Penelope of Mars

School Girl by Hermann Sandkuhl thanks to printings.com

Title: Penelope of Mars

Author: not known 

Publisher: not known 

Source book: Three Twins at the Crater School by Chaz Brenchley (Crater School #1)

Chaz Brenchley is a massive fan of the much loved Chalet School series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer which was set first in Austria, then Guernsey, Armishire, St Briavel’s off the coast of Wales, and finally the Görnetz Platz in the Bernese Oberland (Switzerland). Brenchley has schoolgirl stories in homage to the series and decided to set his Crater School books in a British Empire outpost on Mars. And why not?

Brenchley introduces us to the Penelope of Mars series of schoolgirl stories: one of the great tales of Mars. We don’t know how many there are in the series and sadly we don’t have an author, but we do know there are many sequels. And we also know that Charm Buchanan, a character in Three Twins, has devoured the series end to end and more than once. Even Pete, a girl devoted to fixing engines, finds she rather enjoys having a chapter or two read to her.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Penelope starts with her family being some of the first pioneers on Mars. Perhaps she features in a book about the first Martian version of Girl Guides, the Pioneers, who have a smart red uniform; she’s probably one of the first of the naughty middles at her school, perhaps she’s a form captain, bound to be a prefect, probably head girl. And possibly she goes on to Agricultural College (if one has yet been established) to learn to be an efficient Martian farmer, or goes back to school like Anne of Green Gables, to teach the next generation of colonists. Who knows, because obviously any of these potential books are entirely fictional (made up by me) but we can see it would be easy to produce a series of adventure stories suitable for enthusiastic young Martians. All possible books we might enjoy IRL too. Although, I do rather get the impression that relations between Mars and Earth could be better. So perhaps earthbound fans of schoolgirl fiction would not be encouraged to read about Penelope.

Also featured in Three Twins at the Crater School is Who’s Who on the Red Planet, which has an entry for Isobel Buchanan, famous sculptor and artist, but also mother of Levity and Charm, pupils at the Crater School.

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