St. Clare's series
Encyclopedia
St. Clare's is a series of six books written by English children's author Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...

 about a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

 of that name. The series follows the heroines Patricia "Pat" and Isabel O'Sullivan from their first year at St. Clare's on. Other characters include Alison O'Sullivan (the twins' cousin), Hilary Wentworth, Carlotta Brown (an ex-circus girl), Janet Robins, Doris Elward and Bobby Ellis.

In the first book, The Twins at St. Clare's, twins Pat and Isabel do not want to go to St. Clare's. Their parents decide to send them there, anyway, saying that they were spoiled at their fancy prep school, Redroofs. At their new school, the twins earn the nickname "the stuck-up twins", and are initially quite unpopular. However, through their basic kindness and fairness, they gain the affections of the other girls, and eventually settle down. Throughout the series, as the twins move through the school, they meet Janet, who loves tricks, Hilary, who is head of the form, Alison, their feather headed cousin, and many more schoolgirls and teachers. The characters tend to be stereotypes and are very similar to the set of characters in Blyton's other boarding school series, Malory Towers
Malory Towers
Malory Towers is a series of six novels by British children's author Enid Blyton, featuring the fictional Cornish seaside boarding school of the same name...

.

In the first novel, The Twins at St. Clare's, Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are described as speaking with an "Irish lilt". Owen Dudley Edwards
Owen Dudley Edwards
Owen Dudley Edwards was born in Dublin, Ireland in July 1938. He is the son of Professor Robert Dudley Edwards and brother to the Irish writer, Ruth Dudley Edwards....

 suggests that the choice of surname and nationality of the twins derives from Blyton's desire to resist national stereotyping, following an Irish Republican Army bicycle bomb attack in Coventry in 1939

The six books by Enid Blyton are:
  • The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St Clare's is a children's novel by Enid Blyton set in an English girls' boarding school. It is the first of the original six novels in the St. Clare's series of school stories...

    (1941)
  • The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins is the second in the St. Clare's series of children's novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1942.-Plot summary:...

    (1942)
  • Summer Term at St. Clare's
    Summer Term at St. Clare's
    Summer Term at St.Clare's is third novel in the St. Clare's series of girls' school stories by British author Enid Blyton. The series is about the boarding school adventures of twin girls Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan.-Plot summary:...

    (1943)
  • Second Form at St. Clare's
    Second Form at St. Clare's
    The Second Form at St Clares is the fourth novel in the St. Clare's series of children's school stories by Enid Blyton. The series is about the boarding school adventures of twin girls Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan. Both girls have been promoted to the second form and are very excited about it...

    (1944)
  • Claudine at St.Clare's
    Claudine at St.Clare's
    Claudine at St. Clare's is the fifth novel in the St. Clare's series by Enid Blyton. The narrative follows the O'Sullivan twins, Patricia and Isabel, and their adventures at exclusive boarding school St Clare's...

    (1944)
  • Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth formers of St. Clare's is the sixth novel of the St. Clare's series written by Enid Blyton. It was published in 1945 by Methuen-Plot summary:Miss Cornwallis is mistress of the fifth form. Hilary Wentworth is a calm and dignified head-girl...

    (1945)


Characters included:
Main Characters
  • Patricia "Pat" O'Sullivan (Forms 1-6)
  • Isabel O'Sullivan (Forms 1-6)
  • Janet Robins (Forms 1-6)
  • Hilary Wentworth (Forms 1-5)
  • Doris Elward (Forms 1-6)
  • Kathleen Gregory (Forms 1-2, 4)
  • Sheila Naylor (Form 1)
  • Joan (Form 1)
  • Vera Johns (Form 1)
  • Alison O'Sullivan (Forms 1-6)

One of the main characters in the St. Clare's (series), Alison debuts in the second book, The O'Sullivan Twins
The O'Sullivan Twins
The O'Sullivan Twins is the second in the St. Clare's series of children's novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1942.-Plot summary:...

