| The Twins at St. Clare's | |
|---|---|
1st edition |
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| Author(s) | Enid Blyton |
| Illustrator | W. Lindsay Cable |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Series | St. Clare's |
| Subject(s) | Boarding, Classic |
| Publisher | Methuen |
| Publication date | 1941 |
| Followed by | The O'Sullivan Twins |
The Twins at St Clare's is a children's novel by Enid Blyton set in an English girls' boarding school. It is the first of the original six novels in the St. Clare's series of school stories.[1] First published in 1941, it tells the story of twin sisters Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in their first term at a new school.[2]
The two girls, having just finished school at the elite school called Redroofs, are expected to move on to senior school. While most of their friends at their old school are moving to the equally elite Ringmere, the twins' parents are reluctant to send them to an expensive school as they are afraid the twins might become spoilt and snobbish. Furious at their parents' refusal to send them to the school of their choice, the twins are determined to be as difficult as possible at St. Clare's.
The twins soon find out that keeping their nose high will bring them trouble. They meet Miss Roberts, a strict but fair teacher, who is also their form mistress, and keeps the form quite well under control. They meet other first form girls with whom they share a dormitory, such as Hilary Wentworth, Doris Edwards, Janet Robins, Vera Johns and Sheila Naylor. Soon, they are called "the stuck up twins" by the rest of the form. They immediately like the head girl Winifred James, who is the pride of St. Clare's. The twins find it irritating that they are among the most junior girls in school (being only 14 and a half), while in Redroofs they were head girls.
The twins are especially at odds with their French mistress, Mam'zelle. She is very hot tempered, and is frustrated that they make so many mistakes. Mam'zelle frequently uses the French word abominable for the twins' work, and thus the twins secretly begin to call her "Mamzelle Abominable".
The twins miss their favourite sports of field hockey and tennis because only lacrosse is played at St Clare's. However, Pat turns out to be quite good at lacrosse. She is selected by sports captain Belinda Towers despite having defied her earlier.
The twins soon make good friends with the other girls and play pranks on others in the school. Most pranks are directed at Miss Kennedy, their new history teacher for the term, who is a very timid and insecure teacher, though highly qualified. One of the pranks for Miss Kennedy is discovered by Miss Roberts and she punishes the whole form because of it. The class stops playing tricks on Miss Kennedy when the twins accidentally overhear her talking to a friend about giving up her job, despite needing the money to help her sick mother, because she cannot control the class.
After an uneasy start, the twins generously help Kathleen Gregory and Sheila Naylor at times of trouble and win their loyal and sincere friendship and praise. They are soon liked by Miss Theobald, the headmistress, who considers them very dedicated pupils. But the twins' friend Kathleen has something to hide. She finds a wounded dog and nurses it back to health in secret. The dog escapes from the boxroom where he is kept and is discovered by Miss Theobald. However, Kathleen is allowed to keep the dog and all is well. By the end of term, the girls are completely settled in and are enjoying St. Clare's.