A Popular Schoolgirl · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for A Popular Schoolgirl by Angela Brazil.
Chapter 1
The End of the Holidays
The Saxon family faces financial hardship after World War I, forcing them to leave their beloved home Rotherwood. Ingred learns they cannot return and must adapt to a more modest life, including becoming a weekly boarder at school.
Chapter 2
Opening Day
It is the first day of the autumn term at the Girls' College in Grovebury, and the long-awaited new college building is finally opened. Ingred Saxon, humiliated by her family's inability to return to Rotherwood, reacts sharply to her classmates' questions. She becomes a weekly boarder at the hostel, where she joins Verity Richmond, Nora Clifford, and Fil Trevor. The four girls form a secret pact called 'The Foursome League' to support each other. The chapter also describes the opening ceremony of the new college, with distinguished guests and the entire school assembled.
Chapter 3
Wynch-on-the-Wold
Ingred adjusts to life at the new college and as a boarder, finding comfort in her roommates and the community spirit. She struggles with Miss Strong's sarcastic teaching style and feels slighted by former friends due to her family's reduced circumstances. The chapter ends with Ingred returning home to Wynchcote, where she enjoys a peaceful tea with her family and begins to appreciate their simpler life.
Chapter 4
IV: Intruder Bess
Ingred returns to school after a weekend at home, struggling to focus on her studies. She has her first piano lesson with Dr. Linton, who is eccentric but encouraging. Bess Haselford arrives as a new student, and Ingred initially likes her, but when she learns Bess lives at Rotherwood—the house Ingred's family lost—she becomes cold and resentful. Meanwhile, the school prepares for a form election to choose a warden for the new College Council.
Chapter 5
V: The Fifth-Form Fête
The chapter describes the Fifth-Form's fête, where the girls enjoy tea and cakes, followed by an impromptu concert. Ingred reluctantly accompanies Bess Haselford on the piano as Bess plays the violin, showcasing her skill. The event includes an invasion by the Sixth Form and a disruption by younger students, highlighting social dynamics and rivalry.
Chapter 6
VI: The School Parliament
Ingred is chosen as warden for her form, and the school establishes a Parliament with form clubs and a marks-based cup competition. Lispeth Scott, the head prefect, convenes a meeting to propose the Rainbow League, a voluntary society for reconstruction and service after the war, which Ingred and others consider.
Chapter 7
VII: Hockey
Ingred officially joins the Rainbow League and receives a notebook. The League focuses on toy-making for war orphans, with Lispeth full of future schemes. The hockey season begins, and a match is arranged against the Clinton High School Old Girls' Association. On the morning of the match, Rachel Grant receives news of her mother's illness and must leave, so Ingred takes her place as Left Inner. The team travels to Denscourt, and Nora writes a detailed letter describing the match, which remains scoreless at half-time.
Chapter 8
VIII: An Unpleasant Experience
After a hockey match, Ingred, Beatrice, and Verity stop for buns and miss their train. They attempt to walk to Waverley but take a wrong path and end up on the wrong side of the river. A kind couple punts them across, and they eventually reach a post office where Mrs. Jackson arranges a taxi to fetch them home.
Chapter 9
A Hostel Frolic
The Foursome League, consisting of Ingred, Verity, Nora, and Fil, finally wins the privilege to host a Thursday night entertainment at the hostel. They hastily plan and perform a comedic historical drama about King Alfred and the cakes, using improvised costumes and props. After the performance, the girls lie awake telling burglar stories until Mrs. Best silences them. Later, Ingred wakes to mysterious footsteps on the stairs.
Chapter 10
X: The Whispering Stones
The Saxon family struggles with their reduced circumstances at Wynch-on-the-Wold. Mr. Saxon is moody and fretful over business and social decline; Egbert resents not going to Cambridge; Athelstane is disappointed with his provincial medical studies; Quenrede misses school and finds life dull; Ingred and Hereward also grumble. Mrs. Saxon keeps the household cheerful with her optimism and love of nature. The four younger Saxons take a day's walk to Red Ridge, where they explore prehistoric menhirs and a chambered barrow, and Ingred shares local legends about the whispering stones.
