Am I, or am I not, monitress of this dormitory?

[slemslempike]

I always think of Dorita Fairlie Bruce as the sensible one of the Big Three, lacking as she does a surfeit of either avalanches or titled gentlemen. And of course the presence of the Anti-Soppist League. But I have just finished Dimsie Moves Up Again, and so far in the series they've discovered a secret maze of passages cut of of rock through the back of a wardrobe, found a Vandyck, had it stolen, chased after the thieves in a stolen car driven by an underage schoolgirl, seized it back and made their getaway in a rowing boat on the sea. And I haven't even started the book with the bear leaping into the backseat of the car yet.

At least these do happen to indivdual girls, or groups of girls, though. You can quite see that the whole thing could be explained away as one-off events triggered by the unique nature of Dimsie Maitland*. Much more difficult to convince parents that there is no inherent institutional health and safety problem when the whole school may at any moment be flooded out, trapped in a shed by an snow/heavy fog/inadequate foresight by mistresses, felled by a flying bookend, or married off to a passing member of the medical profession.

I love girls' school stories.

'Meg saddled her horse and rode eight miles across country in the dark - Irish country, mind - to fetch a doctor for a man who had been shot in the rioting.'

'Then she'll marry that man,' declared Pam, with conviction. 'I don't see what else she can do. It was splendid of her though. Meg was always a sport.'

What else indeed!


*Is this not an early example of RAS syndrome? I dearly love that the entry takes care to point out the humour in the name in case anyone missed it.

Comments

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I think Margaret Maynard is absolutely equal to the task of taking out every girl in the school at one fell swoop. Though possibly the San's supply of doctors might run out, and I don't know what would happen then. Suitably scientific PhDs?

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Though possibly the San's supply of doctors might run out, and I don't know what would happen then. Suitably scientific PhDs?

Or, they might be married en masse to a medical sheikh...

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

Nono, not a FOREIGNER. Only one of the doctors who marries someone from the CS (I think) marries someone who's not British (Biddy - I am willing and eager for other examples to be given to me in proof I'm talking out of a lower orafice)

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Do you mean that Biddy's husband is the only Doctor who isn't British? Or that Biddy is the only non-Brit who gets to marry such a prize? I am confused!

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

Biddy's husband is the unBritish one. (Not surprised you're confused - just read it back myself and it makes no sense. I blame the Mouse: I was supposed to be talking to him.)

[serriadh.livejournal.com]

Do any of the English grls marry non-English doctors? I can't think of anyone offhand.

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, this is now another story I wish to write... Perhaps less liked characters could marry doctors from Other Places (you just need a conference taking place there, and it would All Be Fine).