Tophole! cover art

Tophole!

Tophole!

By: Deborah Lofas
Listen for free

Episodes look at individual Chalet School books, Elinor M Brent-Dyer's life and other works, and wider themes, with occasional interviews. There will be spoilers, because the books have been in print for over 50 years. There will be mispronunciations, because it's too late now to put right the ones I invented as a 9 year old. And we do not ignore the bonkersness that makes EBD so beloved.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deborah Lofas
Art Literary History & Criticism World
Episodes
  • EBD - licensed to thrill
    Jul 14 2026

    EBD wrote an adventure for boys - and Kit told me (after editing the episode) that it sounds far more brutal than any of the boys' stories he read as a kid. Time for a bit of international espionage as we travel with shipwrecked Hawk Chudleigh to an unnamed island somewhere near New Zealand.


    Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/07/14/s3e19-ebd-licensed-to-thrill/


    You can find Tophole on Facebook or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • To Guernsey
    Jun 30 2026

    An account of our recent holiday in Guernsey - where I was, of course, constantly thinking about the CS and EBD. Kit, not so much.


    Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/06/30/s3e18-to-guernsey/.


    You can find Tophole on Facebook or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
  • So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!
    Jun 2 2026

    A pivotal summer term book this time, as we look at the Chalet School's final term on St Briavel's - a book which might well have inspired Roald Dahl, given that it could be subtitled "The Chalet School and the Chocolate Factory". Subjects I had to google while researching this episode included how much milk a goat produces, 1950s university entrance requirements, the Allied occupation of Austria, and the actual definition of a step-sister.


    Please don't panic if the next episode is late - we are about to go on holiday a podcast research trip to Guernsey.


    Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/06/02/s3e17-so-long-farewell-auf-wiedersehen-good-bye/


    You can find Tophole on Facebook, or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    25 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet