Immensely prolific British children's writer, Mabel Esther Allan, who published around 170 books over the course of her long career, was noted for her exploration of many genres, from the time-slip adventure to the school story. In addition to her book-length works, she was the author of approximately 330 short stories, published between 1936-1957 in various magazines and journals. This collection, as its title makes plain, presents a selection of those stories, each of which concerns the experiences of girls at school. Privately printed by the Bemrose Press, based in Chester, England, it is the second such collection in this vein, following upon Queen Rita at the High School and Other School Stories, which was printed the year before this, in 1991. Just as in that earlier volume, the sixteen selections presented in The Two Head Girls and Other School Stories open a window into the fascinating world of Allan's school stories. Many of the themes she would go on to explore in her novels, as well as some of the characters and schools themselves, first saw print in these tales. Selections include:

The Two Head Girls: A Cotswold Story, an early story published under a pen-name and featuring Roman Wood, a setting also found in Allan's novel, Romansgrove. The tale concerns two girls - Roberta Cane and Damaris Blair - each seventeen years of age, and each expecting to be made Head Girl at their school, Cotswold Court. Factions develop amongst the junior students, with each girl having her supporters. The ensuing conflict is eventually resolved, and the girls become friends and dual Head Girls.

The New House Mistress: A Cotswold Story, in which twenty-year-old Rodney finds herself housemistress to fifteen senior girls at Wyndstane Manor School, and has her hands full keeping track of these rebellious students, determined to run roughshod over her. This tale was based upon Allan's own experiences as housemistress at Hampden House, and features a school that also appeared in her novel, The Adventurous Summer.

The Mystery at Tregandon: A Cornish Story, in which new girl Claudia White makes herself unpopular at Tregandon School by hating the very idea of boarding school. When things begin to be littered about, Claudia is blamed, until Penelope Trelane, a Cornish girl in attendance at the school, decides to investigate and clear her name.

The School in the Valley: A Chiltern Story, in which the (at first) unnamed narrator comes upon a young girl rescuing a black kitten while hiking in the Russett Valley in the Chilterns (a range of chalk hills in eastern England). The narrator returns the girl to the Russett Valley School for Girls where she belongs, becoming involved in a number of crises there, before it is revealed that she is Miss Sandon, the new P.T. instructor.

The School That Wasn't Welsh: A Chiltern Story, in which Glynne Manning is unhappy about being sent to Sherlenden House, rather than Llanrhysydd, where her friend Megan Parry-Owen goes to school. Although the natural world around her has great appeal - "there was a strangeness and loveliness in the Chiltern woodlands on the days that followed that struck at Glynne's heart" - she resists all efforts at friendship on the part of her fellow pupils. Then a car accident leads to a crisis, and new friendships are formed. This story shares characters and schools with both School Under Snowdon and Chiltern School.

The School by the River: A Devonshire Story, which was originally published under a pen-name as "At Dead of Night," and which concerns the adventures of one Muriel Ashe, who comes to Riverside House determined to have lots of adventures. Her wild escapades land her in trouble when she finds herself stranded on an island in the river late one night, but her new schoolmates come to the rescue, leading to a better understanding.

The Girl from the Flashes: A Cheshire Story, in which Anona Barlow, a new girl at Welton High School, becomes interested in her fellow pupil, Maria England, who lives at Flash Farm. When a flood strands Maria at her home on the day of the big school play - a play in which Maria is to star - Anona comes paddling to the rescue. This story eventually led to the novel, The Flash Children in Winter, while the setting - the "flashes" are the inland saltwaters of Cheshire - also played a prominent role in Allan's Room for the Cuckoo.

Bronwen Climbs: A Welsh Story, in which Mary Morris is horrified to discover that Llandrin School is to admit junior students and, together with her friends, leads a crusade against these younger pupils. The juniors, in the meantime, are led by Bronwen Owen-Davies, who is from nearby Llanellin Castle, the oldest inhabited residence in Wales. Lots of feuding and drama ensue, until the inter-class rivalry is finally put to bed after a climbing adventure gone wrong.

