Fourth Form Friendship: A School Story

When Aldred Laurence arrives at Birkwood Grange, she's just another scholarship girl navigating the hierarchies of an English boarding school. Then Mabel Farrington, a privileged parlor boarder, singles her out for friendship and shares her coveted perks. Aldred is bewildered until she discovers the reason: Mabel believes Aldred once rescued a child from a burning building. The truth is, Aldred did no such thing. But she's too afraid of losing Mabel's affection to correct the mistake, so she lets the lie fester while secretly dreading the day Mabel discovers the truth. The novel builds toward a moment where Aldred must finally choose between confession and cowardice, and where she might actually have the chance to become worthy of her friend's love honestly. Brazil writes with psychological subtlety rare in early girls' school fiction, capturing the particular anguish of being worshipped for a self you didn't earn.