Turquoise and Ruby

Set in an intimate girls’ boarding school, the narrative follows preparations for a fête whose centrepiece is tableaux drawn from Tennyson’s poem. A respected pupil objects on moral grounds to portraying Helen of Troy, setting up social pressure from friends and the headmistress to accept the part; the school’s routines, selection standards, and the headmistress’s characterful pedagogy are described. Interwoven are the anxieties and practical preparations of other students for the entertainment, showing tensions between personal conscience, communal expectation, and the ceremonial life of the institution.