An important book in the lengthy Chalet School series, and probably my favourite. Naziism arrives in Austria, forcing the school to re-locate.

High drama surrounds the escape of a small group after a nasty incident, told with realism. Joey, still a schoolgirl at heart at the start of the book, finally grows up and surprises her family and friends.

There are warm friendships, believable characters, and an extremely moving ending in this realistic, contemporary insight into what it might have been like for teenagers of all nationalities as World War II got going.

Well worth acquiring in hardback or 'Girls Gone By' edition. Very highly recommended to anyone who appreciates school stories of this genre.

Latest full review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-chalet-school-in-exile-by-elino... ( )

I was hoping this one would live up to my memories, and it did. With lots of plot, and a huge amount of character development, Exile has more depth than any of the previous books. I was particularly pleased to see Robin developing a personality after so many years of just being a delicate angel-child.

It is really like two books in one, since it breaks sharply between the escape from Austria and the re-opening of the school on Guernsey. I find books written during wartime interesting, because the authors can have no way of knowing what the course of the war will be. (Of course, no one can ever know the future, but the stakes are higher in the midst of a major social upheaval.) For instance, the author makes a good effort to establish a community and location on Guernsey for Jo and the school, clearly intending to settle in there for the duration. By the time the book was actually published in 1940, however, it must have become evident that Guernsey was not a safe retreat. ( )

Loved this one,so good to read realisticlly about the war in a chilren's book ( )

My favourite Chalet School book. Very exciting, escape from Austria after the Anschluss in 1938. Brilliant to finally read the full version (though I will always love my old paperback). ( )