Reread of old favourites. ( )

‘A Genius at the Chalet School’, for some reason, was divided into two volumes when the series was re-published by Armada paperbacks in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The first volume is still called by its original title; the second part has become ‘Chalet School Fete’.

The story in this first part is about Nina Rutherford, who has been brought up by her widowed father, and who, at the age of 15, has become a highly talented pianist... and ends up at the Chalet School in Switzerland.

There’s a fair amount about the day-to-day life of the girls in the school, some of which I found interesting, and some a bit tedious. Descriptions often seem long-winded, and I skimmed rapidly through the final chapter, l about a school pantomime. But there are some quite moving sections too, and Nina’s emotional development is nicely done.

Favourite characters re-appear and references are made to quite a few events from earlier books, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this one unless you’ve read at least a few of the others. It's nothing special, and only really of interest to serious fans of the series. ( )