Mary-Lou of the Chalet School Trivia Quiz

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.

Answer: Kenwigses

Mary-Lou calls her plaits 'Kenwigses' after the hairstyle worn by the Kenwigs girls in Charles Dickens' 'Nicholas Nickleby'. She does her hair in a single plait instead because she thinks she's too old to wear her hair in two plaits, and the other girls are so used to her 'Kenwigses' that they get a bit of a shock when they see her new hairdo.

Some of the longer-haired girls, such as Vi Lucy, also change their hair while the short-haired girls consider writing home to ask their parents if they can grow their hair out. Matron and the staff note how much older the girls look, thanks to the new trend.

Answer: A collection of lesser-known poems for schools

Joey is editing an anthology of lesser-known poems for schools and asks Mary-Lou to help her choose and think of a title. Besides being preoccupied with the anthology, the other reasons she gives for not wanting to intervene with Jessica is that Mary-Lou spends more time with Jessica, as they're in the same form, and Jessica is more likely to listen to a girl her own age. Mary-Lou also realises Joey is pregnant (the baby in question, Cecil, will be born one book later) and that is another reason why she can't intervene with Jessica herself. Mary-Lou is reluctant, because Jessica is so unfriendly, but ultimately decides to do what she can.

Answer: She is tone deaf.

Unlike Verity in 'Three Go to the Chalet School', Jessica doesn't get into trouble over anti-German sentiment; this time, it's because she's tone deaf. Mr Denny becomes irritated when the girls struggle with a certain passage and makes each girl sing it in turn. Mary-Lou goes flat, and Jessica cannot sing the passage at all, no matter how many times Mr Denny makes her repeat it. Mr Denny loses his temper and refuses to let the girls go until Jessica sings the passage properly, and Jessica snaps. Miss Annersley, who is due to take the class next, walks into the room while they're arguing and orders Jessica to apologise for her rudeness. Jessica is too afraid to say anything, so Miss Annersley sends her to her study. Mary-Lou accompanies Jessica and calms her down when she starts crying.

She later explains to Miss Annersley that Jessica genuinely cannot sing, and begs her not to ban Jessica from the half-term trip. Miss Annersley has Jessica apologise to Mr Denny in public and agrees to let her go on the trip, as Jessica is genuinely remorseful. Mr Denny also apologises for getting angry.

Answer: A sheets and pillowcases party

Betsy Lucy, the Head Girl, and the prefect team are struggling to think of a theme for the Saturday night entertainment when it's their turn to host it. Sybil Russell, who is in the Sixth Form but not a prefect, comes into the meeting room with some essays and Betsy asks her what kind of things the school did for entertainment in the Tyrol years. Sybil remembers the stories Joey told her of the sheets and pillowcases party they had in the Tyrol (see 'Jo Returns to the Chalet School') and the girls decide to go for that, although Matron insists that no pins be used in case the sheets and pillowcases get damaged.

The prefects decide to dress up as Indian women in saris, so people will know who the hosts are, and pick dances and prizes. They also ask Miss Annersley if Sybil can help them host the evening, and Miss Annersley agrees as Sybil is due to become a sub-prefect. Mary-Lou later wins a prize for helping other girls with their costumes.

Answer: Zurich

The school go to Zurich, though they split up later to see different attractions. Mary-Lou gets the Gang to sit together on the coach and makes sure that Jessica is included, especially as Jessica has thawed out a little since the singing lesson. A few other girls are part of their group, including the Maynard triplets.

While the younger girls go to see the Pestalozzi Children's Village, a village for war orphans, Miss Wilson and Miss O'Ryan take Mary-Lou's group to the Falls of Rhine at Schaffhausen (as in the Falls of Rhine that Grizel Cochrane so badly wanted to see in 'The Head Girl of the Chalet School').

Answer: Their mothers both married men who had a daughter from a previous marriage.

