Autumn Term

Last updated

Autumn Term
AntoniaForest AutumnTerm.jpg
First edition [2nd impression] cover
Author Antonia Forest
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Faber and Faber
Publication date
1948
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN 0-571-06521-X (hardback edition)
OCLC 13968369
Followed by The Marlows and the Traitor  

Autumn Term is the first in the series of novels for children about the exploits of the Marlow family, written by Antonia Forest and published in 1948. Set in the post-war years, the novel narrates the school life of the two youngest Marlows, identical twins Nicola and Lawrence, during their first term at the fictional 'Kingscote School for Girls'. The series then continues with The Marlows and the Traitor .

Contents

Context

Forest claimed she aspired to write adult fiction and that she wrote Autumn Term to improve her chances of being published, hoping that a school story for children might meet with greater success. [1] However, Autumn Term differs from other examples of the genre. Hence, the heroines, Nicola and Lawrie (Lawrence), are often unsuccessful in their endeavours and are at times unsympathetic, whilst the antagonist Lois Sanger is portrayed as having redeeming traits.

Plot summary

Nicola makes an inauspicious start to her career at Kingscote School when she drops her leaving present, a penknife, out of the train and pulls the communication cord so that she can jump out to retrieve it. She and her twin then suffer the indignity of being placed in a Remove form, when all their sisters have always been in A forms. The misery is compounded when they discover that Removes are not even allowed to play netball.

Since there is nothing else they can do, they join the school Guide Company and hope to shine there. All goes well until a hike down to the beach is planned. Nicola and Lawrie offer to take a shortcut through a farmyard in order to get the campfire lit. Unfortunately a haystack on the farm is found burned down later that afternoon and the twins are the prime suspects. Lois Sanger, their Patrol Leader, should be the one to take responsibility but instead twists the story to make herself look good. After an agonizing Court of Honour, the twins are asked to leave the company.

Halfterm with the family gives opportunity for the elder Marlows to laugh at the twins' failures. Nicola takes advice from her eldest brother, Giles (a lieutenant in the Navy), that she should concentrate on what she is good at - being bad! A few weeks later, when things are particularly miserable at school, she remembers his advice. She takes the train down to Port Wade to visit Giles and his ship. When she gets there, she realises that she has not enough money for the return ticket and that she has no idea where to find Giles. Eventually she tracks him down and, although he is singularly unimpressed with her, he does at least put her on the train back to school.

The second half of term is dominated by the fundraising efforts of the Third form. The other classes are organising a Bazaar, and offer Third Remove the Jumble and Kitchen stalls. Preferring to do their own thing, Third Remove put on a play. Tim (Thalia) Keith, niece of the Headmistress, writes a version of The Prince and the Pauper so that Nicola can be Edward VI and Lawrie can play Tom Canty, the beggar boy who looks just like the king.

The play is saved by Lois Sanger who agrees to read the narration for them, in an attempt to atone for her actions in the Guide company. Nicola is unreconciled, but acknowledges that Lois does read well. However, it is Lawrie who is the star of the show, carrying the rest of the cast with her.

Nicola, alone of Third Remove, makes a respectable showing in the end of term exams. However, the rest of the form are more than satisfied to have earned the epithet 'brilliant eccentrics' from one of the Sixth Form, if a little embarrassed to discover that through Nicola's efforts they have also won the Form Tidiness Prize.

Kingscote School for Girls

Kingscote School for Girls is a fictional girls' boarding school, the setting of four of the novels in the Marlow series. The school is located in Wade Abbas – a fictional town elevated to city status by the presence of Wade Minster, a cathedral. The books are set in a mythical landscape taking in elements from all over southern Britain, from Sussex to Pembrokeshire, and Forest said that she had based Wade Minster itself on Chichester Cathedral.

Kingscote, though a boarding school, is based in many ways on Forest's own (day) school, South Hampstead High School, which she attended between 1921 and 1934. It takes in pupils from about 6 or 7 right through to sixth form (16–18), and has forms divided into A, B and (in certain years) Remove. Like South Hampstead, the school plays netball, hockey, rounders and cricket (Forest herself played for the school in netball, hockey and cricket), and many of the teachers at Kingscote are based to an extent on those who taught Forest.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lois Lane</span> Fictional character in the Superman series

Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1. Lois is an award-winning journalist for the Metropolis newspaper the Daily Planet and the primary love interest of the superhero Superman and his alter ego, Clark Kent. In DC continuity, she is also his wife and the mother of their son, Jon Kent, the newest Superboy in the DC Universe.

Educational settings as place and/or subject in fiction form the theme of this catalogue of titles and authors. Organized alphabetically by the author's last name, the information is further divided by general school environments and those where the university, specifically, is the locale. The list spans centuries and geographical boundaries, featuring Charlotte Brontë, Agatha Christie and Honoré de Balzac as well as contemporary writers Curtis Sittenfeld, Joyce Carol Oates and Donna Tartt. For those interested in learning more about the school/university in literature, references are included that provide a more academic study of the subgenre.

Restless (<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>) 22nd episode of the 4th season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"Restless" is the 22nd episode and season finale of season four of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), and the 78th episode of the series overall. The episode was written and directed by the show's creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on The WB in the United States on May 23, 2000.

<i>The Singing Detective</i> 1986 BBC television serial drama

The Singing Detective is a BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It".

