[HPFGU-OTChatter] British boarding school stories (was Coming of age in the WW)

[Shaun Hately]

On 14 Dec 2003 at 15:22, davewitley wrote:


> I'd be interested to know which examples of this genre people have 
> read, and any comparisons to Hogwarts (perhaps we should take this 
> back to the main list?).

I'll post here at least for the moment, because I'm not sure I can 
make enough comparisons to Hogwarts to justify it on the main list 
- it's been at least 13 or so years since I read most of these 
books.

This list won't be complete because I can't remember everyone of 
the books I read. And the order is pretty much just as they pop 
into my head. Some of the books are now in the public domain and 
available for legal download. If I know a link I'll add it (or 
rather I would have done if Project Gutenberg hadn't become 
unaccessible while I was typing it - I'll check for links again 
later - I'm fairly sure Tom Brown's Schooldays is available there 
at least).

'The Heart of the School' by Eustace Boyland. This one has special 
meaning for me. It's not actually British - it's Australian, but 
it's one of the British style schools, set just prior to World War 
I, and is very British in tone - it's actually been described as 
one of the most 'Imperial' of all boys stories. The reason it's 
special to me is because it's set in the school I attended and I 
read it in my first year at that school - I'd plucked it off the 
library shelves thinking it was just another school story, and then 
realised pretty rapidly where it was set - I spent days wandering 
around the school reading chapters at the actual locations they 
were set (when I could work them out - some things had moved around 
over the years - for example, the main dormitory in the book was 
actually the verandah outside the library when I was at the 
school.)

With this book, I can actually see some *possible* Hogwarts 
comparisons - I'll need to quickly outline some history to say why.

Education in Victoria, Australia, in the early twentieth century 
was dominated by the Six Great Schools - there was one University 
(The University of Melbourne), but in terms of 'High Schools', the 
state was *very* limited. There were only one state run High School 
which only opened in 1905 - so the Six Schools (all private 
schools, referred to in British style as Public Schools) were 
*incredibly* significant parts of society - they were the only real 
route to university. The Six Schools were all religious in nature - 
two Church of England, two Presbyterian, one Methodist, one 
Catholic, and the sectarian nature of the schools added to their 
massive competition - and the competition was fierce, both academic 
and sporting - crowds of over 100,000 people turned up to some 
sporting fixtures, and there were periods where there was so much 
ill-will between the schools that competition was banned (hasn't 
changed much - the Six Schools are now all part of the Associated 
Public Schools of Victoria, and just last week students of one 
school were accused of attacking the champion athlete of another).

Anyway - the potential similarities with Hogwarts in The Heart of 
the School, primarily relates to how fierce the competition between 
the schools is, in comparison to house competition at Hogwarts.

While at the school, Peter (I think that was the name of the main 
characer) is basically taught to view those of the other schools as 
his rivals. Some of the relationships with other schools are 
relatively cordial - some are positively warlike. And that's 
natural.

*However* the book ends with Peter dying in his bed at home, 
several years after he left the school (hopefully that doesn't wind 
up being a similarity with HP - the main character dying!). He's 
come back from the war horribly injured (which unfortunately was 
something that happened to a lot of the boys from these schools at 
these times - they tended to become the junior officers of 
Australia's new armed forces and they died leading their men in 
incredible numbers). And as he lies there dying, he tooks about how 
he was wounded and while he lay in no-mans land, he was rescued by 
men who'd been to the rival schools at great risk to their own 
lives.

Part of the point of the book, and of that end sequence, is one 
that I think does have parallels for Harry Potter - the basic 
message is that schoolboy rivalries are something for children. And 
that at some point, when the dangers are real enough, there comes a 
time to put them aside and stand together against the common enemy.

Reminds me more than a bit of the Sorting Hat in Order of the 
Phoenix.

(Incidentally this is not just a matter of a story - one of the 
first armed units formed in Victoria at the start of World War I 
was the Public Schools Batallion - made up of recent graduates from 
the Six Schools. And in World War II, when the Army decided to take 
over one of the schools as a headquarters, within a day of that 
occurring, two of the other schools had offered to take those 
students and staff into their own schools as soon as possible, for 
as long as necessary).

Let's see, other books.

Well, I've read most of Anthony Buckeridge's Jenning's books which 
have already been mentioned and I think they are hillarious.

Enid Blyton, of course - The Naughtiest Girl books, Mallory Towers, 
St Clares - most of her school stories - not the best in my 
opinion, but they were easily accessible. 'The Naughtiest Girl' 
books might have some interest for showing a rather interesting 
variation on the Prefect system.

'Tom Brown's Schooldays' by Thomas Hughes. In many ways, the 
classic school story. Dr Arnold might be interesting for 
comparative purposes with Dumbledore, I suppose. 

'The Forbidden Study' by Hylton Cleaver - very chilling in many 
ways, secret passages in a school.

'The Impossible Prefect' by Hubert Robinson - about a boy who to 
his absolute amazement and shock is made a Prefect - and winds up 
doing an extremely good job of it. So could be of interest to Ron 
fan's.

'The White House Boys' by R.A.H. Goodyear - some stuff in there 
about inter-house sporting rivalries, also a situation where two 
close friends wind up estranged from each other, because one of 
them is just too stubborn to give ground - but in the end when they 
are needed, they stand together.

'The Glory of Graystone' by John Roberts - don't remember that one 
too well - I *think* it's about a boy who though repeated minor 
misbehaviour faces expulsion from his school - because it's minor 
his headmaster gives him a chance - he won't be expelled if he does 
something for the glory of his school.

'The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's' by Talbot Baines Reed - famous 
for its opening line, that often amuses those with a gutter sense 
of humour and certain pre(mis-)conceptions about boarding schools: 
"There is a queer elasticity about young boys."

'The Cock-House at Fellsgarth' also by Talbor Baines Reed. IIRC, 
not a bad insight into house sports.

'Jeremy at Crale' by Hugh Spencer Walpole - online at 
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301511h.html

That's all I can immediately remember - I did rad a lot more of 
them though.








 
Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
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facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
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Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia