'There you are, young Copperfield, and a royal spread you've got.'
David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
As a child I longed to go to boarding school. Not because I hated my family, but because of the books I read about boarding school life.
The ones that stand out in my memory are the Malory Towers and St Clare's series by Enid Blyton. The varied personalities of the schoolgirls - who always included at least one 'foreigner' for added glamour - coupled with the eccentric teachers, created a tantalising world that was so far removed from my Devon schooldays. And the 'fun and mischief' they got up to - as it says on the blurb of my ancient copy of Third Year at Malory Towers - was equally appealing to my diligent and well-behaved nine year-old self; I would never dare to be naughty, but I could live vicariously through Blyton's creations.
