Article by JM
Read our other
Ronald Searle articles.
The terrific
years of St. Trinian’s and St. Custards
After a first part dedicated to Searle’s war drawings
and to some samples of his press works, let us talk about his books.
Searle’s first cartoon book was published by
Macdonald in 1948.
On the title page, Searle drew himself in company
of his already well known schoolgirls.
Although this book is titled: Hurrah for St.
Trinian’s and other lapses, it contains only 14 St. Trinian’s cartoons on
the 87 gathered here. Obviously, the author knows these characters of young
pests are popular. The book gets an undeniable success: 50,000 copies are sold.
The following period is particularly active for
Searle: up to the middle of the 50s he edits four cartoon books, he collaborates to
six books and he illustrates over fifteen books.
His second cartoon book is launched by the same
publisher in 1949. It is again successful: in two years, there are seven reprints.
The female
approach with masculine sidelights deals with the better (?) half of mankind, with
adult women as well as Searle’s young and always awful schoolgirls.
His third cartoon book is published in 1949, again
by Macdonald.
As announced by its title, this Back to the
slaughterhouse and other ugly moments shows a very black ambience. This book too is partly devoted to the famous infamous
schoolgirls.
In 1952, Searle illustrates a Timothy Shy novel
that takes place in the mythic St. Trinian’s boarding school.
Since 1946, many cartoons, featuring Searle’s scandalous
schoolgirls, are edited in Lilliput magazine every month, and some of
these cartoons are published abroad, in the press as well as in book form.
Searle’s book Weil
noch das Lämpchen glüht, published
by Diogenes Verlag in Zürich in 1952, reprints in German some British cartoons
from his first three books. There are several reprints; the last one is made as
a pocket book (picture here above).
Souls in torment, his fourth British cartoon book, is published by Perpetua in 1953.
This publishing company is founded by Kaye Webb – a long time editor of Lilliput magazine, then wife of Ronald Searle. This book contains a miscellany
of themes, such as music, fine arts, literature... and, of course, the heinous
but very famous schoolgirls.
On the left, the cartoon shows Searle visiting St.
Trinian’s, dressed as an undertaker!
In fact, this book marks an important turning
point: although the successful St. Trinian’s girls became part of the British
folklore, their animator arrives at the conclusion he doesn’t want to be a prisoner
of his creatures. So the publisher warns she is editing the last hours of that
infamous, irresistible brood of impenitent characters, known as Searle’s
Schoolgirls. Their creator has thought it best to dispose of them before they
shattered foundations more fundamental than those of St. Trinian’s. This, she realises,
will be positively their last appearance in book form.
Here Searle announces his decision to definitely
close this long cartoons series.
Edited soon after Souls in torment, the book Médisances, is published by Robert Delpire in Paris in
1953. It reprints in French some British cartoons from Searle’s first four
books. Of course, there are some cartoons of the devilish schoolgirls.
Still digging into the vein of British school life,
but on the schoolboys side this time, Searle collaborates to two books written
by Geoffrey Williams, whose main character is Nigel Molesworth, a pupil of the
unlikely St. Custards school.
How to be topp, subtitled ‘A guide to sukcess for tiny pupils’, is the first of these
books dedicated to schoolboys. It was published by Max Parish in 1954 and it was
re-issued several times up to 1959.
In association with Searle, Geoffrey Williams’
second book was edited in 1958 by the same publisher, and then it was republished
as a soft cover book by May Fair Books in 1968.
Finally, to complete St. Trinian’s girls’ saga,
Searle and his wife devoted themselves to a sort of encyclopaedia that was published
by Pepetua in 1959.
With the collaboration of several authors, this
book details, in about fifty pages, the genesis of this corpus of cartoons,
their resounding in British culture, as well as the creations they inspired (such
as a film and several songs). In addition, there are about 125 cartoons (some
of them never published in a book).
This hardcover first edition was republished as a
paperback by Penguin Books in 1961.
Here is the tragic cartoon of the apocalyptic end
of the St. Trinian’s story
Goodbye bloody girls; R.I.P.! But see you soon, you
readers of this blog: we are very far from the end of the sumptuous list of
Searle’s books.
article by JMB
Ronald Searle the Great (Part 3)