. She is described as a 'pretty little feather-head'. She is horrified when she learns that the younger girls must wait on the older girls and is taught how to light a fire, albeit harshly by Rita and Belinda (two older girls). She spent most of her time with Pat and Isabel. She also reveals that Margery has been expelled from 6 schools as she thinks Margery is responsible for all the mean tricks being played on Pat. She feels guilty when Margery is proclaimed innocent. At the end of the term, she and Doris tie for bottom.
In Summer Term at St. Clare's
Summer Term at St. Clare's
Summer Term at St.Clare's is third novel in the St. Clare's series of girls' school stories by British author Enid Blyton. The series is about the boarding school adventures of twin girls Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan.-Plot summary:...

, Alison becomees best friends with Sadie Greene, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 girl who is a new student. Sadie starts filling silly ideas into Alison's head and she loses most of the common sense which had been knocked into her the previous term. Both of them are constantly bottom and despair the teachers continuously. When Sadie gets kidnapped, she is extremely worried about her. When Sadie leaves, she makes her promise to write to her (unfortunately, Sadie forgets to).
In Second Form at St. Clare's
Second Form at St. Clare's
The Second Form at St Clares is the fourth novel in the St. Clare's series of children's school stories by Enid Blyton. The series is about the boarding school adventures of twin girls Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan. Both girls have been promoted to the second form and are very excited about it...

, Alison takes a fancy to the drama mistress, Miss Quentin. Alison gets a nasty shock at the end of the term when she discovers that Miss Quentin laughs at her behind her back. She is then very cold to Miss Quentin, and drops her.
In The Third Form at St. Clare's, Alison becomes sandwiched between two new girls, Fern and Rachel. Alison tries to form a threesome with them; however, when Fern shows her spite against Rachel, Alison is shocked at her true colours and drops her. At the end of the term, she is heartbroken whrn Rachel tells her that she is going back to her old drama school.
In Kitty at St. Clare's, Alison starts worshipping Margaret Winters, the deputy head girl, who becomes head girl after framing Jenny Mills. Alison also does Margaret's jobs for her, an unusual thing for a third former. This leads to a feud between her and Helen, Margaret's other admirer. This further develops into a battle between the second and third forms; it gradually abates. Alison helps Kitty to expose Margaret after discovering how evil Margaret was.
In Claudine at St. Clare's, Alison becomes best friends with the Honourable Angela Favorleigh. She always agrees with her, but feels uncomfortable when she looks down on Claudine, Carlotta, and Eileen but she never goes against her. During half-term, she doesn't go out with Angela as she doesn't like her mother who keeps criticising St. Clare's. She instead takes out Claudine and Eileen which leads to a temporary rift between her and Angela. She is furious when Angela is catty about Pauline's mother. Pauline had boasted that her parents were very rich but it was proven that she was lying about everything. Her mother was hard-working, tired and plain. Alison and Angela's friendship is ruined for sometime because of this. When Angela wants to leave St. Clare's because of everyone's indifference to her, her father gives her a good scolding. Alison supports her that time and is a good friend to her.
In Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
Fifth formers of St. Clare's is the sixth novel of the St. Clare's series written by Enid Blyton. It was published in 1945 by Methuen-Plot summary:Miss Cornwallis is mistress of the fifth form. Hilary Wentworth is a calm and dignified head-girl...

, she and Angela share a study and get furious at Antoinette (Claudine's sister) when she serves them shoe-polish toast. She and Anne-Marie vie for Miss Willcox's preference. Afterwards, when Anne-Marie faces Miss Willcox's wrath, she turns against her and sees that she is just a pretender, she turns against her and traps her very cleverly. Alison is very upset because of this but she also sees how insincere Miss Willcox is. Alma develops a grudge against Alison when Alison tells Claudine that someone has been pilfering the goods which were to be used for the second form feast (the culprit is Alma). She then starts taking Alison's things and Anne-Marie is blamed for her deeds. When she is discovered to be the culprit, Alison is disgusted but later sympathetic when she learns of her problem.
  • Lucy Oriell (Form 1)
  • Margery Fenworthy (Form 1)
  • Sadie Greene (Form 1)
  • Carlotta Brown (Forms 1-6)
  • Prudence Arnold (Form 1, leaves due to universal unpopularity)
  • Pamela Boardman (Form 1, 5)
  • Roberta Henrietta "Bobby" Ellis (Forms 1-6)
  • Gladys Hillman (Forms 2-6)
  • Mirabel Unwin (Forms 2-6)
  • Elsie Fanshawe (Form 2)
  • Anna (Form 2)
  • Rachel Denman (Form 3)
  • Fern Francis (Form 3, leaves due to universal unpopularity, though she vows to change)
  • Libby Francis (Form 3)
  • Kitty Flaherty (Form 3)
  • Amanda Wilkes (Form 3)
  • Susan Howes (Form 4)
  • Angela Favorleigh (Forms 4-6)
  • Pauline Jones (Forms 4-5)
  • Claudine (Forms 4-6)
  • Eileen Patterson (Form 4)
  • Alma Pudden (Form 5)
  • Felicity Ray (Form 5)
  • Anne-Marie Longden (Forms 5-6)
  • Phyllis "Fizz" Bentley (Form 6)
  • Morag Stuart (Form 6)
  • Priscilla Parson (Form 6, is expelled)

