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The Chalet School #44
Ruey Richardson - Chaletian
We first met Ruey Richardson in Joey and Co in Tyrol, at the end of which she and her brothers become wards of the Maynards. And now she is joining the Chalet School. Click here to see some pages from Ruey Richardson-Chaletian. She plays a large part in reintroducing lacrosse to the School, but finds she has a ready-made enemy in Francie Wilford. Not only does she have problems at the Chalet School, her father takes off on a flight to the moon (several years before anyone landed on it) which Ruey finds extremely difficult. However, by the end of term when final news comes of her father, she has solved her problems at school, and also found a relative in someone who has married a very Old Girl.
293 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
1 person is currently reading
108 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 16, 2020
Astonishing, really, how easily and quickly the Maynards adapt to having three new members of the family, within a couple of months of, erm, having two new members of the family. I mean last July there were nine of them and now there are fourteen. That's a 50% increase in children, give or take. Most families do this by having another baby when they already have two children, not by having twins and then adopting a bunch of teenagers. Although, to be fair, I did once know a family whose fourth baby turned out to be triplets, thus doubling the size of the family overnight.
Anyway, Ruey's all right, I suppose; she asks some good questions about why Chalet girls are the way they are, although the answers she gets are a bit rubbish. Lacrosse becomes the new Big Thing - apparently they always used to play it (not that I remember it ever coming up at prefects' or games committee meetings, and anyway I would have thought ditching it made sense when the school moved to an area prone to weeks on end of rain and snow). Francie Wilford gets the role of stroppy teenager in this story (she's been practising for several books) and we have a fun evening with 200 rolls of coloured paper. The Christmas play lasts less than two pages and *finally* we get a reference to the end of term trunk packing, even though it's not actually described at all.
This is also the book where Len becomes a dormitory prefect, and so begins her meteoric ascent to the ultimate goal of the true Chalet girl - which, ludicrously, happens before she even finishes at the school (for those who haven't read the last book, no, she doesn't give birth to twins, this wasn't the swinging sixties in Chalet School land). Fortunately, in 'Ruey', her duties as dormy pree aren't too demanding, and she's still bearing in mind Mary-Lou's advice from last term to stop being an interfering fusspot. Was it really only last term? It seems ages ago. I was surprised to find Mary-Lou at St Mildred's. That's what eight weeks in the Tiernsee does to you.
Update Jan 2017: nice EBDism spotted. The girls are talking about lacrosse, and Margot says, 'We dropped it when, when- when was it, someone?'
'The term after Mary-Lou was so nearly killed,' Rosamund replies.
IIRC, the term *after* Mary-Lou was so nearly killed was the term *before* Rosamund joined the school.
But maybe, in a deleted scene from Problem, Rosamund asked what winter sports they play, and someone told her that they used to play lacrosse, but they stopped last term while Mary-Lou was recovering from a near-fatal accident, and this just stuck in Rosamund's mind. Maybe.
Update Feb 2020 after reading the unabridged GGBP edition:
Major deletions by Armada here. If you've ever wanted to read a full description of a lacrosse match, with field positions, then this is the book for you. Also I never previously noticed pockets on the uniform dress - there were a lot of staffroom edits. Finally, Con switches off the light in a dormitory she doesn’t even sleep in. I'd like to see the (v talented) short story writers rationalise this one!
Anyway, Ruey's all right, I suppose; she asks some good questions about why Chalet girls are the way they are, although the answers she gets are a bit rubbish. Lacrosse becomes the new Big Thing - apparently they always used to play it (not that I remember it ever coming up at prefects' or games committee meetings, and anyway I would have thought ditching it made sense when the school moved to an area prone to weeks on end of rain and snow). Francie Wilford gets the role of stroppy teenager in this story (she's been practising for several books) and we have a fun evening with 200 rolls of coloured paper. The Christmas play lasts less than two pages and *finally* we get a reference to the end of term trunk packing, even though it's not actually described at all.
This is also the book where Len becomes a dormitory prefect, and so begins her meteoric ascent to the ultimate goal of the true Chalet girl - which, ludicrously, happens before she even finishes at the school (for those who haven't read the last book, no, she doesn't give birth to twins, this wasn't the swinging sixties in Chalet School land). Fortunately, in 'Ruey', her duties as dormy pree aren't too demanding, and she's still bearing in mind Mary-Lou's advice from last term to stop being an interfering fusspot. Was it really only last term? It seems ages ago. I was surprised to find Mary-Lou at St Mildred's. That's what eight weeks in the Tiernsee does to you.
Update Jan 2017: nice EBDism spotted. The girls are talking about lacrosse, and Margot says, 'We dropped it when, when- when was it, someone?'
'The term after Mary-Lou was so nearly killed,' Rosamund replies.
IIRC, the term *after* Mary-Lou was so nearly killed was the term *before* Rosamund joined the school.
