensible reason, so I am assuming it's because Patty is nauseatingly nice. Muriel goes out of her way to avoid Patty, but she nevertheless makes friends. Soon enough, she is moralising by giving shocked looks to other girls, which immediately makes them ashamed and behave better. It was annoying but I began to dislike Patty when she played a not-so-nice and manipulative trick on her roommates to get them to agree to her dictates. But the nicest girl in the school she must remain, so she saves Muriel's life (you knew this was coming!) while the others left her to die (WTF).
Overall, Brazil has written much better books, but this one was just way too stereotypical and boring. I finished this just a couple of days ago, and I have already forgotten the other characters, so can't have been very compelling.
The protagonist of The Nicest Girl in the School is Patty Hirst, who lives up to the title. Born in a family with too little money and sense, but too many children, Patty was parentified and spent her time playing mother to the younger ones. Her rather smarter uncle with only two kids (and hence richer) comes to the rescue and offers to send her to school along with his own daughter, Muriel.
Muriel hates Patty for no ostensible reason, so I am assuming it's because Patty is nauseatingly nice. Muriel goes out of her way to avoid Patty, but she nevertheless makes friends. Soon enough, she is moralising by giving shocked looks to other girls, which immediately makes them ashamed and behave better. It was annoying but I began to dislike Patty when she played a not-so-nice and manipulative trick on her roommates to get them to agree to her dictates. But the nicest girl in the school she must remain, so she saves Muriel's life (you knew this was coming!) while the others left her to die (WTF).
Overall, Brazil has written much better books, but this one was just way too stereotypical and boring. I finished this just a couple of days ago, and I have already forgotten the other characters, so can't have been very compelling.
September 1, 2016
I suppose the title should have warned me, but oh dear, Patty Hirst (not to be confused with Patty Hearst) really is too good to be true. Nauseatingly nice, in fact. At least today's main characters usually have at least one or two redeeming flaws...
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March 13, 2017Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25003/...
January 1, 2021
This was a nice, highly moral story. I enjoyed it, but not as much as Enid Blyton's school stories, which have a little more plot going on. It is definitely above average for a moral story, though.
I would consider giving this to my daughter to read, but do be aware that there is one instance of the word n****r, and that should be a topic for discussion. I don't feel that it was used in a highly offensive way, but of course to the modern reader any occurrence at all of this word is offensive. This book is 111 years old and some things have changed! Children or teens who can understand how culture and standards have evolved throughout history should be fine with it.
I would consider giving this to my daughter to read, but do be aware that there is one instance of the word n****r, and that should be a topic for discussion. I don't feel that it was used in a highly offensive way, but of course to the modern reader any occurrence at all of this word is offensive. This book is 111 years old and some things have changed! Children or teens who can understand how culture and standards have evolved throughout history should be fine with it.
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February 28, 2022A plucky, ‘good’ school girl wins over her boarding school chums! Edwardian values, packaged in a moralistic wrapping. Nonetheless, the self-effacing Patty displaying a willingness to take the high road, act as a sympathetic role model.
October 2, 2023
this was surprisingly relatable but it’s very old and thus a little boring
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October 31, 2021Forty years before Enid Blyton was carving out her children's book empire, the queen of the girls' boarding school story was Angela Brazil. Unfortunately she's been largely forgotten now, mainly because the vocabulary of her books is not commonly used nowadays, which is fine for university-level literary study, but makes it difficult to keep the interest of the children the books are meant for. So I've applied my editing skills to this story, to make it more readable, faster paced, the protagonist more rounded, the point of view more focused. And I've changed many of the character names, which were just too unintentionally comical - names like Horace and Muriel, Phyllis and Avis 😆 The vocabulary is still very advanced, but are words we actually use currently and with more context for understanding.
The original version is still freely available, of course. My edition is just an adaptation to bring Angela Brazil's stories and her depictions of Edwardian England to a new generation of potential fans.
The original version is still freely available, of course. My edition is just an adaptation to bring Angela Brazil's stories and her depictions of Edwardian England to a new generation of potential fans.
February 7, 2014
This is a classic school tale, telling the story of a girl at boarding school. It includes all the necessary problems in the beginning, then moves on to Patty finding a nice circle of friends and enjoying everyday life at the Priory. A bit formulaic? Yes. Patty is a likeable character, as are her friends, and I'm certain young girls can identify with at least one of the main characters. It's a pleasant little story, easy to read, with a feel-good ending.
