Hairs in the Palm of the Hand
Encyclopedia
Hairs in the Palm of the Hand is a children's
novel by British author Jan Mark
, published in 1981.
One of Mark's keenly observed school stories, Hairs in the Palm of the Hand comprises two short novellas. The first, Time and the Hour, is concerned with a betting scam that gets out of hand when a class of high school students, who have bet large amounts of money on the amount of time that can be lost or saved throughout a school week to non-educational incidents, start to organise incidents in order to manipulate the outcome.
The second story, Chutzpah, revolves around the actions of a mysterious teenage girl, and the havoc she causes during a single day at her new school. This includes encouraging the sixth form to squat
in an unused classroom, introducing the third year girls to feminist politics, and giving out innumerable false names when challenged by teachers. The story underlines the anonymity
of many big city comprehensive schools during the 1970s and 80s.
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
novel by British author Jan Mark
Jan Mark
Jan Mark was a British author, best known as a writer for children. She was christened Janet Marjorie Brisland in Welwyn Garden City in 1943 and was raised and educated in Kent. She was a secondary school teacher between 1965 and 1971, and became a full-time writer in 1974. She wrote over fifty...
, published in 1981.
One of Mark's keenly observed school stories, Hairs in the Palm of the Hand comprises two short novellas. The first, Time and the Hour, is concerned with a betting scam that gets out of hand when a class of high school students, who have bet large amounts of money on the amount of time that can be lost or saved throughout a school week to non-educational incidents, start to organise incidents in order to manipulate the outcome.
The second story, Chutzpah, revolves around the actions of a mysterious teenage girl, and the havoc she causes during a single day at her new school. This includes encouraging the sixth form to squat
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
in an unused classroom, introducing the third year girls to feminist politics, and giving out innumerable false names when challenged by teachers. The story underlines the anonymity
Anonymity
Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
of many big city comprehensive schools during the 1970s and 80s.