Arthur Marshall chooses
Blodwen Parkes
Blodwen Parkes : the leader of the school smart set; puffing away at gaspers in the boot-room; cheating in exams; purloining Mademoiselle's best perfume; funking at lacrosse; setting fire to the chapel ... she is in fact a composite character, the archetype of all the villainesses of schoolgirl literature. Her behaviour is quite, quite horrid; but horrid in such a wholehearted and fascinating way that over the years, Arthur Marshall confesses, he has developed more than a soft spot for her.