Antonia Forest was the pseudonym of Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein, an English writer of children's novels. She is known for the Marlow series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmanuelle Chriqui</span> Canadian and American actress (born 1975)

Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui is a Canadian and American actress. She is best known for playing Sloan McQuewick on HBO's Entourage (2004–2011), Claire Bonner in Snow Day (2000), Dalia in You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008), Lorelei Martins on CBS's The Mentalist (2008–2015), and Lana Lang on The CW's Superman & Lois (2021–present).

<i>The Marlows and the Traitor</i> 1953 novel by Antonia Forest

The Marlows and the Traitor is the second in the series of novels about the Marlow family by Antonia Forest, first published in 1953. The story is set during the Easter holidays in a small fishing village on the South Coast of England. It is the first in the series to feature sailing and the first to have a major male character. In fact there are two significant male characters, Peter Marlow and the traitor. This story, more than most in the series, focuses on the younger members of the family. In the introduction to the Girls Gone By edition of The Marlows and the Traitor, Forest admits she never intended to write a series of books about the Marlows. At the time of writing the Nuremberg Trials were happening and Forest decided to write a book about a traitor. Only then did it occur to her to use the Marlows in the book.

<i>Falconers Lure</i>

Falconer's Lure is a 1957 falconry-based novel by Antonia Forest. Falconer's Lure is the third book in the series, between The Marlows and the Traitor and End of Term.

<i>End of Term</i>

End of Term is a book by British children's author Antonia Forest, published in 1959. End of Term is the fourth Marlow book, between Falconer's Lure and Peter's Room.

Archbishop Tenison's Church of England High School, commonly known as Tenison's, is a co-educational 11-18, voluntary aided, school in the London Borough of Croydon, England, part of the educational provision of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark and Croydon Council. It is a specialist Mathematics and Computing College.

April De Angelis is an English dramatist of part Sicilian descent. She is a graduate of Sussex University who trained at East 15 Acting School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernice Blackstock</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Bernice Blackstock is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Samantha Giles. She made her first on screen appearance on 25 November 1998. In September 2012, it was announced Giles had reprised her role and Bernice returned on 20 November 2012 after over eight years away from the programme. In September 2019, Giles announced her departure from the series, with her final scenes airing in November 2019. In April 2021, it was announced that Giles would be returning to the soap, with her return scenes airing on 27 May 2021.

Yarlet School, formerly Yarlet Hall, is a coeducational preparatory school located in the district of Yarlet, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the county town Stafford in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martina Bergman-Österberg</span>

Martina Sofia Helena Bergman-Österberg was a Swedish-born physical education instructor and women's suffrage advocate who spent most of her working life in Britain. After studying gymnastics in Stockholm she moved to London, where she founded the first physical education instructors' college in England, to which she admitted women only. Bergman-Österberg pioneered teaching physical education as a full subject within the English school curriculum, with Swedish-style gymnastics at its core. She also advocated the wearing of gymslips by women playing sports, and played a pivotal role in the early development of netball. Bergman-Österberg was an advocate of women's emancipation, directly encouraging women to be active in sport and education, and also donating money to women's emancipation organisations in her native Sweden. Several of her students founded the Ling Association, which later became the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom.

Sulu Fitzpatrick, also known as Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick, is a New Zealand netball and rugby sevens player. She plays for the Northern Mystics in the ANZ Championships. She can play the Goal Keeper, Goal Defence, and Wing Defence positions. She is of Samoan heritage.

<i>Peters Room</i> Book by Antonia Forest

Peter's Room is a book by British children's author Antonia Forest, published in 1961. It is the fifth instalment of the modern Marlow series, between End of Term and The Thuggery Affair. Unlike the school stories for which Forest is best known, Peter's Room is set entirely at the family's home.

<i>The Thuggery Affair</i> 1965 book by Antonia Forest

The Thuggery Affair is the sixth in a series of novels about the modern Marlow family by children's author Antonia Forest, first published in 1965. It is preceded by Peter's Room and succeeded by The Ready-Made Family.

<i>The Ready-Made Family</i> Book by Antonia Forest

The Ready-Made Family is the seventh in the series of children's novels about the Marlow family by Antonia Forest, first published in 1967, and set in that period. Although most famous for her school stories, it is the third in a row in the series to be set away from the world of Kingscote college.

Kelly Jury is a New Zealand netball international. She represented New Zealand at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. During the ANZ Championship era Jury played for Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. Since 2020, she has played for Central Pulse in the ANZ Premiership. Jury was a prominent member of the Pulse teams that won the 2020 and 2022 ANZ Premierships. Alongside Tiana Metuarau, she was co-captain of the 2022 Pulse team. She was the 2022 ANZ Premiership Player of the Year and shared the 2022 Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award with Grace Nweke.

Gina Crampton is a New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand teams that won the 2019 Netball World Cup and the 2021 Constellation Cup. Crampton was also a member of the Southern Steel teams that won the 2017 and 2018 ANZ Premierships. She was named the 2016 New Zealand ANZ Championship Player of the Year and the 2019 ANZ Premiership Player of the Year. Crampton has captained both Southern Steel and New Zealand. Since 2021 she has played for Northern Stars.

References

  1. Heazlewood, Anne "The Marlows and Their Maker" Girls Gone By, 2007, p.80 ISBN   9781904417903