Third Year at Malory Towers
Third Year at Malory Towers is a children's novel by Enid Blyton set in an English girls' boarding school. It is the third book in the Malory Towers school story series. The novel was first published in 1948.
 1948 UK 1st Edition dustjacket | |
| Author | Enid Blyton |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Stanley Lloyd |
| Cover artist | Stanley Lloyd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Malory Towers |
| Genre | School story |
| Publisher | Methuen (UK) |
Publication date | 1948 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | 0 7497 1926 5 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | The Second Form at Malory Towers |
| Followed by | Upper Fourth at Malory Towers |
Plot summary
Darrell is on the way to Malory Towers once again. She finds out that Sally Hope, her best friend is in quarantine for mumps and will not be able to come to school for a short time. On the way, they pick up a new girl, Zerelda Brass, who is fifteen and a half and from the US. Once they arrive, they see Gwendoline making a Fond Farewell with her mother and governess. When Gwendoline sees Zerelda, she immediately loses her heart to her. Alicia notices it and points it out to Darrell. It is then revealed that not only is Zerelda in North Tower but in the fourth form. A few days later, the final new girl arrives Bill Robinson. Bill is short for Wilhelmina, who in turn has truckloads of horses and seven brothers. She arrives with the brothers and her horse. The brothers and their horses leave leaving Bill to take her horse, Thunder, to the stables. A few weeks later, Zerelda is demoted to the third form because her standard is lower than the fourth form's requirement. Darrell becomes a reserve for one of the Malory Towers lacrosse teams. When Zerelda tries to rehearse for the third form play, "Romeo & Juliet" and is caught throwing a book at a former classmate, she is scolded by Matron. Later, drama teacher Ms Hibbert tells her she is unable to act. A few weeks later, Thunder (Bill's horse) suffers from colic while Darrell and Bill work all night in the rain to stop him lying down and Ms Peters rides for miles in the pouring rain to get the vet and saves the life of aspiring opera singer Mavis Allyson who loses her voice as a consequence. Later, Mavis befriends Zerelda. Ms Peters saves the day and she and Bill become very close friends. The end of term comes and the girls can't wait to see their parents again.
Characters
North Tower Third Form girls
- Darrell Rivers - the main protagonist of the stories
- Sally Hope - Darrell's best friend, solid and dependable
- Gwendoline Mary Lacey - spoiled, lazy, boastful and conceited
- Alicia Johns - lively and quick-witted, always ready with an sharp-tongued opinion
- Jean MacDonald - shrewd Scottish girl, honest and dependable, now Head Girl of the Third Form
- Mary-Lou - now a little taller, but still timid and "scared looking"
- Wilhelmina (Bill) Robinson - a new girl, obsessed with horses and particularly her own horse, "Thunder"
- Zerelda Brass - a new girl, from the United States
- Irene - a scatterbrained girl who excels at music and mathematics
- Belinda Morris - Irene's best friend and equally scatterbrained friend, a talented artist
- Mavis - arrived since the last book, a highly talented singer but otherwise lacking in character
- Daphne Millicent Turner - pretty, graceful and charming, now much more subdued than when she first arrived
Other girls
- Betty Hill - Alicia's friend in West Tower
- Molly Ronaldson - school games captain
- Lucy - Head Girl of the Fourth Form
- Ellen Wilson - arrived as a new girl in the Second Form with Daphne and Belinda, now in the Fourth Form
Mistresses and Staff
- Miss Grayling - Headmistress of Malory Towers. Described as
- Miss Potts - House Mistress of North Tower and mistress of the First Form.
- Miss Peters - Third Form mistress
- Miss Williams - Fourth Form mistress
- Mam'zelle Dupont - French mistress, described as "short, fat and round," with a jolly temperament
- Mam'zelle Rougier - French mistress, described as "thin and sour," with an ill-humoured temperament
- Miss Linnie - art mistress
- Mr Young - music teacher
- Miss Carton - history mistress
- Miss Hibbert - English mistress
- Matron - North Tower Matron, responsible for the well-being of the girls boarding in North Tower
Other characters
- Dr Rivers - Darrell's father, a surgeon
- Mrs Rivers - Darrell's mother
- Felicity Rivers - Darrell's younger sister
- Mrs Lacey - Gwendoline's mother
- Miss Winters - Gwendoline's former governess
- Mr Raglett - farmer
- Mr Turnbull - veterinary surgeon