Specific Chalet Books Trivia

1. What are Audrey Everett and her sisters, Solange de Chaumontel and Val Gardiner doing when Miss Dene notices them?

From Quiz The Chalet School Wins the Trick

Answer: Trying to light a camp fire

Miss Dene is walking to St Mildred's when she sees Solange carrying an armful of wood and the other girls sitting around the beginnings of a camp fire, with Audrey about to light it. She tells the girls off for trespassing on the school's cricket pitch, and for attempting to light a camp fire in an area that not only has multiple wooden houses, but is also close to a pine wood. She also confiscates Audrey's matches and insists on escorting the girls off the premises after they have cleared away the camp fire. Audrey grudgingly clears the wood away, but tells Miss Dene that they will be back. Len Maynard also encounters the group on her way back from Biddy Courvoisier's house, and she sees Solange running out of the pine wood and slipping on the needles. The group block Len's path, but she stands her ground until Audrey gives up and leaves.

From Quiz The Chalet School and the Island

Answer: There is a problem with the drains.

Several girls at the Chalet School, including the Maynard triplets, have fallen ill with a throat infection and the drains at the school are thought to be the cause, and need a complete overhaul. As a result, the school is forced to relocate, as the entire building will be undergoing work, and Miss Wilson, Madge Russell and the Maynards have had to look for a new building to house the school in. They are looking at buying a place called Halsden House, but the sale falls through. Luckily, the problem is solved when Commander Michael Christy, a friend of Jack Maynard who owns the appropriately titled Big House on the island of St Briavel's, offers his home as a new building for the Chalet School, as he and his family are moving into a smaller house. Joey also discovers that Jem and Madge are going to a tuberculosis conference in Canada, and not only taking their younger children with them, but also plan to take Margot as they feel it would be good for her health. Joey is upset about being parted from her daughter, but Jack manages to talk her round. Len and Con, meanwhile, will have to board at the school on St Briavel's.

From Quiz Althea Joins the Chalet School

Answer: She is getting married and moving to Australia.

Althea accidentally overhears her father and aunt talking about what to do with her, and her father explains that as her mother has been ill, her doctor has told her to go on a long sea voyage. This means Major and Mrs Glenyon will be leaving Althea with her aunt. However, Aunt Joan refuses to take Althea as she is due to be married to a doctor who has a job in Australia, and will soon be moving over there. The wedding had previously been postponed due to Mrs Glenyon's illness, and Aunt Joan didn't want to put it off again. Althea's parents are hesitant to send her to boarding school because she gets ill easily but Aunt Joan's fiancé, Dr Kennedy, happens to be the cousin of Clare Kennedy, a former Chalet School pupil, and he explains about the school's connection with the Sanatorium in the Alps. As it turns out, Althea has heard of the Chalet School from meeting Jack and Anne Lambert on holiday, and is also a fan of Josephine M Bettany's books.

From Quiz Jane and the Chalet School

Answer: She had to move dormitories because Jane was given her cubicle.

Len Maynard is the Dormitory Prefect of Pansy, Jack's original dormitory. As anyone who's read 'A Leader in the Chalet School' and 'The Chalet School Triplets' will recall, Jack is very clingy towards Len and is constantly bombarding her with questions. She has to move to Violet and use the cubicle of Meg Walton, who is moving to Alpenrose, as Jane has never been to school before and her mother has asked if she can be with someone who will help her out. Even though Priscilla Dawbarn, the Dormitory Prefect of Violet, points out that Matron is the one who made the arrangements and it isn't Jane's fault, Jack immediately takes a dislike to Jane and when Miss Dene asks her to show Jane around, she is rude to Jane and blames her for having to change dormitories.

From Quiz The Princess of the Chalet School

Answer: A doctor said she needed to spend time with girls her own age and live like a normal teenager.

At the start of the book, Elisaveta is recovering from a bad bout of pneumonia, and her father is worried about her health. Dr Tracy, the royal doctor, recommends the Chalet School as a friend of his has a daughter there, and the mountain air will be good for Elisaveta. He also thinks Elisaveta is far too serious and needs to live more like a normal teenage girl. Elisaveta has had a series of tutors and governesses and speaks multiple languages, but she is lonely and wants to make friends with girls her own age. When the Prince tells her she is going to be sent to school, she is only too happy to go. When Madge Bettany finds out, she has reservations, as she worries some of the Austrian girls might be too formal around Elisaveta, but Joey suggests treating her like an ordinary girl. Madge tells Joey to keep it a secret about the new girl being a princess.

From Quiz The Coming of Age of the Chalet School

Answer: The Pertwees

As the school has invited several Old Girls to stay for the celebrations, space is limited and local girls such as the Maynard triplets, Nina Rutherford and her cousins are to stay with their families instead (much to Emerence Hope's dismay, as she was looking forward to seeing Margot Maynard again). At breakfast, Miss Annersley informs the girls that Yseult, Val and Ronnie Pertwee have temporarily left school as their mother is recovering from serious surgery in America. She and Miss Wilson explain to the other staff that Mrs Pertwee had delayed treatment because of her book tour and needing to provide for the girls, and became ill as a result. The girls are staying with Cornelia van Alten, an Old Girl who lives in Boston, and attending an American school.

From Quiz A Genius at the Chalet School

Answer: Drowning

Nina is living in Italy when Sir Guy Rutherford, her cousin, comes to fetch her and take her back to his home at Brettingham Park, with a view to her starting school, as she is fifteen. She had been travelling around Europe with her father, Alan, a composer and former musician who was forced to give up music after losing fingers. Alan Rutherford died by drowning while trying to rescue a child from Lake Maggiore, and solicitors had found Sir Guy's details after going through papers. Nina insists on wearing Continental mourning dress, much to Sir Guy's horror, and taking her Bechstein piano with her as it was her father's last gift. This delays the journey by a few days, although at least Sir Guy gets to hear her play.

From Quiz Eustacia Goes to the Chalet School

Answer: Bernhilda Mensch

Bernhilda, Frieda's older sister and one of the original Chalet School pupils, is getting married to Marie von Eschenau's brother, Kurt. Her uncle, a bishop, takes the ceremony and several girls, including Joey, are bridesmaids. During the party afterwards, Joey finds out from Gertlieb, one of the maids, that Frieda's grandmother is seriously ill. Gertlieb says that Bernhilda told her not to tell anyone until she and Kurt had gone, and Joey tells her to hide behind a plant so nobody sees her crying. After the happy couple leave, Joey breaks down in tears and tells Madge, and she and Jem inform Frieda's parents while Joey gets Frieda alone and tells her. Jem calls a halt to the celebrations and the Mensch family go to old Frau Mensch's bedside. She dies shortly after, but the family are comforted by the fact that she will be reunited with Natalie, her dead baby daughter.

From Quiz The Chalet Girls in Camp

Answer: Picking blueberries

Joey and friends are all covered in blueberry juice and their clothes are torn. On seeing them, Madge Russell orders them to go and tidy up, as Elisaveta's father, the King of Belsornia, is coming for a visit. Madge worries that Elisaveta's maid will disapprove of her tan, but the King reassures her that Elisaveta is looking much healthier. Joey's little nephew Rix asks the King why he isn't wearing a crown, and the King answers by asking him if he'd want to wear his hat all the time. The King notices that Joey is looking pale and Madge explains that Joey had been worrying a lot over the Robin's health. Jem gives Joey a quick check and tells her and the others to sleep outside because of the heat.

From Quiz Carola Storms the Chalet School

Answer: Jamaica

Carola's parents live in Nigeria because of her father's job, but they are unable to take her with them so her father's cousin Maud is looking after her. Maud loves to travel and takes Carola everywhere with her, meaning that Carola has never lived in the same place for long or been to school and made friends her own age, and Carola finally has enough and has an argument with her about going to Jamaica. After meeting Biddy O'Ryan at Penny Rest, a boarding house frequented by 'Chalet School' characters, Carola has decided she wants to go to the Chalet School, but Maud refuses. Carola runs off to her room in tears and Maud leaves an angry letter outside her room telling her to apologise. When they are shopping for the journey, Carola buys a makeshift uniform. The governess Maud has booked for Carola is unable to come as she is injured due to a bicycle accident, which makes it easier for Carola to slip away while the passengers are boarding the boat and Maud is distracted.

From Quiz Mary-Lou of the Chalet School

Answer: Her grandmother

Before the start of term, Mary-Lou had been to visit her dying grandmother, as her grandmother was asking to see her. Verity, her stepsister, had already gone back to school with the rest of the girls, and Jem Russell took Mary-Lou back on the plane with him as he was flying out to Switzerland for a consultation at the Sanatorium. When Mary-Lou goes down to the common room, she sees a new girl Jessica Wayne, sitting on her own and looking miserable. She tries to ask Jessica what's wrong, but Jessica angrily brushes her off. Jessica refuses to go to afternoon tea and Mary-Lou warns her that she'll be in trouble with the prefects, and Matron later brings Jessica in and tells the prefect on duty to make sure she eats. Mary-Lou asks her form what is going on with Jessica, and Hilary Bennett explains that they did try to befriend her, but she kept telling them to leave her alone, so they did.

From Quiz A Problem for the Chalet School

Answer: Tom Gay

Rosamund has reservations about the scholarship as she worries the other girls will look down on her, and she is nervous about travelling far away from home, but her teacher Miss Keatinge encourages her to go. Joan accuses Rosamund of being a snob and sucking up to the vicar's wife. Mrs Gay comes to visit the Lilleys and explains why Rosamund was chosen for the scholarship, and that it will cover things like uniform and transport as well as fees. She also takes Rosamund aside and explains that the Gays wanted to give the scholarship as a sign of gratitude, after Canon Gay got a new job, and that she hopes Rosamund will do her best.

From Quiz The New Mistress at the Chalet School

Answer: Oxford

Like many 'Chalet School' characters, Miss Ferrars is an Oxford graduate. She was in the same year as Nell Randolph, a former Chalet School pupil, and was a couple of years below two other Old Girls, Mollie Carew and Joan Sandys. At the beginning of the book, she receives a letter from Miss Wilson offering her a job teaching geography, maths and English. She will also be the form mistress for the new Intermediate Fifth form, or Inter V, a mixed-age form with girls who are not ready to go into the Fifth Form but too old for the Upper Fourth form. Nell did not apply for the job as she wanted to be near her mother (and Miss Ferrars speculates that she didn't want to be working with Miss Annersley, who is her cousin), so she took a job at the English branch instead.

From Quiz The New House at the Chalet School

Answer: Marie and Simone

Marie and Simone's rooms have a pink colour scheme as they face east, while Frieda has an orange one and Joey a yellow one. The furniture in each girl's room is decorated with flowers: roses, delphiniums and lupins for Marie, marigolds and nasturtiums for Frieda, jonquils, daffodils and buttercups for Joey and fuchsias and almond blossoms for Simone. The girls also have their own washstands, rather than a communal bathroom. The new house also has its own common room for the prefects - complete with a canary - a dining room, a common room, a study/detention room, a rooftop garden, and dormitories for the Middles. Lessons will still be taking place over at the main chalet. Although Joey does miss her old dorm, she is taken with the new arrangements. Mlle Lepattre explains that she and the others have been picked as they are a strong group; Joey is Head Girl, Frieda is her Second Prefect, Marie is Games Prefect and Simone is friends with all of them.

From Quiz Bride Leads the Chalet School

Answer: Her family have inherited a ranch in Argentina.

Bride is relaxing at home with her family, and her mum Mollie is recovering from thyroid surgery, when Miss Annersley turns up for a visit and reveals that one of the reasons why she is there is to ask Bride to take over from Loveday as Head Girl. Loveday comes from a farming family, and her father's late uncle - who is also her godfather - has left her his share in a ranch in Argentina. As Loveday is underage, her father is trustee and she and her family have to fly out to Argentina and live there for several months. While she will be returning for her final year at St Mildred's in Switzerland, she will no longer be attending the school at St Briavel's. Miss Annersley tells Bride that she had initially been considered for Head Girl, but Loveday was chosen as she was older and it was felt that some of the girls might have a problem with Bride being appointed immediately after her sister. Bride is uncertain at first, but both Peggy and Miss Annersley reassure her that she'll be fine. When school starts again, a rumour goes around the school that Loveday has had to leave, much to the consternation of the prefects, and Bride explains what happened.

From Quiz Ruey Richardson, Chaletian

Answer: She wants to be Margot Maynard's best friend, and sees Ruey as an obstacle.

Francie is a moody teenager with a troubled home life. Her mother died when she was a baby and her father remarried, only to die in a yachting accident later on. Francie's stepmother then married an old friend and although he tried to be kind, Francie behaved so badly that her stepparents sent her away to boarding school. Emerence Hope, Margot's best friend, has returned to Australia and Francie hopes that she can replace Emerence, only to find that the Maynards have Ruey with them all the time and that Margot and Ruey seem to be close (justified as Ruey is their adopted sister). Francie gets jealous and makes digs at Ruey while the triplets and their friends are chatting.

From Quiz The Chalet School Does It Again

Answer: Head of the Middle School

Julie Lucy is Head Girl in this book. So far, fifteen-year-old Mary-Lou is the only character in the series who holds the position of Head of the Middles (unless you count Margia Stevens in the Tyrol years, who had a similar role when the school was much smaller). She is on friendly terms with the Maynard triplets, who are a few years below her and are all in forms with girls older than their age. She does eventually become Head Girl a few books later, however.

