Trouble from the Top Dog (Second Form at St. Clare's - Enid Blyton)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	Second Form at St. Clare's - Enid Blyton
Date:	13/07/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well plotted, pacy, holds the interest

Disadvantages: Slightly dated

This fourth book in the series is the first not to take place in the first form. Pat, Isabel & the rest of their friends have been moved up to the second form and have a new teacher, Miss Jenks.

As always, Blyton introduces a number of new girls into the mix. This term there are four:- two completely new girls & two "old" girls. The two "old" girls are Elsie Fanshawe & Anna Johnson. They've been kept down in the second form & Miss Jenks decides to make them joint head girls despite the fact that Elsie is spiteful & Anna is lazy. She & Miss Theobald, the headmistress, hope that the responsibility of being head girls will be good for both of them, but of course, Elsie uses her new position to indulge her spiteful nature. Neither she nor Anna have been mentioned in the previous three books.

The two new girls are Gladys Hillman who the form nickname the Misery Girl because "she never says a word, but looks as if she'll burst into tears at any moment" and Mirabel Unwin who makes a big fuss when she arrives & never tires of telling everyone that she'll be leaving at half-term. Both she & Gladys have secrets of their own.

Alison, of course, has found someone to "moon" over as she did with Sadie Greene in the previous book. This time around it's the new drama teacher, Miss Quentin. Alison suddenly discovers a work ethic & works harder in drama then she does in any of the other classes. Will it be enough to win Alison the lead part in the end of term play?

As usual, it's the new characters that take the lion's share of the action. Mirabel's initial attitude doesn't endear herself to the rest of the form & they decide to teach her a lesson, although they go slightly further than they did with Margery Fenworthy in "The O'Sullivan Twins". Will she stay beyond half term? What's her big secret? The development of her character in the book is very much wrapped up with that of Gladys. It's an odd friendship but one which works very well.

There are a number of references to events in the previous book, which is nice, along with appearances from Belinda Towers (who is now head girl), Margery Fenworthy & Lucy Oriell. There's the usual lacrosse match, a midnight feast (which works out differently than the ones in the first two books did) & a plot concerning Elsie that runs throughout the book.

The book maintains the high standard set in the previous three books, although, as with the other books in the series it has aged a little, especially with references to things like the "wireless". The plotting is reasonably paced & there are enough twists to hold the reader's interest. All in all, it's an enjoyable tale which should keep any Blyton fan occupied for a couple of hours.


The book was first published in 1944 & may, like other Blyton stories, have been updated since then. The version I have was printed in 1981. The series comprises:-

+ The Twins At St. Clare's (1941)
+ The O'Sullivan Twins (1942)
+ Summer Term At St. Clare's (1943)
+ Second Form At St. Clare's (1944)
+ Claudine At St. Clare's (1944)
+ Fifth Formers At St. Clare's (1945)

At time of writing, this book is available to buy new from Amazon for £4.49.

Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd; New edition edition (4 Jul 2005)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1405219815
ISBN-13: 978-1405219815

Used copies of the book are available from 1p from Amazon.

Summary: Fourth in the St Clare's series