Miss Oliver's School for Girls
1 primary work • 3 total works
Book 2
Set in the backdrop of a prestigious all-girls boarding school, this provocative novel explores the personal lives of those within the school's small community and the empowerment, strength, and resolve it must find in the face of a surprise adversary.
After a tumultuous transitional year at the prestigious boarding school, Rachel Bickham now leads as the new head of Miss Oliver's School for Girls, ready to rush in an era of renewal and success. With beloved teacher Francis Plummer by her side, surely she can conquer anything thrown at her, perhaps even finally start a family of her own. But lately Rachel hears nothing about Francis's classes, once legend among the students. . . In fact, the praises have been suspiciously absent. In the meantime, financial crisis still looms over the school, and now there are rumors spreading of a big scandal concerning one of the students, Claire Nelson, who is like a daughter to Rachel. To save Claire from expulsion and preserve the school's reputation, Rachel must come up with a daring plan that may risk everything--her career, marriage, even the special bond with Claire--but it may just save them all.
This is the follow-up to Davenport's first novel, Saving Miss Oliver's.
The fate of the beloved school is hanging in the balance. . .
"From the very first paragraphs, Saving Miss Oliver's is an engaging read and is very highly recommended to all general fiction readers."
--Midwest Book Review
"There are moments here that indicate that Davenport, who, as his bio notes, 'had a long career in education,' was probably an excellent teacher, like a scene in which Francis explicates a Robert Frost poem with his class, and there are some wonderful students, like the head of the school newspaper who is conducting research about the sex lives of students. . . A book for anyone who's wondered about the inner workings and worries of a school administration."
--Kirkus Reviews
The prestigious boarding school Miss Oliver's School for Girls is on the cusp of going under. The trustees just fired the headmistress of the last thirty-five years, and the alumnae and students are angry and determined to hate her successor, the new--and male--head Fred Kindler. If only he can gain the support of the legendary senior teacher Francis Plummer, then Fred might have a fighting chance to save the school; but no one except Francis's wife and the school librarian, Peggy, is willing to give Fred a chance.
With Fred's career on the line and the Plummers' marriage at stake, will Miss Oliver's survive to be the school it once was?
Honored by Kirkus Reviews as one of The Best Indie Books of 2020.
"Davenport is an accomplished stylist with a keen ear for nuanced dialogue; he also has a knack for making serious political points with a light touch that makes them broadly accessible. . . A thoughtful and compelling account of the responsibilities that come with privilege."
--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
There are only two rules at Miss Oliver's School for Girls that lead to automatic expulsion: stealing, and permitting a male who is not a family member into a dormitory. The head of school's daughter has broken both.
Trouble approaches on a warm September day when Sylvia Perrine Bickham, the head of school's daughter, gives money to a homeless man on the street. Through some prying, she and her friends learn he is a veteran of the Iraq War and probably suffering from post-traumatic stress, so they sneak food and clothing to his lean-to at odd hours of the day and agree to tell no one—not the teachers, and especially not Sylvia's mother, Rachel. But talk of things gone missing from the school is getting louder, and Rachel knows something is up. More importantly, winter is coming and Sylvia worries the man will freeze if he stays outside. Have they done all they can for him? Have they done enough? What is enough.
Vivid, riveting, and utterly engrossing, The Encampment is the third installment of the Miss Oliver's School for Girls series.