From Quiz The Head Girl of the Chalet School

Answer: The Falls of Rhine

The group are travelling from the New Forest, where Miss Maynard lives, to the Tyrol and are planning to stay in Paris and then Basle to break up the journey. Grizel is desperate to go to Schaffhausen and see the Falls of Rhine, but Miss Maynard refuses as it is too far and there won't be enough time. Grizel plans to go behind Miss Maynard's back, which angers Joey, and the two have an argument about it. Grizel sneaks off and gets the train to Schaffhausen, but has a fit of conscience and returns to the hotel where the group are staying, only to discover that Miss Maynard has taken the other girls and their luggage and gone to Schaffhausen. Frau Betts, the proprietor, has a carriage take Grizel to Schaffhausen and sends a message to Miss Maynard. Miss Maynard is angry and later asks Madge if Grizel is really suitable for the position of Head Girl because of her impulsive behaviour. Madge decides that Grizel should keep the job, to Grizel's relief, but on condition that she behaves herself.

From Quiz A Leader in the Chalet School

Answer: Jacynth Hardy

Jack is the daughter of Ruth Lambert, Gay Lambert's cousin. Jacynth Hardy, now a professional cellist, lives with the Lamberts when not touring. Because having two Jacynths in the house would be confusing, Ruth and Tommy call their daughter 'Jack' for short and several characters muse that it suits her, because she's a tomboy. Her parents decide that both she and Anne will go to the Chalet School once Jack turns eleven. When Len asks after Gay, Jack says that she was teaching in Australia and now has children of her own, and Len passes the news on to her classmates.

From Quiz The Chalet School and Rosalie

Answer: Joanna Reay

Several characters point out the girls' rhyming names: Tom Gay, Rosalie Way and Joanna Reay (and Primrose Day as well). Rosalie has never been to school before, having only had lessons with a few other girls (some of whom join the Chalet School later on). Mrs Way spots Tom at the station and asks her to look after Rosalie on the train. Tom is reluctant but agrees to do so. Rosalie is homesick and cries on the journey, while Joanna irritates Tom and the prefects supervising them by bombarding her with questions until both Tom and Gay Lambert have to tell her to be quiet. Tom warns her that Joanna's peers will find her very obnoxious if she doesn't rein it in a bit.

From Quiz The Chalet School and Richenda

Answer: Chinese ceramics

Chinese ceramics are the reason why Richenda is sent to the Chalet School in the first place. Her widowed father has a room full of valuable Chinese ceramics he has collected, and catches Richenda holding a vase. He has repeatedly warned her not to go into the room, even hitting her with a cane for disobedience. However, Richenda cannot resist the allure of the room as she loves the porcelain so much. This turns out to be the final straw and Professor Fry has Richenda removed from her current school, which he thinks is below par, and sent to the Chalet School, which he learned about through the father of another pupil, Amy Dunne. Richenda is furious and goes to school determined to hate it, brushing off the other girls' attempts at friendliness.

From Quiz The Wrong Chalet School

Answer: The uniform

Katharine's parents are medical missionaries stationed in China and have been interned by the government. Katharine lives with her aunt, a ditzy artist who decides to send her to the Chalet School as an old friend of hers taught there. Unfortunately, she can't remember which one it is and writes to three Chalet Schools: one in Sussex (which turns out to be a preparatory school), one in the fictional town of Tanswick and one on the island of St Briavels (our Chalet School). Both the Tanswick and St Briavels schools have a headmistress called Miss Wilson and a brown uniform, but one uniform is brown and orange - a colour scheme which Aunt Lucia likes - and the other is brown and flame. Aunt Lucia sees a group of girls from Tanswick and thinks that their bright orange tunics must be 'flame', and therefore the wrong school, so she sends Katharine over to another group of girls with brown uniforms and introduces her to Miss Burn, the supervising mistress. Miss Burn has a Mary Katharine Gordon on her list, but assumes someone must have got the names mixed up (since Katharine's full name is Katherine Mary Gordon). Of course, what we realise - but what Katharine doesn't - is that she was supposed to go to Tanswick.

From Quiz Jo to the Rescue

Answer: 10

There are ten children altogether. In detail, they are: Len, Con, Margot and Stephen Maynard, Gerard and Louis von Ahlen, Wolferl and Josefa von und zu Wertheim, Tessa de Bersac and Sybil Russell. Sybil is the oldest of the children and helps look after the younger ones, and is also there to give Madge a break as she is pregnant. With the exception of Jack Maynard, who is working at the Sanatorium, the Quartette's husbands are away at war.

