![]() Merging with the boarding school book series idea, story series began to develop which focused on one young female character, who held down a job which lent itself to adventure stories. A single novel would be written about a specific career deemed suitable for females at the time, such as nursing, teaching, librarianship, telephonist and so on. The genre of career novels had begun post-war, in the early 1950s. She had indeed married her dream millionaire. Years later, another friend asked if I remembered “inky fingers” (the first one’s nickname, due to the leaky fountain pens we used) and I was told that against all odds, my friend had come across her, very glamorously attired and well maintained, reclining with a drink on a sunlounger in some far-away destination. One classmate would regularly have boxes of chocolates in her locker to distribute freely gifts from (much) older male admirers. I’m not sure what they thought would happen after marrying their dreamy hunk of a pilot, but certainly their aspirations were beginning to bud from the age of about 12-14. To be an air hostess was considered the height of glamour. (If your eyebrows have shot up, please bear in mind that this was a very different time, and the average young girl would be encouraged to have different aspirations!) Even later, about a third of the class I was in at school had bought into the myth (although I never did), and wanted to don the uniform and adopt the independent lifestyle. It was thought of as an ideal way of jetsettting around the world-and maybe even being “lucky enough” to marry a pilot. an out-moded term for a female flight attendant) was the dream of many a schoolgirl. In the later 1950s to early 1960s in England, career novels for girls were immensely popular, and to be an “air hostess” (i.e. The first ones in a series of this type tended to be the best ones, as stories from this era with the same basic premise of stories built round the protagonist’s job, could get a bit repetitive. Probably it was in no particular order, as they were from the library (and sometimes taken back the same day, much to the annoyance of the library assistants!) There were 16 in total, published between 19, so I decided to read an early one again now, to see how it held up. I must have read all the Shirley Flight series of books, being an avid reader as a young teenager. The journey itself is an uneasy one, and though many mystifying incidents arise, it is not until Shirley ushers the little boy through Customs and delivers him to those awaiting his arrival, that she finally realizes how she has been tricked and duped.Ī most thrilling and exciting story, with a breathless adventure set against the background of an air hostess's life. It almost appears as though someone is making attempts to kidnap the little boy. It is on her first flight to Holland that Shirley meets this particular type of "V.I.P.," and as usual she is determined to make a thorough job of it, and see that little Bobby, delivered into her care by his grandmother, is safely handed over to the uncle who will be awaiting him at Amsterdam.īut even before they board the plane, trouble starts. to the little child traveling home.Īn "unaccompanied child" is the air hostess's special charge and claims priority attention. She can expect anything-and gets it-from the V.I.P. ![]() An Air Hostess never knows what kind of people she is likely to meet on her next flight. ![]()
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