Elsie Fanshawe

**Elsie Fanshawe** is a student at St Clare's School. She is the main antagonist in Second Form at St Clares, her sole appearance in the series.

## History

### Backstory

Elsie was assumedly part of the same second form as Tessie, Winnie Thomas, Erica, Margery Fenworthy and Lucy Oriell, but she is never seen or mentioned before Second Form at St Clares. She is left down in the second form along with Anna Johnson. The old first formers who have come up to the second form are sorry that she and Anna have stayed down, as they are both unpopular.

### Second Form at St Clares

Elsie is made joint head girl along with Anna, as they are the oldest second formers, but Miss Jenks neither likes nor has any faith in the two girls partnership. Elsie takes the lead in the second form, wishing she was the only head. Elsie calls a meeting of the second formers after Mirabel Unwin makes herself a nuisance in classes. They decide to play pranks on her, but Hilary Wentworth worries that a lot of spite has got mixed up in sorting Mirabel out. Elsie purposely plays more pranks than they arranged at the meeting for her own enjoyment. Hilary makes the second formers see that they need to stop persecuting Mirabel, and Elsie's deceit and extra pranks are discovered, despite her best efforts to pin the blame on Anna. The second formers are united in their desire to disregard Elsie as head girl, causing Elsie to run out. That night, there is an argument in the dormitory and Elsie scolds Bobby Ellis. Miss Jenks appears and requests that Elsie send whoever was shouting to bed an hour early. The next night, Elsie refuses to go, so Carlotta Brown, Bobby, Janet Robins and Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan threaten to bump her up the stairs. Elsie rushes out in tears. Elsie refuses to accept the girls' judgement of her being head girl, so Anna suggests they get Miss Jenks' opinion, but Elsie refuses. When Mirabel wants to send for her violin, she asks Miss Theobald. The head declines, but sends for Miss Jenks, who sends for the head girls. The second formers refuse to allow Elsie to go, so she begins to put on a martyr act and feel very sorry for herself. Elsie feels hostile towards Mirabel when she is welcomed into the form properly after half term. Elsie is not involved in any way with the concert that the second formers are putting on, but she strikes a deal to be prompter if they let her be head girl again. The girls refuse, so she asks to be involved anyway, but Bobby is scornful as she realises that Elsie is just beginning to feel awkward about being the only second former left out of everything. The concert goes swimmingly without her. Carlotta plans a midnight feast to celebrate her birthday, but Elsie rudely turns down an invitation. She intends to spoil the feast and listens to find out when it is. The girls realise she has discovered their plans, and change them, succeeding in making Elsie look stupid and getting her in trouble with Miss Jenks. She receives some stern words from Miss Jenks in the morning and is given yet another chance. The second form agree to put up with her, and Miss Theobald decides to put her and Anna up into the third form next term, to help with the new girls. Elsie agrees to take the chance she has been given.

### After.

Elsie is never seen again, so it is assumed she stayed with her form. In The Sixth Form at St Clares, Pat and Isabel tell Katie and Hilda the story of Elsie and their midnight feast prank, as a suggestion to use the strategy on Priscilla Parsons.