Other Important Characters
  • Belinda Towers (Form 5-6) [ from The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St Clare's is a children's novel by Enid Blyton set in an English girls' boarding school. It is the first of the original six novels in the St. Clare's series of school stories...

     to Second Form at St. Clare's
    Second Form at St. Clare's
    The Second Form at St Clares is the fourth novel in the St. Clare's series of children's school stories by Enid Blyton. The series is about the boarding school adventures of twin girls Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan. Both girls have been promoted to the second form and are very excited about it...

     ]
  • Winifred James (Form 6) [ from The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St Clare's is a children's novel by Enid Blyton set in an English girls' boarding school. It is the first of the original six novels in the St. Clare's series of school stories...

     to Summer Term at St. Clare's
    Summer Term at St. Clare's
    Summer Term at St.Clare's is third novel in the St. Clare's series of girls' school stories by British author Enid Blyton. The series is about the boarding school adventures of twin girls Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Rita George (Form 5) [ The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St Clare's is a children's novel by Enid Blyton set in an English girls' boarding school. It is the first of the original six novels in the St. Clare's series of school stories...

     and The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins is the second in the St. Clare's series of children's novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1942.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Erica (Form 2, is asked to leave) [ The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins is the second in the St. Clare's series of children's novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1942.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Tessie (Form 2) [ from The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St Clare's is a children's novel by Enid Blyton set in an English girls' boarding school. It is the first of the original six novels in the St. Clare's series of school stories...

     to Summer Term at St. Clare's
    Summer Term at St. Clare's
    Summer Term at St.Clare's is third novel in the St. Clare's series of girls' school stories by British author Enid Blyton. The series is about the boarding school adventures of twin girls Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Winnie (Form 2) [ The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins is the second in the St. Clare's series of children's novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1942.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Susan (Form 2) [ The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins is the second in the St. Clare's series of children's novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1942.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Nora (Form 2) [ The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins is the second in the St. Clare's series of children's novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1942.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Hetty (Form 2) [ The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins
    The O'Sullivan Twins is the second in the St. Clare's series of children's novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1942.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Queenie (Form 2) [ The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St. Clare's
    The Twins at St Clare's is a children's novel by Enid Blyton set in an English girls' boarding school. It is the first of the original six novels in the St. Clare's series of school stories...

     and Summer Term at St. Clare's
    Summer Term at St. Clare's
    Summer Term at St.Clare's is third novel in the St. Clare's series of girls' school stories by British author Enid Blyton. The series is about the boarding school adventures of twin girls Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan.-Plot summary:...

     ]
  • Helen Wilkes (Form 2) [ Kitty at St. Clare's ]
  • Grace (Form 2) [ The Third Form at St. Clare's and Kitty at St. Clare's ]
  • Antoinette (Form 2-3) [ Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth formers of St. Clare's is the sixth novel of the St. Clare's series written by Enid Blyton. It was published in 1945 by Methuen-Plot summary:Miss Cornwallis is mistress of the fifth form. Hilary Wentworth is a calm and dignified head-girl...

     and The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's is a children's novel by Pamela Cox which continues Enid Blyton's St. Clare's series of school stories set at an English girls' boarding school. In this book, first published in 2000, twin sisters Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are in their last year at the school.-Plot...

