The Chalet School and the Lintons by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The first thing to say about The Chalet School and the Lintons is that it’s a much better hardback than it is paperback. In a way it marks the first of the Armada edits that, to me, make very little sense. So! This review covers the hardback edition because that’s the one I read, and I like the shape of it a lot more than the paperback edit. You have to understand at this point with these books, we’re here for the detail that makes no sense to anyone and innumerably fantastical plot points because that is how this series rolls and we love it.
Okay, so to the book! This is Joyce and Gillian Linton’s first term at the school. Their mama is very ill and her only hope lies to go for the mountain air. Naturally the two girls follow and are enrolled and high-jinks occur and it is great. It is also SUPER dramatic (especially if you get the uncut) and goes to some quite big places and some quite intense moments. I love this period of the books a lot, god, they’re so good. Also THEKLA, drama queen, peerless villain, bacon chomping, AMAZING.
What I also really enjoyed is how EBD writes her adults here. There’s some lovely moments between the adults (and a hot doctor in the uncut being all YOU WILL NOT WALK HOME YOU DELICATE FLOWER MY CHAUFFEUR WILL DRIVE YOU HOME which, outstanding) and Madge going “oh Joey, you twit” and also Dr Jem being SO brilliant and ugh, I love it, I love it.
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Daisy May Johnson 
It goes a bit mad at the end, when Mrs Linton is snatched from the jaws of death by Jo telling her that Joyce hasn’t been expelled! But it’s generally quite entertaining.
Oh I LOVE that bit!! It’s actually one of the few moments that I feel EBD gets away with the high, arch camp she almost does at the time – it really invokes something very genre-specific to me. (I’ll stop here and not write you an essay I promise!).