Unwillingly to Wales: A Llanrhysydd Story, in which Laura Rennie, who has a "strong strain of snobbery" in her, is horrified to learn that she is to be a pupil at Llanrhysydd School, where her mother is the assistant matron. Embarrassed at being a "charity pupil," Laura resists all efforts at friendliness on the part of her peers, until her eventual involvement in a school play begins to make her feel more a part of the school community. The school and setting here are to be found in Allan's novel, School Under Snowdon, as well as the short story, "Gwynyth's Mountain Problem: A Llanrhysydd Story", in Queen Rita at the High School and Other School Stories.

Journey to Skye: A Dundonay Story, in which Jean MacLeod comes to Skye, the land of her ancestors, to apply for a job as secretary to Miss Rorison, the headmistress of Dundonay House School. Her rival, Margaret Mathieson, attempts to curry favor by playing the damsel in distress, but Jean's genuine love for Skye, and her care for a young pupil who turns out to be Miss Rorison's niece, win out in the end. The setting and school in this story feature in Over the Sea to School and its two sequels, as well as a number of short stories in Queen Rita at the High School and Other School Stories.

The Best Term of All: A North Country Story, in which Helen and Holly are puzzled by the resentful and uninterested behavior of their friend Delphine, who no longer seems to care about school matters, including the winning of the all-important Grantland Cup. Eventually, after a disastrous tramp on the moors, Delphine confides that her family has lost their money, and she must leave school to find work. Deciding to throw herself into school activities regardless, to make her last days there worthwhile, she is rewarded with "the best term ever," winning a music scholarship, and helping the Upper Fourth to win the cup. Naturally, her family's fortunes also take a turn for the better.

Mysterious Miranda: A High School Story, in which the pupils at Carchester High are not sure what to make of new girl Miranda Brown, who is small, brown, and shy. Thinking her a gipsy, they refuse to befriend her, except for Barrie Delanie. When the costumes for the school opera are destroyed however, and an impromptu concert is put together, Miranda's skill as a Spanish dancer - and her half-Spanish heritage - is revealed.

A School Goes to Camp: A Guide Story, in which the pupils at Barland House who must stay at school over the half-term holiday are taken on a camping trip by their history mistress, Miss Merrivale, who is also a Guide Captain. New girl Emily Barratt is not enthusiastic, although it is revealed during a crisis that she is an experienced guide and tracker.

The Chameleon School: A Town to Country Story, in which Charmellon House School must move to the country, becoming Blackleigh House, when its lease in town expires. Quiet Harriet Somerfell, overlooked by her more popular, outgoing peers, begins to help a local farmer, eventually enlisting the other girls' aid when a flood endangers his flock of sheep. She is eventually revealed as the orphaned daughter of an earl, and the owner of ten farms.

The Problem New Girl: A "Head Girl's Sister" Story, in which new girl Melinda hears her sister, Head Girl Marie Eldon, being praised on the train to Pendleton College, and believes that she will never live up to this elder sibling. Although secretly a talented author and artist in her own right, she decides to try to get expelled, even going so far as to run away. Fortunately, two girls in the Upper Fourth pursue her and convince her to return. Matters are resolved happily when Barbara, one of the Fourth Formers, secretly enters Melinda's story in a competition, and she wins.

A School Goes to Slayne: A 'Liverpool' Story, in which a group of Upper Fourth Form girls from Granborough High School go on a field trip to nearby Slayne Hall. Here Gillian Digby, who was not enthused about the trip, saves one of her schoolmates from a collapsing floor, revealing in the process that her family used to own the great house.

Enjoyable in its own right, especially for fans of the girls' school story genre, The Two Head Girls and Other School Stories, like its predecessor, offers a fascinating glimpse of the evolution of many of Mabel Esther Allan's most popular novels in this vein. The importance of particular themes - the incorporation of the initially reluctant new girl into the school community, the role of the students themselves in rule-enforcement and school standards - is evident in these selections, as is the all-important influence of place and landscape. This latter is something that Allan herself explicitly explored in her two-volume The Background Came First: My Books and Places, also published by the Bemrose Press. My only criticism of this volume, and it is the same one I have of its companion, Queen Rita at the High School and Other School Stories, is that I wish more information about each story - when it was initially published, and in what magazine or journal - had been included. That said, this was both an enjoyable and enlightening read, one that I would recommend to all Mabel Esther Allan fans, although given its scarcity, I'm not sure how easy it will be to track down. ( )