The 25 best boarding school books

Books about boarding school have always been popular, but they've often been seen - like the schools themselves - as old fashioned and well past their sell-by date. This may no longer be the case - for the school, and their fictional equivalents.

The Boarding Schools Association say that both independent and the 35 state boarding establishments, are in robust health. The numbers of boarders is up for the first time in three years.

Meanwhile Wild Child, a film about an 16-year-old American sent to a British boarding school to be "tamed" is released next week, while School Friends, a new boarding school series aimed at girls of eight and up, is published at the end of August. Its publishers are claiming that it's "Malory Towers for the new Millennium." My daughter is already a fan, proclaiming concisely that she "really, really likes them."

All this good news reminds me of how I used to love reading boarding school books myself. Here's my top 25 - mostly for children, but with a few special books aimed more directly at adults in there too. Feel free to disagree!

1) The Chalet School Books
Yes, I know you're going to wonder why this made it on top, and the reason is that this is my list! I absolutely adored the vast series of Chalet School books, and read (and re-read) them for years. But be careful, what's great about these books is that the characters actually grow up, get married, have children and (obviously) send their own children to the school. If you read one from early on (when it's set in Austria) then come upon from the school's move to Guernsey (because of the war) and then to Plas Howell and finally to Switzerland, you may get confused! Dated? Very possibly. But classics? Absolutely.
Find out about the Friends of the Chalet School.

2) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
This is a very different book to many of the others on the list, and the school is not its main focus, Mr Rochester takes care of that. But whatever the other many attractions of this book, Jane's time at Lowood Academy will stay in a reader's mind for a long, long time.
Discuss Jane Eyre

3) The Malory Towers series, by Enid Blyton
Ah, the joy of reading about Darrell Rivers and all her friends. Don't mock. I was enthralled by these six books when I was young - although obviously I was terrified by the thought of Matron. 

4) The Harry Potter series by J K Rowling
These modern books have put boarding schools finally back on the map - albeit by inventing one which is full of mortal danger, magic and adventure. The films may be good, but the books are so much better.
See J K Rowling's official site.

5) The Autumn Term, Cricket Term and Attic Term by Antonia Forest
Forest wrote only 13 novels, all but one connected with the Marlow family. Ten of them were about the Marlow children, beginning with the Autumn Term (written in 1948) and were fabulous tales of the six girls and two boys. They deserve to be better-known. 
I particularly remember Nicola and Lawrie, the two youngest sisters, who didn't quite live up to the standards of their hugely successful older sisters at Kingscote, the family boarding school.
Autumn Term, and its sequels, The Cricket Term and the Attic Term and were funny, beautifully written, and seemed far more realistic than many of the other boarding schools books around (especially when it came to the relationship between all the sisters).   

6) Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
Dotheboys Hall is not the kind of school you'd like to be teaching in (like Nicholas Nickleby himself) and you definitely wouldn't choose to send any child there - if there was a choice. It's also not the kind of school anyone connected with modern boarding schools wants you to mention. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't read about Nickleby and the awful Wackford Squeers.
Read more about Charles Dickens and his novels at David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page.

7) The Trebizon Series by Anne Digby
Another fictional girls' boarding school, in the tradition of so many others. But what's different about these 14 books is that (at least when I was a child) these were far more modern. Written in the 1970s and 80s, they are about protagonist (and excellent tennis player) Rebecca Mason, who actually joins from, shock, horror, a comprehensive school.
Read an interview with Anne Digby.

8) Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes
Tom's adventures, and his dealings with the bully, Flashman, kickstarted a whole new era of school stories. A joy to read about boys at school, rather than girls, and a definite classic.
Read the full text (it's rather long...)

9) Engleby by Sebastian Faulks
One of the few modern titles on my list, this quirky tale of a rather unusual young man includes his appalling time at boarding school. Brilliantly written and very evocative.
Read the Times Online review of Engleby.