     ]
  • Jane Teal (Form 1) [ Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth formers of St. Clare's is the sixth novel of the St. Clare's series written by Enid Blyton. It was published in 1945 by Methuen-Plot summary:Miss Cornwallis is mistress of the fifth form. Hilary Wentworth is a calm and dignified head-girl...

     ]
  • Violet Hill (Form 1) [ Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth formers of St. Clare's is the sixth novel of the St. Clare's series written by Enid Blyton. It was published in 1945 by Methuen-Plot summary:Miss Cornwallis is mistress of the fifth form. Hilary Wentworth is a calm and dignified head-girl...

     ]
  • Sally (Form 1) [ Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth Formers at St. Clare's
    Fifth formers of St. Clare's is the sixth novel of the St. Clare's series written by Enid Blyton. It was published in 1945 by Methuen-Plot summary:Miss Cornwallis is mistress of the fifth form. Hilary Wentworth is a calm and dignified head-girl...

     ]
  • Joan (Form 1) [ The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's is a children's novel by Pamela Cox which continues Enid Blyton's St. Clare's series of school stories set at an English girls' boarding school. In this book, first published in 2000, twin sisters Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are in their last year at the school.-Plot...

     ]
  • Dora Lacey (Form 1) [ The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's is a children's novel by Pamela Cox which continues Enid Blyton's St. Clare's series of school stories set at an English girls' boarding school. In this book, first published in 2000, twin sisters Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are in their last year at the school.-Plot...

     ]
  • Daphne Lacey (Form 1) [ The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's is a children's novel by Pamela Cox which continues Enid Blyton's St. Clare's series of school stories set at an English girls' boarding school. In this book, first published in 2000, twin sisters Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are in their last year at the school.-Plot...

     ]
  • Jenny Mills (Form 6) [ The Third Form at St. Clare's and Kitty at St. Clare's ]
  • Margaret Winters (Form 6) [ Kitty at St. Clare's ]

Teachers
  • Miss Theobald (Head Mistress)
  • Miss Roberts (First Form Mistress)
  • Miss Jenks (Second Form Mistress)
  • Mam'zelle (French Mistress)
  • Miss Adams (Third Form Mistress)
  • Miss Ellis (Fourth Form Mistress)
  • Miss Cornwallis (Fifth Form Mistress)
  • Miss Harry (Sixth Form Mistress)
  • Miss Willcox (ex-English Mistress)
  • Miss Quentin (ex-Drama Mistress)
  • Miss Lewis (History Mistress)
  • Miss Walker (Art Mistress)
  • Miss Kennedy (ex-History Mistress)


Recently, Enid Blyton Limited have copyrighted three further books in the series, written by Pamela Cox:
  • The Third Form at St. Clare's (2000) - set after Second Form at St Clare's
  • The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's
    The Sixth Form at St. Clare's is a children's novel by Pamela Cox which continues Enid Blyton's St. Clare's series of school stories set at an English girls' boarding school. In this book, first published in 2000, twin sisters Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are in their last year at the school.-Plot...

    (2000)
  • Kitty at St. Clares (2007) - set between The Third Form at St. Clare's and Claudine at St Clare's


Blyton wrote two other series about life at a boarding school: Malory Towers
Malory Towers
Malory Towers is a series of six novels by British children's author Enid Blyton, featuring the fictional Cornish seaside boarding school of the same name...

 and the Naughtiest Girl series.

Germany

The series has enjoyed great success in Germany where it was published starting in 1965 under the title Hanni und Nanni—"Hanni" being the name given to Patricia, and "Nanni" to Isabel. Although the story is still set in England, several changes were made to somewhat modernize and "Germanize" the setting; e. g. St. Clare's was renamed to "Lindenhof", the sport lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

 was substituted by handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

, and phone calls are now made from a phone booth rather than the post office. The series was expanded by several ghostwritten
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...

 volumes, following the girls until graduation. A feature film was released in 2010.

Japan

Between 5 January 1991 and 2 November 1991, a 26-episode anime based on the St. Clare's stories was broadcast in Japan under the title "Ochame na Futago Clare Gakuin Monogatari. "
This anime has been translated into German as Hanni und Nanni, into French as Les Jumelles de St-Clare, into Spanish as Las Gemelas de St. Claire and into Italian as Una scuola per cambiare and into Arabic as " AL-Twaaman ( The Twins ) "
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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