This series is known more widely in Britain and other countries with a strong British influence than it is in the United States, but it is considered a classic.
Madge Bettany, in need of money and with a younger sister, Joey, to help raise, decides to leave England and go to Tyrolean Austria to start a new boarding school for girls. Their parents are dead, and while Madge has a twin brother, Dick, he does not have much money, and they have no other relatives to rely on. Madge has teaching experience, and she knows of an old chalet in Austria that she could use to start a new school with a friend and fellow teacher, Mademoiselle Lepattre. Dick worries about whether they really have enough money to start a school, but Madge says that they can sell what they own in England and buy supplies in Europe because expenses are lower on the continent. Madge also believes that the climate in Austria will be healthier for Joey, who has been very ill. The school turns out to be very successful, and Joey’s health does improve in Austria. They make new friends through the school, and the school also changes the lives of the students.
The series focuses on the adventures of the girls who attend the school. In many ways, the books are a classic example of English school stories. Although the school is actually in Austria, Madge runs it in a classic English style. The girls who attend the school, including the ones who are actually day students from the nearby Austrian town, have read stories about English boarding schools, and they find the concept as fascinating as modern children who read books like Harry Potter and wonder what it’s like to go to an English boarding school. The Austrian girls and other girls from different countries actually go out of their way to live out some of the essential aspects of an English boarding school education because that is part of the romance of actually attending one. By the end of the first book, the girls are wearing an established school uniform, have formed a school magazine called The Chaletian, and have played some of the traditional school pranks on each other. In later books, the girls start a Girl Guide troop at the school, and a rival school opens nearby.
Throughout the books, it is common for students to suffer from heath problems, bad home lives, or behavioral issues. The school and the support of the students’ new friends there help them to face their problems and improve their lives and behavior. There are many instances throughout the series where students are orphans or lose their parents after being enrolled, causing them to see the school as their new home.
Unlike other children’s school stories, the children in this series age throughout the series. There are new developments in the lives of all of the characters. Some of the girls lose parents or other relatives, and the older ones eventually graduate from the school. The adult characters get married and have children. As the students grow up, they also marry and have children. Some of the students marry relatives of fellow students and teachers. Some of the original students eventually return to the school as teachers. Children of the older characters often become students at the school later. You eventually find out what happens to all or most of the main characters in the different books as time goes on.
As the Chalet School expands and world events interfere, the school moves locations and opens additional locations in new places. This series was started before the beginning of World War II, but once the war started, events of the war were included in the books, influencing the course of the series. The series actually manages to keep pace well with international developments happening as the books were written and published. The children attending the school are of different nationalities, some of which end up on opposite sites of the war. As Germany annexes Austria, some of the students are withdrawn from the school, and the Chalet School is actually forced to flee Austria, along with its remaining students. The school is reestablished in an old house in Guernsey and later moves to mainland England. By the end of the series, the school has multiple branch locations which are in different countries.
Among the main characters of the series:
Madge Bettany – Short for Margaret. Twin sister of Dick Bettany. The two of them are 24 years old when the series begins. Neither is married, and their parents are dead. They do not have many other relatives. Their only sibling is Joey. Madge eventually marries Dr. James “Jem” Russell. They have six children.
Dick Bettany – Short for Richard. Twin brother of Madge Bettany. In the first book, he lives and works in India. He marries Mollie, and they have five children as the series progresses. Throughout the series, they alternately live in Europe and India.
Joey Bettany – Short for Josephine. Later, she is called Jo. In the beginning of the series, Joey is 12 years old. Her health is very poor in England, but it improves in Austria. She becomes an author and marries Dr. Jack Maynard. They have eleven children together, including a set of triplets.
Grizel Cochrane – A girl Joey’s age, a friend from England. She is Madge’s first recruit for the boarding school, aside from Joey. Grizel’s mother is dead, and she has been very unhappy at home since her father remarried. Her stepmother had been pressuring her father to send her away to boarding school, and when Madge told them that she was starting one, her father decided to send her. Grizel joins the school eagerly and is much happier there than she was at home. At first, she challenges the rules of the school, pushing the limits as she enjoys the relative freedom of life at the school, compared to her stepmother’s harsh rules. In later life, she calms down and is less wild. When her education is complete, Grizel becomes a music teacher at the Chalet School’s expansion for children with delicate health. She also helps a friend with a music shop in New Zealand.
Simone Lecoutier – One of the earliest students of the school. Mademoiselle Lepattre is her older cousin. In the first book, Simone is very lonely and miserable at the school, away from her mother, even though her cousin teaches at the school. At first, she is the only French student, which adds to her loneliness. (The other early students are English and Austrian.) Simone clings to Joey at first and is jealous when Joey makes other friends. As the series progresses, Simone develops more confidence and becomes less clingy. Later, after her education is complete and the school goes into exile during World War II, Simone returns to the school as a mathematics teacher. Her sister and parents join her in England during the war. Simone marries André de Bersac, and they have four children.
Gisela Marani – One of the Austrian day students. She becomes the first head girl of the school. Her younger sister, Maria, is also a student at the school. Later, she marries and becomes Gisela Mensch. She has several children. During the war, her father dies in a concentration camp, and she moves to the Welsh Mountains.