But maybe, in a deleted scene from Problem, Rosamund asked what winter sports they play, and someone told her that they used to play lacrosse, but they stopped last term while Mary-Lou was recovering from a near-fatal accident, and this just stuck in Rosamund's mind. Maybe.
Update Feb 2020 after reading the unabridged GGBP edition:
Major deletions by Armada here. If you've ever wanted to read a full description of a lacrosse match, with field positions, then this is the book for you. Also I never previously noticed pockets on the uniform dress - there were a lot of staffroom edits. Finally, Con switches off the light in a dormitory she doesn’t even sleep in. I'd like to see the (v talented) short story writers rationalise this one!
May 23, 2016
Last time I read this, I only had the much-abridged Armada version, and thought it rather run-of-the mill and a bit disappointing. In the intervening years I managed to acquire the ‘Girls Gone By’ full edition, and hoped it might be more interesting...
Unfortunately, despite some blurb that implies a good character-based book, it remains rather dull. There are lengthy explanations of lacrosse, about cleaning the chapel candles, and about the new uniforms which are to be introduced - all with far more detail than I cared about. The most interesting even from the point of view of continuity is Peggy Bettany's wedding, but it only gets a brief mention.
In addition there are prefects meetings, class incidents, and so on. I liked the forays into the staff room, which added some interest to what remains, in my view, a run-of-the-mill Chalet School book. It's a pity, as Ruey is a nicely developed character in the previous book - Joey and co in Tirol - which introduces her.
Still, the book begins with a fascinating introductory chapter about girls’ school uniforms, and how they changed in the early part of the 20th century. At the end is a story written by someone else, describing an incident mentioned in the book, and its consequences. It’s nicely done, and makes a good add-on.
Pleasant enough light reading, and good for continuity; but I wouldn’t really recommend this unless you're a fan and have read the preceding one.
Unfortunately, despite some blurb that implies a good character-based book, it remains rather dull. There are lengthy explanations of lacrosse, about cleaning the chapel candles, and about the new uniforms which are to be introduced - all with far more detail than I cared about. The most interesting even from the point of view of continuity is Peggy Bettany's wedding, but it only gets a brief mention.
In addition there are prefects meetings, class incidents, and so on. I liked the forays into the staff room, which added some interest to what remains, in my view, a run-of-the-mill Chalet School book. It's a pity, as Ruey is a nicely developed character in the previous book - Joey and co in Tirol - which introduces her.
Still, the book begins with a fascinating introductory chapter about girls’ school uniforms, and how they changed in the early part of the 20th century. At the end is a story written by someone else, describing an incident mentioned in the book, and its consequences. It’s nicely done, and makes a good add-on.
Pleasant enough light reading, and good for continuity; but I wouldn’t really recommend this unless you're a fan and have read the preceding one.
June 30, 2016
Another sweet story with wonderful language. Put that on your needles and knit it!
January 5, 2018
I read a lot of the chalet school books in school when the school library stocked it. I have never seen it elsewhere. Recently I thought of starting a collection and they are incredibly difficult to find. I hope someone starts a new edition/reprinting soon. So when I saw this books at a second hand book store, I grabbed it.
An usual Chalet School, there is a small accident, a grumpy girl gets sorted, there is plenty of emphasis on being a ‘Chalet Girl’, and a Christmas play. It is an entertaining read, especially as a part of the series.
An usual Chalet School, there is a small accident, a grumpy girl gets sorted, there is plenty of emphasis on being a ‘Chalet Girl’, and a Christmas play. It is an entertaining read, especially as a part of the series.
April 30, 2010
After having become a ward of the Manyards, Ruey Richardson is sent to the Chalet School together with the Manyard triplets. She's been placed in Margot's form, so at least she has someone she knows. However, she seems to have made an enemy of Francie Wilford. Apparently, Francie always wanted to be friends with Margot, and she sees her chances decreasing as Margot is now chummy with Ruey!
So, Ruey finds that her first term is not going as smoothly as she would like. Added to the fact that she's been used to living as she pleased, running wild and not adhering to any rules, things are slow going at first for Ruey.
So, Ruey finds that her first term is not going as smoothly as she would like. Added to the fact that she's been used to living as she pleased, running wild and not adhering to any rules, things are slow going at first for Ruey.
October 31, 2012
A great school story book, although I had no idea there were so many in this series! I own a few and have even read them before, but I was surprised when I came online to review this one that I found second hand. It was a good little story in my favorite genre of children's books. Because of authors like Elinor, I desperately wanted to go to boarding school when I was younger, not realizing that the lacrosse playing, midnight feast eating students were no more and lots of kids lived in fear of being sent away to Boarding School. Going on to read another two in this series as they came in a four pack, but I'll have to hunt out the rest, it may prove difficult and exciting!
March 26, 2016
3.5* - fairly good characters and story, but the unabridged edition is entirely too heavy on the religious pressure.