From Quiz Adrienne and the Chalet School

Answer: Soeur Marie-Cecile

Cecilia Marya Humphries is Robin's real name, hence her taking Marie-Cécile as her name when she becomes a nun. She and a fellow nun, along with a male driver acting as backup, are sent by the Mother Superior to rescue Adrienne from the dodgy apartment where she lives on her own, at the request of the local priest. Both her parents are dead and she has little money and little to eat, which causes her to become ill. She is also afraid of the concierge (and with good reason, as she is later revealed to be known to the police and has several criminal tenants). When Robin and Soeur Monique come to pick Adrienne up, the concierge threatens to have her arrested, claiming Adrienne owes her money, but Robin refuses to back down and warns the concierge to leave Adrienne alone.

From Quiz The Feud in the Chalet School

Answer: St Hilda's is destroyed in a fire.

St Hilda's, unlike the Chalet School, only has British pupils and staff and was started by its headmistress, Miss Holroyd, for girls whose parents wanted them to learn languages, but who couldn't afford Swiss finishing school fees. It is much smaller than the Chalet School. A loose cigarette starts a fire and as the area is dry and the school buildings are made of wood, they are quickly set alight. Both Miss Holroyd and Miss Ashley, a former pupil turned teacher, are injured in the fire; Miss Holroyd in particular needs intensive care as her injuries are very severe. The Sanatorium staff take her to the Sanatorium, while the Chalet School's Nurse looks after Miss Ashley. The girls and staff from St Hilda's temporarily move in with the Chalet School until a new building can be found.

From Quiz The Chalet School and the Lintons

Answer: Tuberculosis

Mrs Linton is referred to the Sanatorium at the Sonnalpe by her specialist, Dr James Talbot, who is a friend of Jem Russell. The Sanatorium specialises in tuberculosis cases and Dr Talbot thinks that the mountain climate will be good for Mrs Linton's health, and that she should send her daughters to the Chalet School as it is nearby, and a good school at that. Gillian, the older of the two girls, is more aware of the severity of her mother's illness than her little sister Joyce, and acts as Mrs Linton's carer. The Lintons travel across Europe with a nurse, but have to go slowly and have rest stops because of Mrs Linton's illness.

From Quiz The Highland Twins at the Chalet School

Answer: The Admiralty have taken over their home island.

The McDonald family live on the fictional island of Erisay, in the Highlands of Scotland, and have been educated at home. Fiona and Flora are very shy and speak with a very thick accent, and insist on wearing traditional Highland outfits on the train. Their older brothers are in the Forces and Shiena is likely to be called up, while Flora and Fiona have to go to school. As it happens, a distant relative of theirs, Jean Mackenzie, knows Joey and asks her to take them on, which Joey reluctantly accepts. The McDonalds have a difficult journey from Newcastle to Armiford, as the train is delayed due to an air raid. A group of friendly WAAF members look after them on the journey and share their food, but the McDonalds are shaken and exhausted by the time they get to Armiford.

From Quiz Jo Returns to the Chalet School

Answer: The Bettany twins have measles.

Joey comes to visit her old classmates and spends the weekend at the school. She plans to visit Die Rosen as her brother Dick is staying there, along with his wife and children, but Madge calls Mlle Lepattre and asks her to keep Joey at the school as Peggy and Rix, Dick's twin children, have measles. Madge is worried that their younger siblings, Jackie and Bride, might catch it and also doesn't want Joey getting infected. Joey begs Madge to let her come over, but Madge refuses and orders her to stay at the school.

From Quiz Tom Tackles the Chalet School

Answer: Lucinda Muriel

Tom's father, a vicar, wanted a boy, but as he had a daughter instead, he raised her like a boy and encouraged her to be a 'gentleman'. Although she was christened Lucinda Muriel after her grandmothers, her parents call her Tom at home, and the teachers do as well. She is embarrassed to tell Bride Bettany her real name, but gives in when Bride notices her initials are 'LM Gay', and asks Bride to keep it a secret.

From Quiz The Rivals of the Chalet School

Answer: On a walk with Jem, Dick and Captain Humphries

Joey is interested in the new chalet being built near the lake, so she goes for a walk with Jem, Captain Humphries and Dick to look at it. They encounter Miss Browne, who attempts to sell St Scholastika's to them. It is an English school which takes English pupils, and focuses on modern languages. Joey points out that she is already multilingual, and Jem adds that she is already a pupil at the Chalet School. Miss Browne responds by making a rude remark about French headmistresses. Joey is insulted, but Jem intervenes and explains that his wife is the founder of the Chalet School. He and Dick later warn Joey not to cause any trouble.

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