Oxenham Non-Connectors
Encyclopedia
Elsie J. Oxenham
Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley , was an English girls' story writer, who took the name Oxenham as her pseudonym when her first book, Goblin Island, was published in 1907. Her Abbey Series of 38 titles are her best-known and best-loved books...
that do not connect into her main Abbey Series.
There are four of these series, they have no connections with each other, or with any of EJO's other books. They are shown below in best reading order (which does not always accord with publication order) except for the Scottish Sequence (see Notes 3 & 4):
The Deb Series
| code | Title | Date | Publisher | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Deb at School | 1929 | Chambers | Nina K. Brisley |
| D2 | Deb of Sea House | 1931 | Chambers | Nina K. Brisley |
| D3 | Deb Leads the Dormitory | 1993 | Woodfield | Audrey Lee |
Deb at School was first published as a 12-part serial 'St. Margaret's' in the magazine Schooldays Weekly from November 1928 until January 1929. It explores the relationship between Deb, a new girl at St. Margaret's School in Sussex, and Chloe, a senior to whom she gives admiration. Chloe is not worthy of the 'crush' - although other juniors have also fallen under her spell - and lets Deb down very badly. But Deb forgives her and she is redeemed at the end. Deb of Sea House brings in two much younger juniors, who themselves have a crush on Deb. How she deals with this, and comes to realise, through the head girl, Selina, that the adimiration of juniors for seniors can be beneficial if the influence is used for good purposes, provides the main theme for this title. In Deb Leads the Dormitory, Deb herself becomes dormitory prefect, and has to help Chloe with a young cousin, Claudia, who has just joined the school knowing nothing of Chloe's shady past. This title did not find a publisher in Oxenham's lifetime, but was published by her niece in 1993.
The Jinty Series
| code | Title | Date | Publisher | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J1 | The Tuckshop Girl | 1916 | Chambers | H Earnshaw |
| J2 | The Reformation of Jinty | 1933 | Chambers | Rene Cloke |
| J3 | Jinty's Patrol | 1934 | Newnes | not credited |
| J4 | A Divided Patrol | 1992 | Woodfield | 'Ros' |
In this series Oxenham picks up threads from a story she had published sixteen years earlier. Tuckshop Girl tells how Jinty arrives at a school in the western suburbs of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
. Her catastrophic introduction is redeemed by her good intentions, and Prue, the 'tuckshop girl' of the title, helps her to integrate into the school. Later titles bring Jinty herself more to the fore, and Prue is kept in the background, though the final title gives a satisfactory end to her story. It is probable that Oxenham was being pressed by publishers for more 'schoolgirl' type stories, and took a schoolgirl character from an earlier book and tried to develop her story and character. Reformation of Jinty and Jinty's Patrol were published at about the same time that Oxenham was developing characters from her Abbey Series into adulthood, whereas her publishers were looking to sell to a younger audience. Divided Patrol did not find a publisher in Oxenham's lifetime, but was published by her niece in 1992.
The Scottish Sequence
| code | Title | Date | Publisher | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sc1 | Goblin Island | 1907 | Collins g | Heath Robinson |
| Sc2 | A Princess in Tatters | 1908 | Collins | Frank Adams |
| Sc3 | A Holiday Queen | 1910 | Collins | T. J. Overnell |
| Sc4 | Schoolgirls and Scouts | 1914 | Collins | Arthur Dixon |
| Sc5 | Finding her Family | 1915 | S.P.C.K. | W. S. Stacey |
| Sc6 | Twins of Castle Charming | 1920 | Swarthmore Press | none |
Of the six titles in this series, four are set largely in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
: Goblin Island is set on 'Loch Avie', a fictionalised Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
; Princess in Tatters is set on 'Loch Ruel', which may be Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
; A Holiday Queen is set at 'Morven' on what appears to be Loch Long
Loch Long
Loch Long is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately 20 miles in length, with a width of between one and two miles...
; and Schoolgirls and Scouts is set at 'Glenleny', which also seems to be on Loch Long, but a bit further up the loch. Twins of Castle Charming - perhaps Oxenham's rarest title - is set largely in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, whereas Finding Her Family has some early scenes set in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
and mainly takes place in Saltburn
Saltburn
Saltburn is a long linear coastal village, which is situated on the northern shore of the Cromarty Firth, in Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands, and is in the Scottish council area of Highland....
. The connections between these titles is rather tenuous, there being no single character or place which appears in all six. Jill Colquhoun from Goblin Island reappears in Twins of Castle Charming and Schoolgirls and Scouts. Eilidh the 'Princess' from Princess in Tatters also appears in Schoolgirls and Scouts and plays an important role in Twins of Castle Charming. Larry Avery appears in both Princess and Twins. Lexa Stewart is the main character of Holiday Queen and reappears briefly in Schoolgirls and Scouts. Monica Howard has an important role in Holiday Queen and reappears in both Schoolgirls and Finding her Family. Melany and Blanche Merrill are the main characters in Twins of Castle Charming and reappear as minor characters in Schoolgirls and Scouts. Elspeth Buchanan is the main character of Schoolgirls and Scouts, which tells of her feud and reconciliation with Mysie and Madge Campbell. The school - never named, but its headmistress is Miss Johnson - which is the setting for the first chapters of both Schoolgirls and Twins, has among its pupils Jill, Melany, Monica and Elspeth, and later Jill's sister Sheila, introduced in Goblin Island, and Mysie and Madge from Schoolgirls.
Isolated Titles
(listed in order of publication)| code | Title | Date | Publisher | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is1 | The Conquest of Christina | 1909 | Collins | G. B. Foyster |
| Is2 | Rosaly's New School | 1913 | Chambers | T. J. Overnell |
| Is3 | At School with the Roundheads | 1915 | Chambers | H. Earnshaw |
| Is4 | Expelled From School | 1919 | Collins | Victor Prost |
| Is5 | The Girls of Gwynfa | 1924 | Warne | Nina K. Brisley |
| Is6 | Dorothy's Dilemma | 1930 | Chambers | Nina K. Brisley |
| Is7 | Sylvia of Sarn | 1937 | Warne | not credited |
Conquest of Christina, Girls of Gwynfa and Sylvia of Sarn are set in Wales, a favourite holiday destination for the Dunkerley family. Rosaly's New School is set in Goathland
Goathland
Goathland is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the North York Moors national park situated due north of Pickering, off the A169 to Whitby...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, and At School with the Roundheads set at 'Redburn', an amalgam of Saltburn
Saltburn
Saltburn is a long linear coastal village, which is situated on the northern shore of the Cromarty Firth, in Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands, and is in the Scottish council area of Highland....
and Redcar
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside resort in the north east of England, and a major town in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It lies east-northeast of Middlesbrough by the North Sea coast...
. Expelled from School is set in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Dorothy's Dilemma in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, both favourite settings which Oxenham used frequently.