Chapter 11
XI: On Strike
A general spirit of dissatisfaction spreads through the school, starting with a quarrel between Ingred and Beatrice Jackson. When a hockey match reporter is chosen, Bess is selected over Ingred, deepening Ingred's resentment. Later, Ingred is caught playing with mascots during a lesson and harshly punished by Miss Strong, losing five order marks and a conduct cross. Her bitterness contributes to a junior rebellion, with the prefects struggling to restore order.
Chapter 12
The Rainbow League
The chapter describes the Rainbow Fête, an exhibition and sale organized by the school to raise funds for war orphans. The event features homemade toys, a tea stall, and musical performances. Ingred, despite her stage fright, performs on the piano. Lispeth and Althea manage the toy stall, and Miss Strong buys a toy for little Kenneth Linton. A comedic incident occurs when Dorrie Barnes, trying to procure string for Lispeth, causes a table to collapse. Ingred observes the scene with amusement and shares the joke with Quenrede.
Chapter 13
XIII: Quenrede Comes Out
The Saxon family spends their first Christmas together at the bungalow, struggling with their reduced circumstances. Quenrede prepares for her 'coming out' at Mrs. Desmond's dance, but her homemade dress and shyness make the evening difficult. She finds solace in a conversation with Mr. Broughten in the conservatory, and later returns home to share her experiences with Ingred.
Chapter 14
XIV: The Peephole
The Foursome League reunites after the holidays, sharing news and banter. The new term brings heavy homework and rainy weather that disrupts hockey practice, leading to indoor gym competitions. Ingred and Verity take Dr. Linton's forgotten music to the Abbey, where they explore the Nuns' Ambulatory and discover the historic peephole used to watch for pickpockets during services.
Chapter 15
Brotherly Breezes
Ingred enjoys a rare tea outing with her brother Egbert, who is unusually generous, but the family's financial strain and Egbert's secret quarrel with their father cast a shadow. Ingred later discovers Egbert's secret meetings with Miss Bertrand and, inspired by family sacrifice, resolves to sell her beloved dog Derry to fund Athelstane's medical books.
Chapter 16
An Easter Pilgrimage
The chapter describes the transition from winter to spring at the school, culminating in Miss Strong organizing a four-day walking tour for eight girls during the Easter holidays. The group travels by train to Carford and then hikes through the countryside, enjoying the spring scenery. Nora brings a camera and stages humorous mock-adventures for photographs, while the group experiences the joy of the season.
Chapter 17
The Rivals
Ingred's jealousy of Bess Haselford spoils her enjoyment of a walking tour. A botanical dispute over bugle versus self-heal ends with Miss Strong confirming Bess is correct, humiliating Ingred. Later, Ingred fails to warn Bess about a dangerous mare with a foal, but when Bess wanders into the forbidden meadow, Ingred risks her own safety to rescue her. The chapter ends with the group enjoying tea at the Pelican Inn.
Chapter 18
Bess at Home
Ingred visits Bess at Rotherwood, where she discovers that Bess has preserved their old attic studio as a shrine, complete with Ingred's portrait. Bess reveals she had befriended the portrait before meeting the real Ingred. Ingred realizes the depth of Bess's loneliness and her own past unkindness, and the two solidify their friendship.
Chapter 19
The Nun's Walk
In the idyllic May setting of Wynch-on-the-Wold, Ingred Saxon returns home to find visitors she dislikes, leading to a family discussion about manners and truthfulness. At school, the boarders practice tennis, and when balls go over the wall into Dr. Broadfield's garden, Ingred climbs over to retrieve them, discovering a ghost legend called 'The Nun's Walk.' That night, she and her friends sneak out to investigate and are caught by Miss Burd.
Chapter 20
Under the Lanterns
The girls of the hostel, barred from tennis for a week, conceive the idea of a fancy-dress dance in the school garden. With permission from Miss Burd, they prepare costumes with enthusiasm. Ingred, aided by her sister Quenrede, creates a Red Indian squaw outfit. At the dance, Ingred discovers that her brother Hereward and his friend Franklin have infiltrated in disguise. She urges them to leave to avoid trouble, and they reluctantly depart.
Chapter 21
The Abbey Recital
Ingred and Bess bond over shared interests, especially music. Ingred arranges for Bess to play the violin with Dr. Linton at the Abbey, leading to Bess being invited to perform at a Sunday recital. The chapter culminates in Bess's successful performance and the revelation of Old Mr. Haselford's plan to build a museum and art gallery for Grovebury.