April 26, 2025
Not many girls end up at the Chalet School because their father has a mad plan to go into space - but in most other ways Ruey Richardson is a perfectly normal girl. So how come Francie Wilford seems determined to hate her almost from the first moment they meet?
In a lot of superficial ways Ruey fits right in at the Chalet School - in fact, dare one say, she’s a little bit boring, especially if you don’t share her all-encompassing interest in lacrosse, which becomes one of EBD’s mercifully rare forays into school sporting endeavours. EBD does make her a girl who realistically finds it difficult to adjust to some of the aspects of boarding school instead of loving cold baths and early nights. There is also something deeper as Ruey gradually becomes a Chaletian by moving from a superficial ‘oh dear’ reaction to other people’s problems to real consideration and empathy.
The most interesting part of the book is Francie Wilford’s redemption arc. Francie has always been a sullen girl who is a real troublemaker and not just given to what EBD calls ‘nice naughtiness’. Unlike her predecessors Phil Craven, antagonist to Mary-Lou Trelawney, and Mary Woodley, who very similarly was jealously at daggers drawn with new girl Barbara Chester, Francie here is given the gifts of a backstory that explains her attitude and makes her sympathetic and the opportunity to form a real friendship with Ruey. Ruey’s recognition that the Maynard triplets are nice and friendly to her, but that that is very different from being Margot’s best friend, is one of the best things about her, and the way EBD shows her and Francie becoming real friends is one of the best parts of the book.
In a lot of superficial ways Ruey fits right in at the Chalet School - in fact, dare one say, she’s a little bit boring, especially if you don’t share her all-encompassing interest in lacrosse, which becomes one of EBD’s mercifully rare forays into school sporting endeavours. EBD does make her a girl who realistically finds it difficult to adjust to some of the aspects of boarding school instead of loving cold baths and early nights. There is also something deeper as Ruey gradually becomes a Chaletian by moving from a superficial ‘oh dear’ reaction to other people’s problems to real consideration and empathy.
The most interesting part of the book is Francie Wilford’s redemption arc. Francie has always been a sullen girl who is a real troublemaker and not just given to what EBD calls ‘nice naughtiness’. Unlike her predecessors Phil Craven, antagonist to Mary-Lou Trelawney, and Mary Woodley, who very similarly was jealously at daggers drawn with new girl Barbara Chester, Francie here is given the gifts of a backstory that explains her attitude and makes her sympathetic and the opportunity to form a real friendship with Ruey. Ruey’s recognition that the Maynard triplets are nice and friendly to her, but that that is very different from being Margot’s best friend, is one of the best things about her, and the way EBD shows her and Francie becoming real friends is one of the best parts of the book.
January 3, 2026
This was one of the first CS books I ever read, and I have read it many times since, but this was the first time I have read it in the original hardback. As always, the little extras which were cut from the paperback add so much to the overall tone of the book - although I could probably have managed without the blow-by-blow description of a lacrosse match. Also, “crown me with a pancake” is my new favourite expression.
March 25, 2025
I read the GGB unabridged paperback
According to Goodreads I read this in March 2020 and posted a review shortly after the start of the first Covid lockdown. This might explain why I have no memory of the events in this book!
I gave it 3 stars last time but 2.5 this time
Although the book does at least follow Rudy through the book to the end as a true Chaletian there is no real action or challenges for Rudy to overcome
The ‘feud’ with another girl is lukewarm with no real drama and is resolved in a very silly way
Half term is spent travelling all the way to Devon for a wedding but most of the chapter is spent on describing part of the journey and an encounter with another Old Girl with the briefest of mentions of the wedding. The bride does not speak at all , despite being an Old Girl of the school
Ok as part of the series but poor as a standalone book
According to Goodreads I read this in March 2020 and posted a review shortly after the start of the first Covid lockdown. This might explain why I have no memory of the events in this book!
I gave it 3 stars last time but 2.5 this time
Although the book does at least follow Rudy through the book to the end as a true Chaletian there is no real action or challenges for Rudy to overcome
The ‘feud’ with another girl is lukewarm with no real drama and is resolved in a very silly way
Half term is spent travelling all the way to Devon for a wedding but most of the chapter is spent on describing part of the journey and an encounter with another Old Girl with the briefest of mentions of the wedding. The bride does not speak at all , despite being an Old Girl of the school
Ok as part of the series but poor as a standalone book
May 14, 2017
Ruey and her two brothers were fostered by the Maynards in the previous book in the series (because when you already have so many children why not add a few more, I guess?), and in this book Ruey starts at the Chalet School. She has an easy transition, being close friends with the Maynard triplets, which causes jealousy for Francie, who dearly wants to be close friends with Margot (this is the main social tension of the book). Ruey learns to look out for her fellow students, which leads to Joey dubbing her a true Chaletian near the end of the book. Other fascinating plot developments: rather a lot of tedious discussion about lacrosse as it is reintroduced as a sport played at the school; similarly lengthy discussion of minor details of a new uniform dress that's going to be introduced; and a new Christmas play.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews