Janie Steps In
And now for the final La Rochelle book. This book was published well after the others, in 1953, but appears to have been written much earlier, as Nan's story is referred to in various CS books. The main character is Nan Blakeney, a cousin of the Athertons, who has recently lost her mother and has come to stay with the Lucys. The book takes places ~6 years after the previous one, and ends shortly before the CS moved to Guernsey.
The book starts with a scene between Rosamund and Nigel Willoughby. Rosamund's 17 year old cousin, Nan Blakeney, has been staying with them for six months. An only child, her mother was killed in a car accident and her father, badly injured and emotionally broken, is on a sea voyage for his health. Nan was very close to her parents, had little experience outside the family estate, and is still grieving badly, and Rosamund recognizes that she can't help the girl. Nigel suggests sending Nan to the Lucys, for a change of scenery and Janie's sensible outlook. He also suggests that Nan's father is a broken man, and will likely not survive long.
We then meet Nan and Rosamund's two children, Toby and Blossom. Nan is pale and listless, and begs not to be sent away from Rosamund, who resembles her mother, but Rosamund convinces her to try it; the others plot for Nan's stay to be an extended one.
Not long afterwards, Nan is on the train to the boat for Guernsey. Nigel intended to accompany her, but was called away on a case. Nan spends most of the train ride in a daydream of her old life. She is distracted on the boat by two boys, travelling with their father, who are trying to make people sea-sick by discussing food. Nan accepts the challenge and one ups them, to their delight. She then learns that they're the Ozanne boys, and Paul steps in to help her. Janie then meets them at the dock.
Janie whisks Nan to Les Arbres, and introduces her to the family; Julie, John, Betsy, and baby Vi. Janie's cheerful chatter and casual air is a good distraction for Nan. Janie puts the children to bed, and finds out that John has painted skeletons on the wall by the sea, to her amusement. Janie describes the children as obedient, but very good at finding their way around rules. John, for example, has figured out that he can get away with things if he confesses them during prayers, as Janie won't punish them for confessed sins. Julian provides a spanking for the graffiti, however, as he discovered it on his own.
A few days later, Elizabeth and the children visit. At the end of the visit, Julie is found to be missing. She and Bill are returned home by Peter Chester, dressed in outlandish costumes. It turns out that Bill dared her to do it, and she interpreted "don't go out alone" as meaning she was allowed to go out with Bill, who is older. Bill is in trouble, and Nan recommends that he apologize, but he is still sulky at being chastized.
The next event is the return of the Chesters from a vacation; Nan and Janie go to their home to help prepare for their visit. Nan is surprised by how faded and worn the house is, and Janie tells her the Chesters' story. The family had been doing well, but Peter's private income was embezzled by a dodgy solicitor, and they lost everything but Peter's doctor income. At the same time, Barbara, the youngest Chester, was born a frail and sickly child. The family is still in financial difficulty, unable to afford good schools or decent servants. The younger children are being taught with the Lucy children, and Paul is being educated by his godfather, and Nancy by her godmother, Janie. The family offered to help with Beth's education as well, but were refused out of pride. Beth has been sent to a second rate private school, where she's not allowed to socialize with her classmates, and is expected to look after the younger children and do chores when she's at home. That, combined with Anne's preoccupation with Barbara, has Beth convinced that her parents don't love her. Janie is worried and exasperated, but reluctant to speak up for fear that Nancy's education will suffer as well.
Janie orders some local apples to stock the Chesters' cupboards. The Chesters arrive, and Peter drags everyone into the apple-loft. It turns out that everyone had the bright idea of buying them apples, for a total of nearly 800 kg worth. The next day, the families have a picnic. Nan meets Beth, and hears her woes about her situation, and sees the frail Barbara. Janie is worried that 18 month old Barbara, indulged in every whim, is turning into a selfish little creature. Janie and Nan get soaked, and meet David Willoughby, now a naval officer on leave. He is quite taken with Nan.
Toby and Blossom have measles, which delays Nan's return. Julie and John manage to fall down the stairs on the horse, and the Chester and Lucy children paint themselves with Beth's beloved painbox, which is ruined. Janie is sympathetic to Beth, but Anne has little patience with her eldest daughter and chastises her for being rude. Janie loses her patience, and tells Anne off for her attitude towards the girl. Anne is stunned, but soon forgets the issue when Barbara falls ill with bronchitis.
Julian and Janie head out of town to visit friends, and Nan is left in charge, with Nanny and the governess. Nanny has to leave suddenly, as her father is ill. John and Julie play Indians, John is in a rebellious mood, and the children paint Betsy with nail polish. The children then come down with mumps, meaning Janie has to stay away with Vi. The Chester children join them, to help protect Barbara. Beth isn't able to say good-bye to her parents, and is further convinced that Anne doesn't love her, which makes her illness worse.
Nan gets a letter from her father, and sees that he is failing. She talks to Julian, who helps comfort her, and see that it's better that he die than remain crippled and heartbroken. He also re-affirms that she's welcome to stay with the Lucys as long as she wants.
Janie is finally able to return to her family, to their delight. They gets an irate letter from a neighbour, complaining that John has dressed and defaced up her garden statues. Just then, another neihgbour, a peppery Colonel, arrives in a temper, to say that John had stolen his doormat. John is called for, and confesses. He wanted to see the Colonel "blow the roof off" after hearing someone comment about his temper. John apologizes, and the colonel calms down.
The story then skips ahead six months. Lord Blakeney has died and Rosamund has had a second daughter, Judy. Nan is studying secretarial work, to keep busy, and Barbara is slowly improving. Nan comes to talk to Janie; she has gotten a letter from David with a near-proposal. Janie advises waiting; they haven't spent much time together, mostly communicating via letters, and Nan has very little experience with other men and is unsure of her feelings. Shortly afterwards, Janie has a baby boy. Nan suggests a name; Barnabas, which means "son of consolation".
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Updates: Rosamund has three children (Toby, Blossom, Judy) and Nigel is working as a lawyer. Con has two boys, and is heading to Ceylon with Rex. Maidie has a girl, Sigrid has three children. David is in the navy, Peter is working in western Canada and gets engaged. Allegra has twins. The Raphaels are not mentioned, and Pollie is only very briefly mentioned.
Elizabeth still has four children, Anne has six; Beth, Paul, Nancy, twins Robin and Dickon and Barbara. Janie has five by the end of the story; Julie, John, Betsy Vi and Barney.
In the CS series:
The older Chester and Lucy children, Vanna and Nella, plus Nita Eltringham join the school when it opens in Guernsey. Blossom and Judy also join at some point, and the younger Chester and Lucy girls. Barbara becomes healthy and joins the CS in Switzerland.
During the war, Paul Ozanne gets a recordership in Armiford, and Janie, Anne and their children also settle nearby. Rosamund and Cesca and their families settle near the Atherton family. Julian serves in the RAF, Peter as an army doctor. Some of the families return to Guernsey after the war. Cesca has seven children, Nita, Edmund, four more boys, and a baby girl, Rosamund. Cesca herself is frail for years after a bout of pneumonia. Rosamund has two more children; a frail boy named Aubrey and a baby girl. Anne and Janie each have one more girl; Janice and Kitten respectively. Much later, Paul Ozanne gets a job in Singapore, and Elizabeth and the twins go with him.
Beth attends Oxford (probably), returns home to tutor Barbara, spends a couple of years as Joey's mother's help before marrying (probably Noel Atherton) and having a daughter. Nancy trains as a nurse, and marries a doctor. Julie goes to Oxford, intending to become a lawyer, but drops out to marry a housemaster at Barney's school. Vi goes to Art School, and plans on doing textile design. Nan eventually marries David. They have four boys and a girl, Christine.
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So, what do you think of the last of the La Rochelle books? Do you see Janie as a proto-Joey, with her house full of kids and tendency to help people? What do you think of the three Temple girls and their offspring and parenting styles? What about Nan and David's relationship, and Janie's advice (particularly compared to Len and Reg). Any comments on the La Rochelle series as a whole, or the characters as they appear in the Chalet School.
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Ring the bells that still can ring; Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything; That's how the light gets in Anthem: Leonard Cohen
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