History Literature / MaloryTowers

* GrewASpine: Clarissa in the fourth book. She starts out being shy and has low self esteem which, combined with her apparently "wealthy" background makes her an easy target for Gwendoline who tries to befriend (and manipulate) her. Former [[ExtremeDoormat Extreme Doormat]] stands up against her "friend" after realizing that Gwendoline is [[BitchInSheepsClothing phony]] and not a good person at all.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Alicia. She's fun and popular, but she has absolutely no problem with using her sharp tongue on anyone who annoys her, and she lacks compassion, even refusing to consider that a friend might not have done something wrong.

* LadyLooksLikeADude: If it's not for her skirt (and the fact that she's attending an all-girl school), Bill is undistinguishable from a boy.

** The worst case of this happens to Gwendoline when [[spoiler: after six books of her being a {{Jerkass}} her father falls seriously ill, survives but won't ever be completely healthy again whivh forces the family to give up their wealth and to live under simple circumstances.]]
* LessonsInSophistication: Gwendoline, an old student, returns in the Pamela Cox sequels to teach the sixth formers etiquette.
* LovableAlphaBitch: Alicia is an unusually positive version of popular mean girl. She's one of the most popular girls in her form and Darrell was very eager to be her friend during her first year in Malory Towers. She's also sarcastic and condescending towards people who are not as brilliant as herself, but she's never truly malicious, and many of the girls admire her wit and honesty. Especially after she [[TookALevelInKindness became nicer]] thanks to [[spoiler: having the measles in fourth year]] making her realize not everyone has as quick brains as she has.

* NewTransferStudent: The school gets a few new ones every year. One notable example was Amanda, after her old school burned down.

* PassionateSportsGirl: The general ethos of the school is this; sporting prowess is highly respected, and competition against other schools is fierce. These girls are definitely NOT supposed to be demure.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Sally is portrayed as an antisocial and moody loner in the first book, including a scene where she dares to reject Darrell's offer to spend the visiting day with her. It's implied that someone who doesn't want to hang with Darrell can't be anything but antisocial and mean.

* StandardFiftiesFather: Darrell's sensible father, Dr Rivers is this.

* StickyFingers: [[spoiler: Daphne]] was the one who stole the girls' stuff from the second book. They forgive her, though.

* TookALevelInJerkass: The popular girls (Darrell, Sally, Irene, Belinda, Alicia etc.) in the fifth book. They aren't willing to give Maureen a chance, constantly making fun of her by telling her sarcastic compliments. They also tease Gwendoline more than she does to them! In their interactions with outcasts (though these outcasts aren't exactly the nicest people around) they act cockier compared to the other books.

** In the fifth form, we were introduced to Janet, a student held back from the previous batch of girls who was later revealed to be a very talented seamstress, did not return in the final book. However, she was mentioned when the girls were talking about some of the girls who has left school to do other things (e.g. Mavis went to train in singing, and Catherine stayed home to help out her mother).

** Invoked with Maureen and Gwendoline. Upon realizing that Maureen is just as vain and silly as Gwendoline, the other girls try to push them together and get both out from everyone else's way. Amusingly, [[TooMuchAlike Gwen dislikes Maureen]] and momentarily tries to change her ways, realizing how awful she must appear to the other girls.

* CostumePorn: Some of the outfits made for the school play are stated to count as a combination of this and GorgeousPeriodDress, as made by a talented schoolgirl seamstress who was aided by legions of lower-formers.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Gwen. She tried to skip the exams by faking a heart condition and didn't think that she would be, you know, examined by a doctor.

** Jealousy for Sally. In the first book, she behaves unpleasantly because she is jealous of her younger sister, who she believes to be stealing their parents' attention. In the third book, she is jealous of Alicia for being over-friendly with Darell (because Alicia's best friend, Betty, is away) and treats them both coldly until Betty finally returns to school.
** Darrell's fatal flaw is her hot temper which often causes her to use physical violence when she gets triggered.

* HugeSchoolgirl: Amanda, who is about 6 feet tall and weighs about 13 stones.

* IrritationIsTheSincerestFormOfFlattery: In the first book, Darrell saves Mary-Lou from Gwendoline's bullying, and she began following her around ever since, trying to help her in every way possible. Mary-Lou's "help" often bothers Darrell instead, and her classmates (especially Alicia) likes to make fun of Darrell's "new puppy dog".

* LessonsInSophistication: Gwendoline, an old student, returns to teach the sixth formers etiquette.

* RealWomenDontWearDresses: The more feminine girls who fuss over their appearance are seen in a somewhat negative light.
** Subverted by Janet, whose skills as a seamstress are respected at the beginning of ''In The Fifth'' and admired by the book's end. In ''Last Term at Malory Towers'', Darrell even says: "I miss quiet old Janet too. She is training as a dress designer. She ought to be jolly good at it! Do you remember the marvellous dresses she made for us when we gave that pantomime in the fifth form?"

* UpperClassEquestrian: Being a school for the privileged and wealthy, this is taken UpToEleven when Wilhemina (known as Bill) arrives at the start of term on horseback, surrounded by her brothers, who are also all mounted. She keeps her horse Thunder at the school.

* CheatersNeverProsper: Gwendoline tries to skip an exam by faking a heart disease. She is exposed and forced to take the exam anyway.

* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Lampshaded but ultimately averted. When the girls are told that they a pair of twins are coming to their class, they expect identical twins. They are quite disappointed that Connie and Ruth are quite different, and remark how "unlike twins" they are.

* BrattyHalfPint: June

* AttentionWhore: Gwendolyn, who has been spoiled rotten at home, wants to be the center of attention at school, too.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Gwendolyn frequently pretends to be sweet and caring this when she's trying to befriend timid girls like Mary-Lou and Clarissa. Although she's only nice for personal gain or when trying to manipulate someone.

** Similarly, even Miss Winter, Gwen's governess who is also a [[ExtremeDoormat complete pushover]] and deeply admires her is not on her side during Gwendolines big fight with her father and defends him.

* GrewASpine: Clarissa in the fourth book. She starts out being shy and has low self esteem which, combined with her apparently "wealthy" background makes her an easy target for Gwendolyn who tries to befriend (and manipulate) her. Former [[ExtremeDoormat Extreme Doormat]] stands up against her "friend" after realizing that Gwendolyn is [[BitchInSheepsClothing phony]] and not a good person at all.

%% * SternTeacher: Many.

* StrawLoser: Gwendolyn. She‘s not only mean, manipulative, phony, spoiled and superficial but also a horrible student due to her laziness and sucks at every sport; she‘s even overweight later on. She makes everyone else not only look nice my comparision, but more competent in general because she‘s not only portrayed as mean but also as pathetic.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Darrell. She slaps Gwen and shoves Sally in the first book, has a big fight with Ellen in the second and shakes June in the fourth.

* StaticCharacter: Catherine Grey is the only student who is considered unsympathetic and doesn't go through [[CharacterDevelopment Character Development.]]

* OutnumberedSibling: Bill is the only girl among seven brothers.

* {{Foil}}: Chubby but kindhearted Mamzelle Dupont to scrawny but rude Mamzelle Rougier.

* PassionateSportsGirl: Darrell loves her sports.
** The general ethos of the school is this; sporting prowess is highly respected, and competition against other schools is fierce. These girls are definitely NOT supposed to be demure.
** Amanda Chartelow from ''Last Term'' turns it [[UpToEleven Up To Eleven.]]

* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Almost all of the girls go about in pairs - Betty and Alicia, Darrell and Sally, Irene and Belinda, Mary-Lou and Daphne, Bill and Clarissa (who double up as TomboyAndGirlyGirl), Jean and Ellen, Mavis and Zerelda -- and their relationship can get quite intimate. And if another girl joins the group, it is called "Threesomes", as was with Felicity, Susan and June. This was quite common in the fifties.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Bill and Clarissa, who formed a PseudoRomanticFriendship by the end of ''Upper Fourth''. Bill is very boyish and could easily be mistaken for a guy if not for her uniform. Clarissa, while not explicitly stated to be feminine (particularly since she's as much a horse lover as Bill is), is much daintier than her friend.
** The description of the two new students in ''Last Term'': Amanda, short haired, athletic and masculine-looking and Suzanne, small, petite, charming and French.
* TomboyishName: Bill. It's short for Wilhelmina, but almost nobody calls her that. Unusual in that she never faces criticism for her boyish ways or people trying to make her change.
** It helps that her classmates know she's the only girl of eight children, and they can understand WHY she's the way she is if she hangs around with seven brothers all the time. The fact that horse-riding, the one thing she's truly passionate about, is part of the school's range of activities also helps her to fit in quickly.

A lot of information on the series can be found [[http://www.enidblyton.net/malory-towers here]].

* PassionateSportsGirl: Darrell loves her sports
** Amanda Chartelow from ''Last Term'', [[UpToEleven Up To Eleven.]]

* RealWomenDontWearDresses: The more feminine ladies who fuss over their appearance and are averse to playing sports, such as Gwendoline, Maureen and Daphne, are portrayed in a more negative light than the more tomboy girls like Alicia, Darrell and Bill.

* StickyFingers: [[spoiler: Daphne]] was the one who stole the girls' stuffs from the second book. They forgave her, though.

** The description of the two new students in ''Last Term'': Amanda, short haired, athletic and masculine-looking and Suzanne, small, petite, charming and french.

* TooMuchAlike: The reason why Gwendoline can't stand Maureen: being around her is like looking in a mirror in an uncomfortable way. Maureen has all of her flaws and Gwen sees her the way the other girls see her, which is a horrifying expierience for her.

* SternTeacher: Many.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Bill and Clarissa, who formed a RomanticTwoGirlFriendship by the end of ''Upper Fourth''. Bill is very boyish and could easily be mistaken for a guy if not for her uniform. Clarissa, while not explicitly stated to be feminine (particularly since she's as much a horse lover as Bill is), is much more dainty than her friend.

* TookALevelInJerkass: The popular girls (Darrell, Sally, Irene, Belinda, Alicia etc.) in the fifth book. They aren't willing to give Maureen a chance, constantly making fun of her by telling her sarcastic compliments. They also tease Gwendoline more than she does to them! In their interactions with outcasts (though these outcasts aren't exactly the nicest people around) they act more cocky compared to the other books.