Dr. Jolliffe's Boys

A cricket match against Hillsborough exposes the rivalries inside Weston School. Captain Crawley accepts an umpire's decision, while Saurin measures the day's play against his own pride and resentment. His friend Edwards echoes his complaints, and a contest between schools becomes a close study of how ambition can weaken loyalty to a team. Lewis Hough gives the opening plenty of sporting detail, from awkward bowling to cautious batting and the changing fortunes of an innings.

The school's troubles later reach beyond the cricket field. Lord Woodruff asks Dr. Jolliffe to help identify a boy who may have been involved with poachers after one of his men is seriously hurt. Clothing, school caps and a proposed gathering of the pupils become clues in the inquiry. This schoolboy novel combines competition and classroom mischief with questions of honesty and responsibility, offering readers a view of English boarding-school life through both public achievements and private motives.