Juliet Carrick – Juliet is an English girl left at the school by her self-absorbed parents. At first, they enroll her normally, and then they actually abandon her, writing a letter to Madge to say that they are surrendering custody of Juliet to her permanently and that she can give Juliet to an orphanage if she cannot find a job for her to do at the school to pay for her education. Juliet admits to Madge that she was afraid that her parents would abandon her because they had tried to do it once before. Madge doesn’t have the heart to send Juliet to an orphanage, so she allows her to stay at the school and help with the younger children. Before the end of the first book, her parents are killed in an automobile accident. With no other relatives to claim her and an inheritance to help with her education, Juliet’s custody is left solely to Madge and the school. Juliet is grateful to Madge and the school but troubled about her parents’ lack of love for her. After Juliet completes her education, she becomes the headmistress of an expansion of the Chalet School for children with delicate health. She later marries a man named O’Hara and has a son named Donal.
Books in the Series:
The School at the Chalet (1925)
In need of money and with a younger sister to raise, Madge Bettany decides to open a new boarding school for girls in Austria.
Jo of the Chalet School (1926)
The girls’ first winter at the Chalet. Joey becomes the editoress of the Chaletian and develops a new ambition to be an author. Madge also develops a romance.
The Princess of the Chalet School (1927)
The daughter of a prince, Princess Elisaveta, becomes a student at the school, and a new matron becomes a tyrant. The girls stage a rebellion against the matron, and Joey saves the princess’s life. Madge marries Jem Russell.
The Head Girl of the Chalet School (1928)
Grizel, normally the wild child of the school, becomes the new head girl. Can she turn over a new leaf? Mademoiselle Lepattre becomes the new headmistress after Madge’s marriage.
The Rivals of the Chalet School (1929)
Four years after the Chalet School began, a new school is built across the lake, St. Scholastika’s, and it becomes a rival for the Chalet School.
Eustacia Goes to the Chalet School (1930)
Eustacia is an orphan, sent to the Chalet School because her family finds her unmanageable. However, Eustacia is not happy about being sent away to boarding school, and she becomes a troublemaker.
The Chalet School and Jo (1931)
Joey (now called Jo) is 16 years old, and she becomes head girl of the Chalet School. The school puts on a Passion Play.
The Chalet Girls in Camp (1932)
Princess Elisaveta returns and joins the other girls at the Girl Guide Camp.
The Exploits of the Chalet Girls (1933)
A new addition to the Chalet School, Thekla, is a snob and causes problems for the other girls.
The Chalet School and the Lintons (1934)
The Linton girls, Gillian and Joyce, come to the Chalet School after their mother comes down with tuberculosis. Thekla is expelled.
The New House at the Chalet School (1935)
Jo’s last term at the Chalet School. She and another girl meet Jem’s long-lost sister.
Jo Returns to the Chalet School (1936)
Although Jo has completed her education at the school, circumstances require her to stay on as a substitute for a sick staff member. Jo also writes her first novel.
The New Chalet School (1938)
The headmistress of St. Scholastika’s retires and turns the school over to the Chalet School, making the two schools one school.
The Chalet School in Exile (1940)
As World War II begins, the school is forced to leave Austria. Jo marries Dr. Jack Maynard. Madame Lepattre dies, and Simone becomes a mistress at the school.
The Chalet School Goes to It (1941)
Also called The Chalet School at War. The school moves to mainland England for safety.
Highland Twins at the Chalet School (1942)
Flora and Fiona MacDonald join the school. For a time, they believe that Jack may have been killed at sea, but they later learn that he was rescued. Elizaveta also arrives in England, escaping from the war.
Lavender Laughs in the Chalet School (1943)
Thirteen-year-old Lavender Leigh has spent much of her early life traveling with her aunt, collecting information for a series of geography books. However, the war and Lavender’s nerves convince her aunt to enroll her in the school to live a more settled life.
Gay From China at the Chalet School (1944)
Jo to the Rescue (1945)
Three Go to the Chalet School (1949)
The Chalet School and the Island (1950)
Peggy Of The Chalet School (1950)
Carola Storms the Chalet School (1951)
The Wrong Chalet School (1952)
Shocks for the Chalet School (1952)
The Chalet School in the Oberland (1952)
Bride Leads the Chalet School (1953)
Changes for the Chalet School (1953)
Joey Goes to the Oberland (1954)
The Chalet School and Barbara (1954)
Tom Tackles the Chalet School (1955)
The Chalet School Does it Again (1955)
A Chalet Girl from Kenya (1955)
Mary-Lou of the Chalet School (1956)
A Genius at the Chalet School (1956)
A Problem for the Chalet School (1956)
The New Mistress at the Chalet School (1957)
Excitements at the Chalet School (1957)
The Coming of Age of the Chalet School (1958)
The Chalet School and Richenda (1958)
Trials for the Chalet School (1958)
Theodora and the Chalet School (1959)
Ruey Richardson – Chaletian (1960)
A Leader in the Chalet School (1961)
The Chalet School Wins the Trick (1961)
A Future Chalet School Girl (1962)
The Feud in the Chalet School (1962)
The Chalet School Triplets (1963)
The Chalet School Reunion (1963)
Jane and the Chalet School (1964)
Redheads at the Chalet School (1964)
Adrienne and the Chalet School (1965)
Summer Term at the Chalet School (1965)
Challenge for the Chalet School (1966)
Two Sams at the Chalet School (1967)
Althea Joins the Chalet School (1969)
Prefects of the Chalet School (1970)
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 