This review was originally published on my other blog in 2007.
This is a good story in the British school story tradition, but I
didn't find it as compelling as some of the others. The story revolves
around Richard, whose uncle was school captain when he attended Glendale
and hopes for the same for his nephew. Unfortunately, Richard, as a
new boy, confides this in secret to another boy, Olaf, who then proceeds
to tell the whole house about Richard's bold ambitions, thus setting
the two up as enemies. Olaf is a very accomplished boy - outstanding at
sports, outstanding in school, and popular among his schoolmates. But
he is too calculating in his demeanor and that robs him of true
affection, making him seem ingenuous. Richard does succeed in making
two good friends who are largely immune to Olaf's charms. Eventually
the threesome succeed and Richard grows into a position, where he can
legitimately be suggested for the school captaincy, when one of his
chums is offered it, but turns it down.
The standard
British school boy elements are all there, the sport, the pranks, the
point of honor. Academics seem to take a slight second rank, but they
still figure in, to some extent. This one also had a good deal of
town/school rivalry.
I appreciate that the character
of Richard wasn't made into an all around hero. He was good at many
things, but was mostly not at the top of anything. His growth through
the years seemed very realistic.
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