Sue Clifford

Twelve-year-old Christine Wilson, living with her Aunt Phillipa while her parents are away in India, is sent to Cliff House boarding school in this British children's novel from 1930. Here she finds that all is not smooth sailing, as she quickly runs afoul of prefect Mildred Pearson, who names Christine a "mugwump" after she accidentally spills syrup onto her (Mildred) during breakfast. Lonely at first, because she doesn't quite fit in - no good at netball, with skirts the wrong length, she is a constant target for Mildred's followers, known as "Millipedes" - Christine eventually does find some friends, and becomes an admirer of the new French mistress, Miss Irwin. Always one to follow her own way, she confronts a terrible dilemma when she becomes aware that Mildred is cheating, struggling for some time with the decision regarding what to do. Eventually a school fire, Chris' dramatic rescue of some youngsters, a subsequent illness, and Mildred's confession set all to rights...

Although only a brief 119 pages, there's quite a bit of narrative incident crammed into The Mugwump: A School Story, which is a fairly obscure example of the genre, sought out and read a number of years ago in the rare book room of the university I was then attending. There were some things here that puzzled me, chief amongst them the use of the word "mugwump" as an insult. Here in the states this term is chiefly associated with a group of late 19th-century politicians who switched parties as a protest against the corruption of their own party's candidate, and I understand it to now mean someone who stands above partisan politics. Apparently the word has Algonquian origins, and refers to a person of great importance. As neither of these definitions seem to fit the usage here, I must conclude the word had some other meaning in 1930s British slang - perhaps adapted by them to mean a clumsy person? However that may be, I was also struck by the threat made against Christine by Head Girl Veronica, that the school will "send her to Coventry" - AKA, socially ostracize her - if she does not shape up. This is an aspect of the British school culture of this period, one often seen in stories of this kind, that I have always found most objectionable. I realize that to some it is a method of student self-government, but it has always struck me as a cowardly form of group bullying, meant to enforce conformity. There may be people I don't speak to, but the idea of my doing so as part of some group action, the idea that I would not be allowed to speak to that person, is unfathomable to me.

Leaving aside these issues, this simply wasn't a particularly strong or interesting example of the school story genre. It was an enjoyable enough read, for fans of this type of story, but isn't one I would recommend exerting a great deal of effort to track down. Which is just as well, given its scarcity.… (mere)