ST CLARES

9 exciting school stories

by ENID BLYTON

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New, shrinkwrapped set of 9 St Clares books. 9 softcover books in presentation slipcase.

St Clare's is a boarding-school for girls. The St Clares books follow twins Patricia 'Pat' and Isabel O'Sullivan and their friends from first form upwards. Other characters include Alison O'Sullivan (the twins' cousin), Hilary Wentworth, Carlotta Brown (an ex-circus girl), Janet Robins, Doris Elward and Bobby Ellis.

In the first book, The Twins at St. Clare's, the twins do not want to go to St. Clare's. Their parents decide to send them there, anyway, saying that they were spoiled at their fancy prep school, Redroofs. At their new school, the twins earn the nickname "the stuck-up twins", and are initially quite unpopular. However, through their basic kindness and fairness, they gain the affections of the other girls, and eventually settle down. Throughout the series, as the twins move through the school, they meet Janet, who loves tricks, Hilary, who is head of the form, Alison, their feather headed cousin, and many more schoolgirls and teachers including strict mistresses Miss Roberts and Miss Jenks, scatty French teacher Mam'zelle and wise, kind headmistress Miss Theobald.

Enid Blyton wrote 6 St Clares books between 1941 and 1945, and Pamela Cox wrote 3 more St Clares books in 2000 and 2007 to fill the gaps in the series, namely the Third and Sixth Forms, and Kitty at St Clares. Enid Blyton wrote 2 other school series - The Naughtiest Girl and Malory Towers.

1. The Twins at St Clare's - the O'Sullivan twins Pat and Isabel find life at St Clare's is not at all as easy as at their old school. They have several shocks and arguments before they realise the difficulties are of their own making, and settle down and make friends.
2. The O'Sullivan Twins - It's the start of the Easter Term and Pat and Isabel are looking forward to meeting all their friends at St Clare's once more. The new girls prove to be a source of much amusement, and there is all the fun of boarding-school life as well.
3. Summer Term at St Clares - Pat and Isabel are disappointed when they have to miss the first week of the new term. But they soon settle down again, and the summer term brings all sorts of excitement and several new girls, some of whom are less popular than others.
4. Second Form at St Clare's - The first term of the second form turns out to be an eventful one, with new girls Gladys and Mirabel revealing unsuspected talents for acting and music, while Elsie, the form's unpopular Head Girl, learns to be less spiteful.
5. Claudine at St Clare's - Continuing the popular series, St Clare's boarding-school has some interesting newcomers. Claudine, a French girl, causes great excitement by doing and saying exactly what she likes, and Eileen's mother is the new Matron.
6. Fifth Formers at St Clare's - The St. Clare's girls are now in the fifth form, shortly to go up into the sixth, but they are not too old for tricks and escapades, jokes and excitement. Especially amusing is French girl Antoinette who, like her sister Claudine, doesn't always understand the ways of St. Clare's.
7. The Third Form at St Clare's - set before Claudine at St Clare's, The holidays are over and twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are dying to get back to school. The big question on everybody's lips is who will be head girl? There are plenty of candidates to choose from...A terrible accident shows the true leaders and reveals the cheats and cowards too.
8. Kitty at St Clare's - Kitty Flaherty is joining St Clare's, along with McGinty the goat! The girls know that this term is going to be full of fun. But it's also full of upset. Pat misses the first few weeks, thanks to a broken arm, and another new girl, Amanda, seizes the opportunity to become Isabel's new best friend. Will the twins overcome this rift?
9. The Sixth Form at St Clare's - The O'Sullivan twins are head girls! There's two cheeky first formers - more twins! - and a sulky new girl in the sixth form, Morag. Morag detests St Clare's. She's only happy when she can escape to the local riding stables. The twins are sad it's their last year at St Clare's. Before they leave, will they find out what's wrong with Morag?

Age Guide: 9 + years

About the author

Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was a British children's writer known as both Enid Blyton and Mary Pollock. She was one of the most successful children's storytellers of the twentieth century. Once described as a "one-woman fiction machine", she is noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups. Her books have enjoyed popular success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 400 million copies. By one measure, Blyton is the sixth most popular author worldwide: over 3400 translations of her books were available in 2007 according to UNESCO's Index Translationum; she is behind Lenin and almost equal to Shakespeare.

One of her most widely known characters is Noddy, intended for beginning readers. However, her main forte is the young readers' novels, where children ride out their own adventures with minimal adult help. In this genre, particularly popular series include the Famous Five (consisting of 21 novels, 1942 – 1963, based on four children and their dog), the Five Find-Outers and Dog, (15 novels, 1943-1961, where five children regularly outwit the local police) as well as the Secret Seven (15 novels, 1949 – 1963, a society of seven children who solve various mysteries). Her work involves children's adventure stories, and fantasy, sometimes involving magic. Her books were and still are enormously popular in Britain, Malta, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Australia; and as translations in the former Yugoslavia, Japan, and across most of the globe. Her work has been translated into nearly 90 languages.

Blyton only intended to write about 6 to 8 books in the Famous Five series but, owing to their high sales and immense commercial success, she went on to write 21 full-length books featuring the characters. By the end of 1953, more than 6 million copies of these books had been printed and sold. Today, more than two million copies of the books are sold each year, making them one of the biggest-selling series for children ever written. Nearly all of the novels have subsequently been adapted for television.

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The St Clares collection - 9 exciting school stories by Enid Blyton