Jeremy at Crale

Two volumes of a 3-volume series about the life of Jeremy. (I have volume 1 somewhere but couldn't find it). Generally I dislike books written from the perspective of children, but it must be said this was very well done. In «Jeremy and Hamlet» the story is about 8-year old Jeremy while in volume 3, «Jeremy at Crale» we follow his life at boarding school of the type of Harrow or Dragon School, perhaps aged 14. Hugh Walpole was the most successful novelist of the turn of the 19-to-20th century. His novels reflect life of a past era that defines Englishness. As Paul Watkins «Stand before your God» shows descriptions of life at English boarding schools are almost timeless. «Jeremy and Hamlet» describes the hallowed days of the show more golden age of youth, which apart from some details we might also find nearly of any time. Walpole is now mostly forgotten and his books are out of print, but these older editions are still very readable. show less

Final volume of the "Jeremy" series, set entirely at his boarding school, Crale.
I preferred the two earlier volumes: there's an awful lot of rugby and squabbles, "honour of the House" and incipent schoolboy crushes.
The child Jeremy we met in previous books- his dog, learning how the world works, the injustices...is now teetering on manhood....indeed, we get hints of his future career as a rugby player, that he goes to fight in France.....

It says about rugby on p. 107 that `The player of Rugby football must, more completely, perhaps, than the player of any other game, fight for the team and not for himself, which is one reason among many another why Rugby football is the finest game in the world'. I am not sure I agree with that.