But I could never use those terms in conversation, as only fellow Jennings fans might understand them. Following a period with the Saturday Review, he joined The Times newspaper and between 1863 and 1868 was its special correspondent, first in India and, from 1865, the US, where he was successful in mending the paper's relations with the US Government following its support for the South during the Civil War. Jennings Follows a Clue puts together Jennings’ enthusiasm for Sherlock Holmes, the attempted sale of a cine camera, mysterious lights in the San, and a burglary, which all culminate at the school’s Sports’ Day. Another aspect of this is that Jennings and Darbishire are really the only characters who are well-defined.

Mr and Mrs Lumley – She runs the local cafe and is renowned for her excellent cakes and doughnuts, while her husband is less renowned as a repairer of bicycles. Certainly it seems that the book (and the later books in the series) are as enjoyable to adults as they are to children.but true to the form of British boarding schools, they generally are known exclusively by their surnames. Buckeridge told BBC reporter Michael Crick that the fictional Jennings had been modelled on a schoolfriend, Diarmaid Jennings (1913–2009). Jennings and Darbishire were two school-boys, probably about nine or ten years old, whose adventures I followed on the Children’s Hour on the radio, and also in the books written by their creator Anthony Buckeridge. But, as always with Jennings and Darbishire, good will is not synonymous with effectiveness and precious tropical fish are soon put in danger. This entry was posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Humour, Re-read, Reviews and tagged 1950s fiction, Anthony Buckeridge, boarding schools, children's fiction, cricket, detection, disguise, farce, imagination, school.

Her predecessor, who features most prominently in 'Jennings Goes To School', is also kind-hearted, but less popular with the boys, as she is rather more brisk and no-nonsense in her approach and has, in Buckeridge's words, 'little sympathy with junk-filled pockets and hair that will not stay parted'. Everything ghastly is ozard; being a new chap’s pretty ozard for a bit, but you’ll get used to it when you’ve been here as long as I have. With catchphrases and nicknames which will become part of your vocabulary and a host of beautifully drawn, irrepressible characters who become your firm friends, these books are treasures. I’ve read a few boys’ school stories before and never particularly enjoyed them, and as a result have given the Jennings series a wide berth. Jennings is certain that Mr Wilkins will forget all about the Form Three maths test if they butter him up a bit by welcoming him back with a nice pot plant and a get-well-soon card.Although some modern reviews wrongly accuse them of being too gentle, by contrast they really are quite dark, biting satire of the boarding school experience.

Actually, although all the series are told in the third person, there’s an intangible feeling that Jennings is being narrated by an adult – Buckeridge originally told them as stories to his pupils – which isn’t present in the Blyton stories. And although they are set in a very particular kind of educational institution, the English boarding school, they still manage to capture some of the universal experiences of childhood. By then the couple had two children and, with a young family to support, he found himself teaching in Suffolk and Northamptonshire, which again provided further experiences for his later work.Jennings and Darbishire go for a cross-country run on a bus, spend an afternoon trying the patience of the patrons of the local cinema and manage to flash unintentional SOS signals in the dorms after getting locked in the boiler-room following an abortive attempt to roast chestnuts on the fire down there. The site carries no advertising, and I rely on donations to help with running costs and to keep the site running for your entertainment and education.