Again, Truepenny asks for book recommendations

[truepenny]

A conversation on someone else's LJ reminded me of a long-standing curiosity. And now that, hey, I have people around who are extraordinarily well-read, I thought I'd pose the question.

Books about boarding schools that get it right.

There's a long post I made back in December about a number of reasons why Diana Wynne Jones's Witch Week is a better res (Latin for "thing"--I can't think of a word for what I want) than the Harry Potter books. One of those reasons is that Rowling's vision of what boarding school is like doesn't ring true, even to an American reader such as myself. But, when I grumble, Someone ought to write a book that does this properly, I can't put my money where my mouth is, because I don't actually know what I'm talking about. I can just tell a dreamy delusion when I see one. So I'm interested in finding books that achieve a more accurate representation.

Obviously, if the book is sf/f/h, that's a big bonus, but for the purposes of this book-quest, it's the boarding-school-ness I'm looking for. All suggestions welcome and appreciated!

Comments

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

I strongly recommend the Marlow school books. Antonia Forest wrote about a dozen, I think, alternating the Marlow sisters at school (Karen, Rowan, Ann (the Susan figure!), Ginty, Nicola, and Lawrie) with the family at home (most of the sisters, plus their brothers Giles and Peter, plus family friend Patrick Merrick).

The first book in the sequence is Autumn Term. The first non-school book in the sequence is Falconer's Lure. They're idealised/adventurous versions of boarding school, yes, but Forest doesn't conceal the bullying or the boredom or the home-sickness or the sheer stupidity. Very upper-middle-class, but then any realistic representation of kids at boarding school is going to be upper-middle-class - below that income level it's not affordable for anyone except overseas workers with an allowance.

[ex-ajhalluk585.livejournal.com]

Heartily endorse the above. They're wonderful - quite apart from that, they have a totally realistic view of what intelligent teenagers are really reading, and introduced me to Sayers, Renault, expanded my enthusiasm for Hornblower, reinforced my apathy for Dickens and gave me a lifelong passion for cricket.

As part of the backstory L-space for LOP, btw, (ie, the bit where all stories join up) I believe Caitlin went to Kingscote, as did her "aunt" Miss Franklin.