On the subject of spoilers, isn't it the case that Forest has spoiled the book, to a certain extent, with the title? Autumn Term gives away that it's a school story, but not that Forest's intention is to subvert some of the tropes, what with Karen being ineffectual, Rowan not necessarily agreeing with the authority figures, staff disliking prefects and so on, all being revealed early on in the book in the train incident. So The Marlows and the Traitor not only tells us that it's an adventure book, but the type of adventure to be encountered. I think that The Marlows by the Sea or at Sea, for example, would predispose the reader to expect a different book.
I'm also one of those who came to this book as an adult (the GGBP reprint) so on reading these opening chapters, I remember looking for the traitor early on. We get three possibilities: Nicola's fishing friends in St Anne's Oldport, who we don't meet in these two chapters; the Thorpes; and Foley, who we get to see in person and by report. Foley gets the most attention so it's not a surprise that he turns out to be the one, not least with all the talk about Peter's appalling taste in friends (and also crushes - I remember thinking that Peter's reaction to Foley seemed like a crush, somewhat) but I also remember wondering if perhaps the Thorpes would turn out to be bad eggs as well, what with their trips abroad in their boat, and their bad taste in trousers. Other writers might well have gone for this turn of events; treachery being a rather vulgar matter, perhaps? :)
And in terms of children's adventure stories and subverting the same, I note that the Marlows are reduced to four children for the purposes of this book, but not the standard two boys and two girls, and furthermore, the eldest girl is not the traditional competent homemaker (see eldest girls called Susan, Ann(e) or Jane, as they so frequently are) and also the children aren't off by themselves (initially) on a camping, cycling, riding, boating etc holiday, but safely, supposedly, tucked into a hotel, travelling by bus rather than bicycle or pony, and we're closer to the realm of Agatha Christie mystery/thriller with that. So Ginty and Lawrie are caught up in a holiday table tennis tournament and bickering over fancy dress.
I also wonder, with Lawrie's tease of Nicola seeing over the fleet, which struck me as being a really painful tease for Nicola, if Tim's ability to get at Nicola where it hurts most was something that Tim learns from Lawrie?
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I'm also one of those who came to this book as an adult (the GGBP reprint) so on reading these opening chapters, I remember looking for the traitor early on. We get three possibilities: Nicola's fishing friends in St Anne's Oldport, who we don't meet in these two chapters; the Thorpes; and Foley, who we get to see in person and by report. Foley gets the most attention so it's not a surprise that he turns out to be the one, not least with all the talk about Peter's appalling taste in friends (and also crushes - I remember thinking that Peter's reaction to Foley seemed like a crush, somewhat) but I also remember wondering if perhaps the Thorpes would turn out to be bad eggs as well, what with their trips abroad in their boat, and their bad taste in trousers. Other writers might well have gone for this turn of events; treachery being a rather vulgar matter, perhaps? :)
And in terms of children's adventure stories and subverting the same, I note that the Marlows are reduced to four children for the purposes of this book, but not the standard two boys and two girls, and furthermore, the eldest girl is not the traditional competent homemaker (see eldest girls called Susan, Ann(e) or Jane, as they so frequently are) and also the children aren't off by themselves (initially) on a camping, cycling, riding, boating etc holiday, but safely, supposedly, tucked into a hotel, travelling by bus rather than bicycle or pony, and we're closer to the realm of Agatha Christie mystery/thriller with that. So Ginty and Lawrie are caught up in a holiday table tennis tournament and bickering over fancy dress.
I also wonder, with Lawrie's tease of Nicola seeing over the fleet, which struck me as being a really painful tease for Nicola, if Tim's ability to get at Nicola where it hurts most was something that Tim learns from Lawrie?