After church, the girls go for a walk and Mary-Lou makes a point of walking with Jessica, to the other girls' surprise. Unbeknown to Jessica, Joey has told Mary-Lou about Jessica's background: that Jessica's father died when she was little and she and hr mother lived alone together, until Jessica's mother married her bank manager, Mr Sefton. Mr Sefton had a disabled daughter, Rosamund, and Mrs Sefton began spending more time with her than Jessica, which made Jessica become jealous and act out, to the point where her parents sent her to boarding school.

She was expelled from her previous school. Mary-Lou mentions that Verity's father is married to her mother and Jessica opens up about her own background, asking Mary-Lou if she resents having to share her mother. Mary-Lou tells Jessica that she is being selfish, that her mother still loves her, and reminds Jessica that she has a lot of privileges Rosamund doesn't, as Rosamund is unable to walk and can't play sports or go shopping or do other things that girls their age do. Jessica admits she wanted to talk to Mary-Lou after Mary-Lou looked after her after the singing lesson, and Mary-Lou shows her the echoes.

After that, Jessica begins to settle in properly.

Answer: On top of a cupboard

If you've read 'The Chalet School in the Oberland', you might remember the Feast of St Nicholas, and it's repeated in this book. The Recording Angel announces each girl's particular 'sin', such as Carola Johnstone not thinking or spilling ink all the time, and Miss Dene, Miss Wilmot, Miss O'Ryan, Miss Burnett and Miss Bertram - who are dressed up as demons - chase the girls around the school and lash them gently, while the girls try to hide. Mary-Lou is missing when everyone is called back to the hall and Miss O'Ryan goes to investigate, only to ask Jack to help her get Mary-Lou down as she is stuck on top of the stationery cupboard, and can't move in case she and the cupboard fall over! Miss Annersley is not impressed and orders Mary-Lou to mend Mlle de Lachennais' stockings as Mlle has had to mend her torn dress. Luckily, Mlle is aware that Mary-Lou isn't too good at sewing and gives her an easy mending job to do, as well as teaching her the correct stitch.

Answer: Emerence Hope

As the weather is fine, the girls have a winter sports session in the afternoon with skiing and tobogganing. A local man warns Miss O'Ryan that a pine tree has fallen high up on a hill and is buried under the snow, and Miss O'Ryan warns the girls not to go beyond a certain point. Emerence Hope is determined to go to the top of the hill and ride down, and goads Margot Maynard into going up the hill with her. Miss O'Ryan goes to help Miss Derwent when a sledge driven by Blossom Willoughby falls over, dumping its passengers into the snow, but when Miss O'Ryan skis back to the hill, she falls over and Emerence takes advantage of the confusion to go to the top of the hill. Mary-Lou sees her and Margot and shouts at them to come down, and Margot has second thoughts and pleads with Emerence to stop, but Emerence ignores her and toboggans down the hill.

Her toboggan hits the fallen tree and she is ejected from it and crashes into Mary-Lou, slamming her into a tree. Mary-Lou is knocked unconscious and rushed to hospital.

Answer: It is curly.

Mary-Lou is unconscious for five days and Joey watches over her, as Mrs Trelawney is unable to come. Everyone fears the worst, but Jack Maynard notices that Mary-Lou's heart rate is going up, and she wakes up and vomits. Jack discovers that she has not suffered any brain or spinal cord damage as she is able to move her limbs, but she will be in considerable pain for a while.

He sends Joey off to get some sleep and goes to see Emerence, who has broken her collarbone and sprained her ankle, made herself ill with crying. Jack orders her to calm down and washes her face.

He also goes to see Margot and tells her that he is proud of her for standing up to Emerence. Mary-Lou recovers quickly and is soon eating again, although she has to miss the school Christmas concert, and has her friends come in to visit, along with Emerence.

The two girls kiss and make up. Mary-Lou is annoyed about having to have her head shaved, but cheers up when the nurse tells her that her hair, which was previously straight, is going to grow back curly. Mary-Lou says that she has always wanted curly hair.