A celebration of the Malory Towers books that put life in front of lessons

Never bored of boarding school drama.

It is 75 years since First Term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton was published

Aine Toner Twitter Email

July 03 2021 07:00 AM

This year sees the 75th anniversary of the publication of First Term at Malory Towers. Before Harry Potter escaped from his understairs room to the wonder of Hogwarts, Enid Blyton’s series followed 12-year-old Darrell Rivers on her experiences and adventures in boarding school.

The clifftop school in Cornwall, full of well-to-do pupils from fine, upstanding families, may have been worlds away from 1980s Belfast but Darrell and her friends’ antics took up a great deal of my childhood reading — and imagining.

Blyton’s books have sold over 500 million copies and been translated into other languages more often than any other children’s author. It’s estimated she wrote over 700 books and 2,000 short stories including my other favourite as a child, The Secret Seven series.

I desperately wanted to go to Malory Towers, even for a night, have a midnight feast (the height of being bold in my young eyes), have a look at the swimming pool – only leisure centres had pools when I was growing up, not schools — play a prank on the all too gullible French teacher and then come home.

Additionally, Darrell was frequently described throughout the series as hot headed, something she later cooled enough to eventually become Head Girl in the final book. As a young hot headed child, Darrell was a wholesome idol.

Granted, Blyton’s books aren’t without their critics, though the Malory Towers series, published between 1946 and 1951, has been dubbed more forward looking than others in her canon.

For those living in post-war Britain – for the second time – hope, charity and goodwill were important and it’s no surprise that they flow through the fictional boarding school.

During lockdown, I sought out second hand copies of the series, wanting a world that was safe, secure and Covid-free. Many turned to similar forms of art, not just literature.

When everything was so askew and there seemed to be no definitive answers to the multitude of questions we had, there was comfort in reading something so different to what we were experiencing. Darrell and her friends’ world was unchanging even if ours had been turned on its head.

A sense of community and tolerance, however, runs throughout the series as the young students grow into young women and prepare to take on the world. Is this an original Girl Power story? Well, it’s not far off, though modern adaptations have ensured diversity.

A volume of four stories written by modern authors was published in 2019. New Class At Malory Towers updates the affluent, all-white cast and prompts questions about changes in education and society. A good conversation starter with your young reader, perhaps.

A 2020 CBBC TV adaptation further brought Malory Towers to new fans but with a contemporary twist. The midnight feasts were still present (hurrah) as were lacrosse games, pranks and of course, the building of friendships, but FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), peer pressure, crushes, bullying and self-doubt also featured.

What Malory Towers showed, 75 years ago and in recent adaptations, is that there is more to life than lessons.

Even within a school, friendship, camaraderie, patience and kindness were vital if you were to even think about enjoying yourself.

It’s the same in Hogwarts, in Robin Stevens’ Murder Most Unladylike series of novels, even the Chalet School series, set in the Austrian Tyrol.

Getting on with the people around you helped you get on with being away from home, missing parents and siblings.

A celebration of the Malory Towers books that put life in front of lessons

Daily Headlines & Evening Telegraph Newsletter

Most Read

Top Videos

Watch: Men brawl with crutches in Castle Street - Belfast

Watch: CCTV shows the moment that killer Raymond O'Neill flees after murdering and burning Jennifer Dornan

Comedian Joe Lycett investigated by PSNI after joke made in Belfast stand-up show reported by audience member

Latest Books

Latest