Figure 1.--Here is an illustration by Harold Earnshaw. In this illustration the narrator of the book, Durrant (last names were used at British schools), is startled by one of the masters--Fussy Joe. Notice the different suits and ties and the Eton collars that the boys all wear. |
Meredith Fletcher, an author of other school stories, wrote The Pretenders - A School Story. It was published by Henry Frowde & Hodder & Stoughton in 1908. We do not yet know the plot. Yhe book is narated by a boy nammed Durrant. There are school scenes which give a wonderful feel for a British private school in the early 20th century. There are six wonderful colour illustrations in the book by Harold Earnshaw with the cover depicting two schoolboys in typical Edwardian school wear. Actually different uniforms are depicted. Except for the Eton collars and red caps, we are not sure just what the uniform was. We see boys wearing both Eton suits and Norfolk suits.
We know relatively little about the author. Meredith Fletcher, an author of other school stories, wrote The Pretenders - A School Story. We do know that he has writtem other school stories. Perhaps the best known is Every Inch a Briton. He also wrote Jefferson Junior. We have, however, been unable to find any additional information. We would be very interested in any informatioin readers may have on this author.
The book was published by Henry Frowde & Hodder & Stoughton in 1908. The book had a dark green hardback with orange, black and grey. The title (The Pretenders) and author's name are in gold.
We do not yet know the plot. The book is narated by a boy nammed Durrant. The illustrations give us some idea as to the events in the book. There are school scenes which give a wonderful feel for a British private school in the early 20th century. There is also the question of a missing Eton collar. Another scene shows a mix up in "the Den" which looks to be a form room. Apparently an older boy has intruced in the younger boys' santuary, but I'm bit sure about the actual turn of affairs.
We are not positive just what type of school this was, but the images suggest that it was a preparatory school. This may confuse American readers. Preparatory in Britain means a school for primary-age boys, preparing them for the public schools (private secondary schools).
There are six wonderful colour illustrations in the book by Harold Earnshaw with the cover depicting two schoolboys in typical Edwardian school wear. We note many other illustrations by Earnshaw in a wide range of books. We know, however, very little informatioin about Earshaw and his career.
Actually different uniforms are depicted. Except for the Eton collars and red caps, we are not sure just what the uniform was. We see boys wearing both Eton suits and Norfolk suits. Not only are there two uniforms, but there seems to be no clear convention as to which one is whorn for different occassions. We note boys in the classroom wearing both Eton suits and Norfolk suits. It may well be that at the school only the red cap and Eton collar was required and that boys could choose whsat style suit they wore. There was also a variety of ties. There does not appear to have been a school tie. This is, however, just a guess. Of course this is a fiction story, We are unsure to what extent British schools actually had such uniform regulations. We do not know to what extent the uniform comes up in the book. We do know the author discussed the Eton collars that the boys wear.
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