Angela Brazil

Angela Brazil, (pronounced "brazzle"), (November 30, 1868 – March 13, 1947), was the first of the British writers of "modern" "School Girls' Stories" genre - written from the characters' point of view. The equivalent in respect of "boys' stories" was Charles Hamilton (1876-1961), (pen name Frank Richards). This twentieth century genre aimed to write entertaining rather than merely instructional stories. L. T. Meade (1854-1914) was a hugely prolific author of "School Girls' Stories" in the second half of the nineteenth century, but in the much more overtly moralizing, instructional, style.

Biography

Education

* Miss Knowle's School in Preston,
* The Turrets in Wallasey,
*Manchester Secondary School
* Ellerslie, Malvern – “a quite exclusive girls' school”.

Along with her sister Amy, Angela then studied at Heatherley School of Fine Art in London.

Early life to 1915

Angela was born in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the youngest of the family of a middle-class mill manager, which moved, according to her father’s work, around the mill towns of south-east Lancashire.

After her father’s death, in 1899, the family moved home to the Conwy valley, and she travelled with her mother in Europe. She moved to 1 The Quadrant, Coventry in 1911, with a brother, and they were joined by her sister Amy - upon their mother's death in 1915. Angela never married.

Her writing

She was quite late in taking up writing, developing a strong interest in Welsh mythology, and at first wrote a few magazine articles on mythology and nature – due most likely to spending holidays in a cottage in Wales. It was possibly thanks to her sister Amy that she finally began work on a novel at the age of 35.

Her first book to be published was "A Terrible Tomboy" (1905), but this was not strictly a school story. Her long sequence of school stories did not commence until her second book "The Fortunes of Phillipa" (1906), and exceptionally with respect to many of her contemporaries writing in this vein, she did not write any books in a series - each stood on its own with different characters every time. These were considered to deal accurately and sympathetically with the highs and lows in the lives of middle-class schoolgirls, including the tangle of emotional friendships. The realism is particularly shown in her frequent use of slang expressions - a factor leading to some teachers of the time to ban her books. In addition to her books, she also contributed a large number of school stories to children's annuals and the "Girl's Own Paper".

Bibliography of school stories

* "A Fortunate Term" 1921
* "A Fourth Form Friendship" 1911
* "A Harum-Scarum Schoolgirl" 1919
* "A Pair of Schoolgirls" 1912
* "A Patriotic Schoolgirl" 1918
* "A Popular Schoolgirl" 1920
* "An Exciting Term" 1936
* "At School with Rachel" 1928
* "Bosom Friends: A Seaside Story" 1910
* "Captain Peggie" 1924
* "Five Jolly Schoolgirls" 1941
* "For the Sake of the School" 1915
* "For the School Colours" 1918
* "Jean’s Golden Term" 1934
* "Jill’s Jolliest School" 1937
* "Joan’s Best Chum" 1926
* "The Secret of Border Castle" 1943
* "The Third Class at Miss Kaye's" 1908
* "The Youngest Girl in the Fifth" 1913
* "The Girls of St.Cyprians" 1914
* "Three Terms at Uplands" 1945
* "Loyal to the School" 1921
* "Manor House School" 1910
* "Monitress Merle" 1922
* "Nesta's New School" 1932
* "The New Girl at St Chad's" 1911
* "Queen of the Dormitory and Other Stories" 1926
* "Ruth of St. Ronan's" 1927
* "Schoolgirl Kitty" 1923
* "St. Catherine’s College" 1929
* "The Fortunes of Philippa" 1906
* "The Head Girl at The Gables" 1919
* "The Jolliest Term on Record" 1915
* "The Leader of the Lower School" 1913
* "The Little Green School" 1931
* "The Luckiest Girl in the School" 1916
* "The Madcap of the School" 1917
* "The Mystery of the Moated Grange" 1942
* "The New School at Scawdale" 1940
* "The Nicest Girl in the School" 1909 ["The Nicest Girl in the School" was issued in 2006 as an audiobook, read by Harriet Walter: CSA Word, 2006, TT2CD027. ISBN 9781904605683.]
* "The Princess of the School" 1920
* "The School at the Turrets" 1935
* "The School by the Sea" 1914
* "The School in the Forest" 1944
* "The School in the South" 1922
* "The School on the Cliff" 1938
* "The School on the Loch" 1946
* "The School on the Moor" 1939

References

ources

*"My own schooldays". Angela Brazil, 1926.
*"The Schoolgirl Ethic: The Life and Work of Angela Brazil". Gillian Freeman, 1976
*"You’re a Brick, Angela!" Mary Cadogan and Patricia Craig, Gollancz, London, 1976.
* Shropshire-cc.gov.uk [http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/people/brazil.htm] accessed 10 January 2006 (UTC)
* Collectingbooksandmagazines.com [http://www.collectingbooksandmagazines.com/angela.html] accessed 10 January 2006 (UTC)

ee also

* The Chalet School series - a series of books written by Elinor Brent-Dyer.
* The Melling School series of books written by Margaret Biggs.
* The Abbey Series, Abbey Connectors and other series of books about schoolgirls by Elsie J. Oxenham
* The article School story

External links

*

Persondata
NAME = Brazil, Angela
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = English children's writer
DATE OF BIRTH = November 30, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH = Preston, Lancashire, England
DATE OF DEATH = March 13, 1947
PLACE OF DEATH =