10) A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This children's story about seven-year-old Sara Crewe is utterly fantastic and will continue be loved from generation to generation. Written over a century ago, it's sad, exciting and really rather perfect.
Find out more at tickled orange
 
11) Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer
This is an excellent fantasy story for slightly older children. It's about Charlotte Makepeace, a new girl (of course) who goes to bed and wakes up the next day as Clare Moby, a schoolgirl living 40 years before in the midst of the First World War...
This book is the inspiration for the famous song by the Cure, as you can read in Penelope Farmer's blog

12) The St Clares series by Enid Blyton
Another school series by Enid Blyton, this time about the O'Sullivan twins. Great fun, but not quite as good as Malory Towers, and somehow more dated.
Read more about the St Clares books.

13) The Jennings books by Anthony Buckeridge
Buckeridge wrote 25 books about  the adventures of Jennings and his hapless friend Darbishire at Linbury Court School. Entertaining and timeless.
Read about the staying power of these books.

14) Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Curtis Sittenfeld's exceptional novel was turned down by 14 out of 15 publishers. They must have felt rather stupid when the book began climbing the New York Times best-seller list and was optioned by a major Hollywood studio. It's the story of scholarship girl, and misfit, Lee Fiora, and her time at an exclusive new England prep school. A fine coming of age tale.
Read an extract.

15) St Trinians by Ronald Searle
These demonic girls are the antithesis of the jolly hockey-sticks found in Enid Blyton and Angela Brazil. Drawn fantastically by Ronald Searle, they're still going strong in film form today (although the original films are so much better!).
Read more about Ronald Searle and the genesis of these books.

16) The Billy Bunter books by Frank Richards
Still incredibly popular (and good fun) after 100 years.
Facts and figures about Grayfriars and Billy Bunter

17) A Fourth Form Friendship (and many other boarding school books!) by Angela Brazil
This prolific author has entranced girls across the generations. She's the kind of person who made you ache to go to boarding school.
Read more about Angela Brazil

18) Stalky & Co by Rudyard Kipling
This one often splits Kipling enthusiasts as it's quite different from some of his other work. But if you like boarding school high jinks - good and bad - written by a true master of literature, then this is one for you. The stories are based on Kipling's own school, the United Services College at Westward Ho!, in Devon.
Find out about the Kipling Society.

19) Boy by Roald Dahl
Dahl may have written delicious fantasies for children, but his own childhood wasn't easy. Boy - his memoir - recounts the beatings, homesickness, prejudice and abuse he faced at boarding school in England. Not the rosiest picture of this school system that you will ever read, but gripping. And there's a lot of lighter moments in the book too.
Find out more from Roald Dahl's official website.

20) The Dimsie books by Dorita Fairlie Bruce
These are probably what you would call "ripping yarns" about Daphne Isabel Maitland (nicknamed Dimsie) and her adventures at school. Written between the two world wars, these are definitely dated, but still delightfully nostaglic.
The Dorita Fairlie Bruce homepage.

21) The Egerton Hall trilogy by Adele Geras
Written for teenagers, these books, set in 1962, are not just about friends, Megan, Alice and Bella and their boarding school. Instead, the stories are based on fairy tales  - Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Very clever, and very enjoyable too.
Read more from Adele Geras.   

22) Flashman by George Macdonald Fraser.
Flashman's own novel begins with his explusion from Rugby School (see Tom Brown's Schooldays), and goes on to tell of his adventures, heroic and not so heroic.
Not strictly a boarding school book, but a hard one to leave out of this list.
Find out about the Flashman Society.

23) Nancy Breary
If you like Angela Brazil, Dorita Fairlie Bruce and Elinor M Brent Dyer, you will like Nancy Breary. If you don't like those kind of classic, now somewhat cliched stories, you won't! But if you give her a chance, you'll find that Breary is funny, writes well and is truly enjoyable to read.

24) The Secret Life of a Boarding School Brat by Amy Gordon
Another very good American offering, this time aimed at pre-teens. The Secret Life tells the story of Lydia Rice, who wanders around her new boarding school at night and befriends Howie, the night watchman. 
Find out more from Amy Gordon.

25)  The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger
"Sleep tight, ya morons!" yells Holden Caulfield, as he leaves his prep school, and it's the start of one of the best books you will ever read. If you haven't read it for a while, do so again, as it just gets better with age!
If it's such a classic, you're probably asking, why this book only just squeezes onto the list. It's because, let's be honest, it's not really a boarding school book, is it?
Watch Will Smith (as Paul) talk about Catcher in the Rye in Six Degrees of Separation

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Comments

[Matt Smith]

The Lawrenceville Stories by Owen Johnson were brilliant.

[Simon Levene]

Unbelievable! You have missed out "How to be Topp" and all the other Willans and Searle books.

[ja]

What about 'What Katy Did at School'? Loved that one. And we DID have midnight feasts at my boarding school, and midnight swims--terribly dangerous. In fact, we got up to all sorts of hair-raising stuff...

[Tisha]

A few years ago when I was ten I would have been outraged to see that Harry Potter didn't nab the top spot, but after the fatigue that follows the fetish I'm not so bothered. I do not agree that Malary Towers is better than St Clares, but they're both very similar.

[Lili]

I'm glad to see that some people have mentioned Delderfield's "To Serve Them All My Days" -- one of my favorites, often re-read. Americans might enjoy Beth Gutcheon's "The New Girls," based on her experiences at Miss Porter's School, which I also attended. For fans of the macabre, Peter Straub's "Shadowland" offers some boarding school chills.

[Bridge]

I read Boy and Tom Browns School Days the summer before I was sent to boarding school. They scared me half to death about what I was to expect. But prepared me better then my friend that read the Blyton books, she expected mid-night feast.

[Elizabeth]

Also Back Home by Michelle Magorian is a beautiful book. About an evacuee who returns home from America. She has a terrible time at her new boarding school - very moving.

[Pat]

No-one's mentioned Goodbye Mr Chips - surely the all time classic.
And I loved Vice Versa by Anstee. Father wishes he could swap places with son and go back to (appalling) public school - and his wish comes true.

[Dianne]

The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy must be in the Top 30 - I adored them as a child.

A school for witches long before there was a chap called Harry Potter.

[John]

What, no Mike and Psmith at 'that beastly hole', Sedleigh?

[Alan]

'Vanity Fair' describes Becky Sharpe dumping the bible out of her carriage window as she exits school and later on her son young Rowley benefits from his father's bribe to keep his rear end out of harm's way at his school. Thackery seems less dated than Dickens although he lacks in other areas when compared to the great man.

[Helen]

And the Pothunters by Wodehouse - and the marvellous 'Manoevers of Charteris' which still makes me laugh out loud. And of course, can't believe How To Be Topp was missed.... chiz!

[Suzie Bee]

What a shame "Gentlemen and Players" by Joanne Harris is missing. Perhaps it was number 26?

Also: "The Naughtiest Girl in the School" byt Enid Blyton.

Adored Malory Towers and The Twins at St Clare's as a child - boarding school books should be compulsory reading for all pre-teens!

[Andi]

I have all the Jennings books, as well as both The Malory Towers and St Clares sets. I also enjoyed Naughtiest Girl in The School series, another Blyton series. What Katie did at school is excellent too. As is Frost in May by Antonia White and To Serve Them All My Days by RF Delderfield, these are very beautiful stories with school settings. Well worth seeking out.Also Prep is a good read and if you're looking not for a school story but a diary series dont go past Adrian Mole, he's an absolute gem!

[Caroline]

I actually went to boarding school and was quite disappointed to find it was nothing like any of the books I'd read! I grew up reading the Chalet School books, St Clare's, Malory Towers. But no, there were no intrigues, no adventures, no midnight feasts - although I did have a tuck box.

[andrea]

Delighted to see the Dimsie books mentioned. I found these in second hand shops as a child and was always on the look out for more.
Still have my old and battered copies.
Loved Antonia Forest too.

[Mathilde]

Thanks for the list ! Some of these books I read and loved, and I am now looking forward to picking the other ones up at the library.
Another university novel that used to make me want to go to boarding school is Jean Webster's "Daddy Long Legs".

[Teresa A]

Chalet School good Dimsie Maitland better.

[E]

I Wrote a Pony Book by Joanna Cannan -- the triumph of a young boarding-school girl who was not part of the in-group

[T.H.]

And why are the Bruno and Boots books by Gordon Korman missing? Canadian boys boarding school hilarity.

[Barbara]

I loved the Chalet books as a child and still have my collection but as an adult I prefer Elsie Oxenham, some of her non-Abbey books are much better school stories than the Chalets; I can't get on with the Antonia Forest series but like Dimsie, Nancy and co.

[Charlotte]

Totally agree with Chalet School at number one, I fell in love with them at the age of 12 and sad or what still reading them again at 42! They are dated but are charminig and life seemed so uncomplicated, unreal the way people became fluent in french and german in days!...Jane Eyre too, read that when I was 7 and the Katy Did books and Harry Potter, sheer magic!

[Minnie Ovens]

For Rosemary at 0917.....
Fifth Form at St Dominic's by Talbot Baines Reid

[Minnie Ovens]

Fifth Form at St Dominics.

[Hope]

What about-
1. Naughtiest Girl in the School by Enid Blyton
2. CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore

[LYNDAP]

Well I have fond memories of 'Tubby of Maryland Manor' - dealing with issues of weight in a boarding school back in the 1940's.

[Essie D]

I totally agree with you. I LOVE the Chalet School books, the best bit about them is definately the fact that the characters grow up and have children themselves. I'm almost 18 and of all the books that I loved when I was younger (Except p'raps Biggles), The Chalet School books are the only ones that I could actually sit down now, read, and enjoy just as much as ever.
:)

[Sharrie]

Delighted to see 'Autumn Term' on the list - I found it in a charity shop as a teenager and loved it. Never met anyone else who'd heard of it, and had no idea it was part of a series! My only memory of it was something about someone throwing something out of a train window - and I think the first few pages were missing from my second-hand copy!

Malory Towers was my favourite series - still have the full collection! St Clare's were similar, but not as good. And the Trebizon series was good too.

[Jonathan]

I would have to put Mario Vargas Llosa's Time of the Hero ahead of most of these.

[Ellen in FL]

Delderfield's TO SERVE THEM ALL MY DAYS -- an incomparable understanding of what a good boarding school means in the lives of its students -- and its staff. YOU ARE THERE, you never forget this book -- the Havelock's fire, the Noble Stoic -- it's part of your mental landscape ever after.

[BrianF]

How could you forget "To Serve Them All of My Days". A wonderfully touching example of the 2 World Wars and there effects on the teachers and students at a boarding school.

[Michael]

You should definitely not miss out Beverly Nichols' 'Prelude'. It has recently been republished and was his first book, written at the age of 22 with his days at Marlborough only 4 years behind him. A quite remarkable book.

[Old Wrykynian]

What ho!

On behalf of Wrykyn, I would like to point out the gross omission of 'The Gold Bat' by P. G. Wodehouse. We at Wrykyn take a very serious view of such matters.

Where else would you see a combination of comedy, action, drama, suspense, healthy contempt for authority, sporting excellence and all the other elements that make for a great boarding school story? Even though we may occasionally paint Housemasters with soot and statues with tar, leaving behind evidence at the scene of the c., and even though the visting schools may find themselves out of water in the middle of their ablutions, we manage to salvage the situation in the nick of time. How else would you explain the victory over Ripton?

To sum things up, TGB should be at the top of the list. The grevious distress caused by the omission prevents me from expressing myself more eloquently.

Yours indignantly,
OW.

[Alison]

And no, "Decline and Fall?"

[olly]

No "A Separate Peace"? That's just madness!

[Jane]

I'd add in Old School by Tobias Wolff, a wonderfully spare story of what fools we make of ourselves when young. And it's great to see Antonia Forest make the list.

[Catie]

I loved a lot of books on this list, and also particularly What Katy Did At School

[jane]

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris is a wonderful story full of intrigue and diabolical twists. A real page turner!

[neil peck]

No list of books about boarding schools is complete without the wonderful " Loom of Youth " by Alec Waugh. A classic.

[Roxanne]

What Katy Did At School remains one of my firm favourites.

[Georgia Lewis]

Malory Towers, as well as Enid Blyton's Naughtiest Girl In The School books, are books I still re-read even though I'm 32! But a glaring omission from the list is Stephen Fry's Moab Is My Washpot, a delicious memoir of his boarding schol days and young adulthood. It was a hoot discussing this book on the radio in Dubai and only being able to use euphemisms in regards to his homosexuality. I got around it by saying: "I'd marry Stephen Fry but I can't for obvious reasons..."

[Marissa]

A Separate Peace?

[Sally O]

School Friends, by Ann Bryant is published by Usborne on 29th August, and will be a great addition to the boarding school genre. There is more information on the website (linked above) and Ann will be appearing at the Cheltenham Festival on the 12th October if anyone wants to go along and find out more.

[Sally O]

There are some great books in the list. I loved the Chalet School and Enid Blyton's books - although I cannot say boarding school was really like that.

[e]

loved the chalet girls and mallory towers! will have to dig them out now!!

[Laura]

No Wodehouse? Stuart, you're quite right. 'Mike and Psmith', 'The White Feather', 'The Gold Bat', etc. All very much of their time, but still dashed good yarns!

[adele geras]

More haste less speed. That should, of course, read HAPPY EVER AFTER....

[adele geras]

I'm thrilled to bits to be in this exalted company! But for interested readers, the Egerton Hall trilogy is now published as a single volume called HAPPY EVERY AFTER (Definitions pbk)

[Barbara Suzuki]

My mother (born 1922) had some Abbey Girls books by Elsie Oxenham, and I remember being enthralled by 'Queen of the Abbey Girls' with its feuds and rivalries and jolly good behaviour in the end.

Katy and Clover Carr went to boarding school (Susan Coolidge 'What Katy Did at School')and I loved that book. I remember poring over the details of the tuck box of treats they received in Christmas term.

Real boarding school was rather a disappointment.

[Forlornehope]

Perhaps “A Question of Upbringing” by Anthony Powell should be on this list. As a picture of a supercilious group of young men, the raconteur and his friends, embarking on life, it has much to recommend it. Not exactly a jolly yarn, but an accurate picture nonetheless.

[Bill Kupersmith]

And don't forget Fielding Grey, by Simon Raven. This is a wonderful story of betrayal, set just after the end of the Second World War.

[Bill Kupersmith]

And don't forget Fielding Grey, by Simon Raven. This is a wonderful story of betrayal, set just after the end of the Second World War.

[John Sinclair]

How to be Topp should be on the list, As any fule kno

[Rosemary L]

Fifth Form at St Dominics was much loved by me - very much in the Tom Brown's School Days mode (another favourite) - but please`can anyone tell me the author - I have lost my ancient copy.

[Stuart]

I like many of these - but the greatest is the 'Mike and Psmith' novels by P G Wodehouse. Am truly astonished they are not even in Sarah's 25!

[Steve]

What? No 'How to be Topp', and 'Down With Skool'?

[carole]

So many of these novels give me a rosy 50`s glow in rememberance.
However, the abiding memory of this genre for me; is
' 'The Bunty '
the comic;
delivered (l think,) every Tuesday;
and the story of
'The three Mary`s'.
Oh, how l longed to have midnight feasts, dorms., and a tuck box.
Thanks for awakening such happy memories.

[Jay Gold]

Too bad the list is limited to the Anglo-American. There are many fine boarding school books originally written in other languages - including perhaps the greatest, Young Torless by Robert Musil, who would go on to write The Man Without Qualities.

[Helene]

Autumn Term, The Cricket Term and The Attic Term, no? At least that's how the titles appear in my editions.
In my opinion Antonia Forest's books should be at the top of any list of school stories - wonderful writing, a true inspiration. I read them until the pages fell out.

[Aleja]

What about "A Great and Terrible Beauty"? I love that whole series!

[Clare D]

Best one I've read recently is by Gregory Norminton which came out this year - called SERIOUS THINGS. Something very nasty happens. I think the author went to the same boarding school as Sebastian Faulkes so it makes an interesting comparison with ENGLEBY.

[Cathy Clark]

Delighted to see THE CHALET SCHOOL at the top of the list! I read the entire series from beginning to end when a childhood illness kept me home from school for several weeks, when I was 12. I was gripped. Loved the continuity of seeing characters grow up, and new generations come through, but more than anything I think the series inspired a fascination with Austria/Switzerland/ The Alps. Definitely the best!

[Emma]

I was so happy to see some of my favourite childhood books on this list!

[Pamela]

The Chalet School books are my favourites too! For any other fans, check out the Chaletian Bulletin Board: http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/board/

[Jonathan]

Another US example, aimed at adults (and also more about the school's adults) is Louis Auchincloss's 'The Rector of Justin'

[Jonathan]

Another US example, aimed more at adults, and also more about the adults at the school, is Louis Auchincloss's 'The Rector of Justin'

[Falana Dimka]

Wonderful list! Anyone remember Enid Blyton's 'The Naughtiest Girl in the School' series? Only 3 books but just wonderful.

I chose my private girls' day school primarily because it was so much like Malory Towers! Never regretted it.

I'm so glad you included other novels not of the genre but including boarding school experiences because Jane Eyre's time at Lowood is fascinating - I must know those chapters by heart I re-read them so much!

[Steph L]

Surely there can be no doubt that The Chalet Stories were dated. They certainly were when I read them in 1978! Thank you for reminding me of "Autumn Term" etc. I had forgottenm all about them

[Clarissa Cridland]

Readers might like to know that Girls Gone By Publishers publish a large number of girls' school stories including the Chalet School books and Angela Brazil's A Fourth Form Friendship, listed by Sarah. Each title includes the complete original text and illustrations as well as very helpful and interesting introductory material. If you go to our website ggbp.co.uk you will find full details of all our titles.

[Ianf]

But for #2 (Jane Eyre - saw the BBC drama); #6 (Nicholas Nickelby - ditto) and #25 (Catcher in the rye - the exception) I haven't read any of these, but, were I asked about best book-y boarding school descriptions, I' certainly nominate "A Perfect Spy" by John LeCarré, and perhaps even an earlier book of his with a powerful BS thread in it, the "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy". I can't believe you've missed either while including "Catcher in the rye," a tale that happens, if I'm not mistaken, wholly away from school while Holden is trying to get his shit together on the loose in Manhattan, New York, N.Y. (also that a school of life, though not of the boarding kind).

[Anne (aka Sally) Gordon]

I was thrilled to see one of my sister's books (Amy Gordon)listed in the company of Kipling, Dickens & Charlotte Bronte.
We grew up in England and I read the Enid Blyton books as soon as they were printed.
Amy Gordon also wrote "When JFK was My Father," which I think you might enjoy reading as well.

[Daphne]

Great post, Sarah!

There's one more book in the Kingscote School by Antonia Forest. It's called "End of Term" and comes after "Autumn Term", although a non-boardibg school title ("Falconer's Lure") is sandwiched between the two.

Helen Parocha - I too love "What Katy Did in School", esp the Society for the Suppression of Unladylike Conduct!

Another boarding school book I adore is "Gipsy at Greywalls" by Judith Carr.

And of course they're not strictly boarding scool, but I like the Abbey Books by Elise J. Oxenham.

[Graham]

I think my favourite would have to be "The Browning Version" by T.Rattigan, I must have read it a dozen times.
Perhaps it is not absolutely apposite to the theme, being that the school is more a backdrop or canvas to the story and is written as a play, but I think that it deserves to be on the list, more so than Salinger's (wonderful) "Catcher in The Rye".
Finally, I was very happy to see Bunter on your list.

[Helen Parocha]

My favourite boarding school book is What Katie Did At School - as well as A Little Princess, of course. I'm so happy to see Prep on this list - I loved that book - and now I'm off to check out Engleby.

Thank you for your comment on my blog (and sorry about the dreaded spam filter!)

[Ellie]

What about Molesworth?!

[judyb]

I'd almost forgotten The Autumn Term and the others. How could I? They were wonderful. Thanks Sarah!