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Bezig met laden... Jenny and the Syndicate (1982)door Harriet Martyn
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Onderdeel van de reeks(en)Balcombe Hall (1)
Jenny's first term at boarding school brings unexpected problems when a new friend keeps getting Jenny into increasingly serious trouble. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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The first of a trilogy of school stories set at Balcombe Hall - the subsequent two titles were Jenny and the New Headmistress and Jenny and the New Girls - Jenny and the Syndicate was first published in 1982, and was apparently inspired by its author's love of the genre. According to Sue Sims and Hilary Clare's The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories, 'Harriet Martyn' was a pseudonym used by Lady Sarah Collins, the daughter of the 7th Earl of Donoughmore, who began the series as part of a mother-daughter project, before continuing on by herself. Whatever the case may be, I found this an engaging tale, and a fun addition to the girls' school-story genre. The theme of the rebellious cadre of girls is not so unusual in this sort of book, but the way in which Miss Hamilton dealt with the Syndicate - having them strip off their offending articles of clothing, worn in a gesture of defiance, in the middle of class, and continue for the rest of their lesson in a state of semi-dress - had me chuckling. That isn't something one would have seen in older examples of the genre! I was more than a little surprised, and considerably less charmed at some of the language here - the use of "bitchy" and "bitchiness" by some of the schoolgirl characters - which is also something one wouldn't have seen in older books. To be honest, I'm a little shocked to find it in a children's book from the 80s. I know that 'ass' is considered uncontroversial in children's books in the UK, as it is used to mean "idiot" or "fool" - something I discovered when I encountered it in Antonia Forrest's Autumn Term - but surely "bitch" is considered to be just as nasty and denigrating a word there, as it is here in the states?
Leaving aside that one discordant note, this is a book I would recommend to all fans of the girls' school story genre. It can be a little difficult to track down - I read it at my university library, when taking my masters - but it is a pleasant little creampuff of a story, if one does manage it. ( )