December 13, 2012
I actually loved that Patty was a bit of a Mary Sue by today's standards. It was intriguing; was she one of the first Mary Sue type characters EVER? But no, even her perfect personality did not detract from the book, I guess I joined in with the moral spirit and liked the changes she wrought at her new school. One of the better Angela Brazil stories, a four star book!
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May 17, 2012An audiobook read by the incomparable Harriet Walter.
As someone who is obsessed with 19th-early 20th century girls' schools, I found this book quite appealing. It might come off a bit saccharine to modern readers, but keep in mind that in its time this book was groundbreaking for NOT overtly moralizing to readers.
As someone who is obsessed with 19th-early 20th century girls' schools, I found this book quite appealing. It might come off a bit saccharine to modern readers, but keep in mind that in its time this book was groundbreaking for NOT overtly moralizing to readers.
July 2, 2016
My kids thought it was pretty cool to listen to a book that was written over 100 years ago.
November 24, 2018
Not her best. Patty may be nice but she's rather dull compared to other Brazil heroines.
November 25, 2023
It's unsurprising that certain themes reoccur in Brazil's work. She was immensely prolific and an author who, for the most, stuck to a particular age group and genre. She knew what she could do and she did it very well. The Nicest Girl In The School was her most popular title and also a relatively early one at that (1909) in a career that was going to run to the 1940s. It's also a title that feels slightly different to her work. There's no interminable interlude where somebody shares local folklore or tells a fairy story and neither is there a Suitable Elderly Woman to pash on (although we all do pash instead on the central character who is just a Very Good Egg And We All Love Her).
What there is, instead, is actually a really well-told and very genuine story about a girl just going to school and having adventures. Some of them are big, some of them are small, and all of them are just told in such a fresh and distinct way in contrast to other titles of the time that you get why this sold. This is a story that wears its moralising through the action of the characters involved. Gone is the kind of Victorian moment where we all stop and get a little lecture from one of the adult characters or the narrator tells us wistfully about a Higher Power Knowing Best when everybody suddenly carks it (v fond of the death stuff, them), and it's all replaced by the girls having a sense of personal, practical and moral agency of their own. I can't tell you how big a paradigm shift this was. And without that shift occurring, I don't think we'd be writing or reading the books that we read today.
One last thing to note is that the original text features the n- word so please do be aware of that. More modern editions of The Nicest Girl In The School do exist and I suspect will have productively and rightfully addressed this.
What there is, instead, is actually a really well-told and very genuine story about a girl just going to school and having adventures. Some of them are big, some of them are small, and all of them are just told in such a fresh and distinct way in contrast to other titles of the time that you get why this sold. This is a story that wears its moralising through the action of the characters involved. Gone is the kind of Victorian moment where we all stop and get a little lecture from one of the adult characters or the narrator tells us wistfully about a Higher Power Knowing Best when everybody suddenly carks it (v fond of the death stuff, them), and it's all replaced by the girls having a sense of personal, practical and moral agency of their own. I can't tell you how big a paradigm shift this was. And without that shift occurring, I don't think we'd be writing or reading the books that we read today.
One last thing to note is that the original text features the n- word so please do be aware of that. More modern editions of The Nicest Girl In The School do exist and I suspect will have productively and rightfully addressed this.
September 16, 2018
This is about as middle-of-the-road as the genre of school-girl fiction gets. Brazil isn't bad, and she certainly was prolific, but Frances Hodgson Burnett's Sara Crewe or Susan Coolidge's What Katy Did are far superior. And why is it that Patty was such a popular name for the heroines of this sort of book? Jean Webster had a Patty series, and so did Carolyn Wells. And none of them come close to the genius of Kipling's wonderfully cynical boarding-school story, Stalky & Co.
June 8, 2022
Most of the book is okay apart from a poem part way through which one of Patty’s friends writes. that cannot be denied is a bit racist and uses the n-word which means the book is no longer appropriate for children.
January 16, 2025
3.5 stars
Not my favourite Angela Brazil I’ve read, but I enjoyed this! These are such comfort reads for me and always a nice break from the more serious stuff I enjoy. Patty was too nice though. I’d have let Muriel drown x
Not my favourite Angela Brazil I’ve read, but I enjoyed this! These are such comfort reads for me and always a nice break from the more serious stuff I enjoy. Patty was too nice though. I’d have let Muriel drown x
January 24, 2015
Patty is sent to boarding school by her uncle as a companion to her cousin Muriel, but Muriel will have nothing to do with her. This book relates how Patty, by just being herself wins the friendship of the entire school -- including Muriel.
July 23, 2016
I am such a sucker for a school story - especially one where pluck, niceness and honesty are prized above all else!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews