Fear Street - The Cheater

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The Sara Gay Model Girl Series

The Sara Gay Model Series By Janey Scott

The Sara Gay Model Girl Series was published by World Distributors in the United Kingdom in 1961. It is not known how long the series was in print. The books were published in dust jacket and are a textured, light gray color with a cameo of Sara on the front cover in blue.

Sara wins a beauty contest and decides that modeling is her dream but first must overcome several obstacles which stand in her way. She successfully graduates from modeling school and begins her career. Sara’s acquaintances include several prominent women, a jealous rival who causes trouble for Sara on several occasions, and several ardent young male admirers. Sara is often affectionately described as a “baby” because she is so young-at-heart and in awe of every new experience.

01: Sara Gay, Model Girl – Sara, working in a solicitor’s office, wins a local beauty contest and uses the prize to enroll at the Lena Lane Model School where she is given a scholarship. She qualifies with flying colors and wins the Lena Lane Gold Medal, despite the opposition and intrigue of Mrs. Lane’s assistant, Lydia Durack, who had wanted her niece, Nina, to win it instead. Even winning the medal, Sara finds it difficult to get a job until one day she bumps – literally – into Peter Redgrave, who takes a set of pictures of her which bring out not only her beauty but her vital personality. Marc Donnell, brilliant designer and owner of Donnell, a top Mayfair Salon, holds an audition for a new model. Nina Durack is determined to get the job and tries to sabotage Sara’s appearance on the great day. Does she succeed, or does Sara get the prize job after all? Anyone who feels that modeling is only concerned with clothes should follow the exciting adventures of Sara Gay in the intriguing world of fashion.

02: Sara Gay, Model Girl in Monte Carlo – Sara Gay learns that life in a Mayfair fashion salon is not all glamour, for Marc Donnell, the brilliant young designer for whom she works, can be a hard taskmaker. There is also the question of finances, for it needs money to keep a dress salon going. That is where James Beresford comes in. He is a textile magnate, anxious to have his fabrics used by one of the top ten. However, Mrs. Beresford has her own pet couturier in Paris, and doesn’t stop trying to have her husband place his fabrics with the French designer. Luckily a gala ball is being held in Monte Carlo at which many couturiers will show their clothes, and Mr. Beresford decides that the designer who achieves the most success is the one he will back. Sara is confident Marc will win, but her pleasure at sight of the glittering millionaire’s playground is tinged by fear when she learns that Nina Durack, who is her rival in the model world, is now working for Marc Donnell’’s greatest competitor. When the loveliest dresses in Marc’s Collection are slashed by a razor the night before the show, Sara is convinced it is Nina’s doing, but how can she prove it? And what clothes can Marc show before the Royal audience. How Sara solves both questions leads to one more fascinating adventure in the life of a top flight fashion model.

03: Sara Gay, Model Girl in New York – Sara is still working for the successful young designer, Marc Donnell, when Tina Marriott, owner of the smartest shop on Fifth Avenue, offers to buy Marc’s new teenage collection on condition that Sara returns to New York with her to model the dresses. She agrees and goes to New York where Marc’s clothes are an instantaneous success. Mrs. Marriott treats her as a daughter and Sara realizes there is a tragic secret in the woman’s past. How she discovers what it is, and how she traces and finds the girl who holds the key to the mystery herself, forms the basis of a story that leads Sara on an exciting adventure that takes her from a Fifth Avenue penthouse to a the poverty of an artist’s flat in Greenwich Village.

04: Sara Gay, Model Girl in Mayfair – Marc Donnell, the Mayfair designer for whom Sara works is taking his Collection to Australia, but Sara cannot go with him because her mother is rushed to the hospital for an emergency operation. So for three months Sara decides to turn to freelance photographic modeling and once more is working with her photographer friend, Peter Redgrave. Together they go out on a variety of assignments and Sara finds herself shivering in a bikini while lying on cardboard sand, or modeling a heavy winter suit and coat underneath powerful arc lamps which blaze down on her with the intensity of a tropical sun! But it is not until she is asked to model chinchillas and minks that she finds herself a pawn between two unscrupulous groups of men. Fortunes are at stake in an intriguing mystery that whisks Sara to Paris and the Ritz Hotel and then back again to London. 

The Girl Scout Series

The Girl Scouts Series By Edith Lavell

Marjorie had been too popular lately; she was having things her own way entirely too much. It was not good for any one girl to receive so much attention, Ruth thought; for the sake of the others in the troop, as well as for herself, she had regarded her prank as veritably charitable. But now she was almost beginning to regret it. For she knew that when the girl did finally appear, she would be petted heroine of the party even though Ruth herself might win the cup. And who knew? Mr. Andrews might even suggest that the winner compete with Majorie and Frieda! It was a strange thing that Ruth Henry had not learned by this time that her underhand scheming never got her anywhere. But each time she seemed to forget, and tried her mean practices all over again. –Page 178, The Girl Scouts’ Canoe Trip

This ten volume series was published by A.L. Burt in hardcover with dust jacket from 1922 through 1925. The books each have a glossy frontispiece illustration, which is the same illustration that appears on the dust jacket of each book.

The series was written by Edith Lavell, who is described in the advertisements for the series as “an author of wide experience in Scouts’ craft as Director of Girl Scouts of Philadelphia.” The series follows the adventures of Marjorie Wilkinson and the other members of the Girl Scouts Pansy troop of Miss Allen’s School. Miss Allen’s School is located somewhere in the general area near Philadelphia, not surprising since the author, Edith Lavell, lived in Philadelphia.

At the beginning of the series, Marjorie Wilkinson and Ruth Henry arrive at Miss Allen’s School as incoming freshmen. At this time, the two girls are best friends, but they soon become rivals due to Ruth’s jealousy. During volumes one through five, Ruth plays tricks on Marjorie in order to cripple Marjorie’s achievements as a Girl Scout. Ruth’s pranks gradually become worse and worse until they reach the level of criminal activity. Ruth is a very vicious young lady. Ruth is only present in volumes one through five.

In volume six, Marjorie and her friends graduate from Miss Allen’s School. Marjorie graduates from college at the beginning of volume ten. By the end of volume ten, nine years have passed since the beginning of the series. Such a great amount of time passes because most of the books take place during the girls’ summer vacations. In most cases, each book begins a year after the end of the last book so that very little time actually spent in school.

This series has a very large amount of Girl Scout lore. Edith Lavell was a Girl Scouts Director in Philadelphia and only someone with a vast amount of knowledge about the Girl Scouts would be able to place such a large amount of information in the books.

The books in this series are rather scarce, both with and without dust jackets. The last few titles are the hardest to find. Volume one also seems to be one of the harder to find volumes which I am at a loss to explain. Volume three may be the easiest to find volume. The bare books usually sell for $5.00 to $10.00, and the books with intact dust jackets sell for around $25.00 to $75.00.

The Girl Scouts Series Summaries

01: The Girl Scouts at Miss Allen’s School

Good friends Marjorie Wilkinson and Ruth Henry arrive at Miss Allen’s School as incoming freshmen. The two girls had hoped to room together but are assigned different roommates. Marjorie’s roommate is another freshman, Lily Andrews, who is very rich and very overweight. Ruth’s roommate is Ethel Todd, a sophomore who is a member of the school’s exclusive sorority. The new girls, most particularly Ruth, are entranced by the idea of joining the sorority, which consists of just four girls from each class. In the meantime, Marjorie throws herself into athletics, forgetting about the sorority. Most likely because of Marjorie’s popularity and athletic success, she receives one of the coveted invitations to join the sorority. Ruth feels intensely jealous. Ruth suggests to the faculty that they form a Girl Scout troop. The idea is received enthusiastically. A troop is formed, with both academic and athletic requirements. As more girls qualify for the Girl Scouts, the students lose interest in the sorority. Marjorie struggles to bring her grades up so that she can become a Girl Scout, little realizing that another student has interfered. Meanwhile, Marjorie and Lily become close, and Lily tries out for athletics, gradually losing weight. Lily becomes a Scout, but Marjorie still fall short of the requirements. Marjorie wonders whether her dream will ever be realized.

02: The Girl Scouts At Camp – Twelve Girl Scouts of Pansy Troop depart on a summer camping trip that will last for two weeks. Captain Phillips has created a contest for the girls, teasing the girls with hints. The girls ask endless questions about the contest, but Captain Phillips waits until the Scouts are established at camp before revealing any details. The winner of the contest will be the girl who earns the most points in Scout activities, and the greatest chance to gain points will go to the girl who successfully locates a cave somewhere in the general area. The winner will earn a brand-new canoe. Both Ruth and Marjorie are keenly interested in the contest, and Ruth fears that Marjorie will win instead of her. Ruth is still jealous of Marjorie and even tells on Marjorie when Marjorie breaks a rule so that Marjorie will lose points in the contest. In the meantime, a thief take supplies from the Scouts’ camp, and the girls lay a trap in hopes of catching the culprit. It is not until nearly the end of the camping trip that the thief is captured and a girl declared the winner of the canoe.

03: The Girl Scouts’ Good Turn – Now in her sophomore year at Miss Allen’s School, Ruth Henry schemes to become class president, but finds herself out of luck when Lily Andrews is voted into office. As always, Marjorie Wilkinson is happy for her friend and unconcerned that she did not win the election. Frieda Hammer is the recipient of the Scout’s good turn, and the Scouts have secured a room for her in a boarding house. Frieda will attend public school. The project is particularly important to Marjorie, and Marjorie is devastated when Frieda arrives, sullen and unfriendly, and refuses to be grateful for what the Scouts have done for her. Marjorie tries hard to become Frieda’s friend, progressing slowly but surely, until Ruth makes a hateful comment within Frieda’s hearing, causing Frieda to run away. Even worse, Frieda steals Marjorie’s most prized possession, her canoe, when she takes flight. Sickened over the loss of her canoe, Marjorie tries to continue with everyday activities. As much as the canoe meant to her, selfless Marjorie ultimately worries more about Frieda and hopes that she can somehow find her.

04: The Girl Scouts’ Canoe Trip – Now between their Sophomore year and Junior years, Marjorie Wilkinson and her friends set forth on a canoe trip with their beloved Captain, Miss Phillips. Their final destination is Silvertown, much to Ruth Henry’s delight. Silvertown is an exclusive resort in which only the wealthiest people vacation; Ruth is thrilled about the opportunities that the vacation will provide. The girls learn that at Silvertown, there will be a canoe race, and the girl who wins will receive a silver cup. Ruth is determined to win, but Marjorie and Frieda are both better canoeists than she. Ruth sends a telegram to her admirer, Harold Mason, to help her prevent Marjorie and Frieda from reaching Silvertown. Harold disguises himself as an old man and kidnaps Marjorie and Frieda! Marjorie and Frieda find themselves unable to escape, and Marjorie worries that she will miss the canoe races. Will Ruth have her way, or will Marjorie and Frieda find a way to free themselves from their captor?

05: The Girl Scouts’ Rivals – The Pansy troop of Miss Allen’s School achieves a high honor when it qualifies for the prestigious Girl Scouts training camp in Maine. Only ten troops of eight girls received the invitation. At the training camp, one patrol of eight girls will be selected to attend an important international event in Canada. Once in Maine, Marjorie Wilkinson feels intimidated by the strictness of the Scout officials and worries that her troop does not stand a chance. Meanwhile, Ruth Henry makes friends with the leader of the Daisy troop of New York, learning that the Daisy troop is short one member—another girl named Ruth. Since the Daisy troop has the best chance of winning, Ruth schemes to take the place of the missing girl. The Pansy troop is left at a disadvantage with only seven of the required eight members, and events are scored by dividing by eight. Marjorie rallies the rest of the troop to try just as hard, even if it is no longer possible for them to win. Ruth gloats in the knowledge that as a member of the Daisy troop she will be guaranteed the glory of the trip to Canada. However, Ruth forgets the strength and tenacity of her former troop. Ruth must use every devious means at her disposal to prevent Marjorie and the Pansy troop from winning.

06: The Girl Scouts on the Ranch – Marjorie, Lily, and their friends graduate from Miss Allen’s School. At a celebration dinner, Marjorie’s parents reveal that their present is a two month long trip to a ranch in Wyoming. Best of all, the entire senior patrol of the Pansy troop will go on the trip with Marjorie and Lily. Marjorie’s one regret is that by accepting the invitation, she is breaking a promise she made to John Hadley to spend two weeks of her vacation somewhere near him and his mother. Marjorie feigns indifference, and John thinks that Marjorie no longer cares about him. After departing for Wyoming, the Scouts learn that Daisy Gravers will be unable to return to Miss Allen’s School in the fall. Her family has spent a large amount of money trying to locate Daisy’s sister, Olive, who ran away after an argument with her husband. The girls have a splendid time on the ranch, but the end of their vacation quickly approaches. The girls reluctantly plan for the day when they will be separated forever. A surprise party planned by John and his mother reunites the girls for one last time, brings John and Marjorie closer together, and helps the Scouts solve the mystery of Daisy’s missing sister.

07: The Girl Scouts’ Vacation Adventure – Daisy Gravers and Florence Evans check on a sick woman as a favor to Florence’s sister, Edith. The girls learn that Mrs. Trawle is poverty-stricken, deathly ill, and has a young baby. Daisy impulsively agrees to take care of the baby so that Mrs. Trawle cam go to the hospital. Florence sis scornful of Daisy’s decision, but Mrs. Evans and Edith approve of the plan. Daisy tells Marjorie about the baby, and Marjorie enthusiastically brainstorms about ways the Girl Scouts can raise money to care for Mrs. Trawle and the baby until Mrs. Trawle is well enough to take care of herself. The decision is made to open a tea room in Philadelphia. John Hadley knows the perfect house that is empty, and his friend lets the Scouts have the house rent-free. All seems perfect, except – the house is haunted! Three previous owners died inside the house in rapid succession. It is said to be dangerous to stay overnight in the house. The Pansy Tea Room opens, and the girls gradually gain customers. Marjorie worries constantly about finances, hoping that they are making a profit. A mysterious disappearance and a warning message complicate the situation, but the girls continue to work hard, hoping that their struggle will be worth it.

08: The Girl Scouts’ Motor Trip – Alice Endicott has an amazing announcement for the other Scouts. Her aunt wants to reward the girls who helped with the Pansy Tea House by giving each of them a new car. In order to claim the vehicle, the girls must travel to San Francisco by automobile and arrive within a specific amount of time. The most important part is that the girls must accept no help from men! The girls are astonished and excited by the proposition. The girls secure Mrs. Remington as their escort and make the necessary preparations. They depart in high spirits, certain that their trip will be a success. The journey proves not to be as easy as the girls expect. Both cars end up with flat tires, caused by tacks that were spread in the road. The girls are forced to change the tires themselves, since they cannot accept help from men. Even worse, the girls are robbed on multiple occasions and seem to attract every kind of disaster that delays their journey. Marjorie and Ethel strongly suspect that outside interference is responsible for all of the girls’ bad luck. Ultimately, the pleasure trip becomes a race to the finish with no guarantee that the girls will arrive on time.

09: The Girl Scouts’ Captain – Daisy Gravers tells Marjorie about a group of high school girls who meet each week at the Community House for a dance. Daisy is to attend the next dance as a chaperone and asks Marjorie to help her out. Marjorie and Lily attend the dance in place of Daisy. At the dance, the girls are rude to Marjorie and Lily. In spite of her experience, Marjorie feels that the girls might somehow be reformed. Marjorie learns that even though the girls were rude, they were very impressed with Marjorie and hope to see her again, especially their leader, Queenie Brazier. Marjorie decides to see whether the girls would be willing to form a Girl Scout troop. The girls agree, and Marjorie makes plans. To the amazement of her friends, Marjorie resigns the senior class presidency so that she will have time for her troop. The girls prove to be less interested in scouting than Marjorie had hoped, and Marjorie wonders whether they are worth it. Marjorie finally finds something to interest the girls – the basketball league, but disaster threatens when Queenie disappears.

10: The Girl Scouts’ Director – Marjorie and Lily graduate from college, and Lily gets married. John Hadley fruitlessly tries to convince Marjorie to marry him, but Marjorie has other plans. Marjorie wants to become a Girl Scout Director and will attend training camp that summer. John is forced to be content to wait. He does make Marjorie promise not to accept a position that is far away. Marjorie completes her training and accepts a position as Assistant Director not too far from home. She learns very quickly that her superior officers are social climbers who are lazy and not very interested in Scout affairs. The Director is away on an extended leave of absence, so Marjorie does the work of both a Director and an Assistant, and for only the pay of a secretary. Despite all of the problems, Marjorie enjoys working with the captains and the girls, so she continues even after she reaches the point of total exhaustion. Marjorie’s superiors are petty, vindictive people who are jealous of her popularity with the captains and the Scouts. The women refuse to give Marjorie a vacation and make rude comments that tear away at Marjorie’s spirit. Marjorie must finally make a decision about her future – a decision that will guide the rest of her life.

Connie Blair

Connie Blair

01: The Clue in Blue – 1948 – A thrilling modeling job involves Connie in a baffling mystery behind the scams in a large department store. When Connie Blair takes a temporary job modeling glamorous clothes at Campion’s in Philadelphia she becomes involved in a baffling mystery taking place behind the scenes of the great department store. It all starts with a missing fur beret. Connie’s dashing young aunt, stylist for Campion’s, is deeply concerned. The hat, a Paris original, is fabulously expensive. But what really worries Aunt Bet is that it is not the first article in her care to vanish mysteriously, only to reappear late even more mysteriously. Connie is faced with one unanswerable question after another. Who was the man in the woman’s hat, that Sunday afternoon in the deserted store? Why was Grace, the little stock girl, sobbing in terror in the models’ dressing room? Most important of all, what unknown enemy is trying to cast the shadow of suspicion on Aunt Bet? Determined to find the culprit, Connie enlists the aid of Larry Stewart, the young display man, and finally comes face to face with a far more ruthless enemy that she had ever imagined in her wildest speculations.

02: The Riddle in Red – 1948 – As receptionist in a glamorous advertising agency, Connie is faced with a mystery that threatens the agency’s biggest campaign. The reception desk of a high-powered advertising agency is a wonderful spot to see everything that goes on, as Connie Blair soon discovers. Nor is she at Reid and Renshaw’s long before she senses big doings afoot. “Cosmetics by Cleo,” Reid and Renshaw’s biggest account, is about to bring out a new revolutionary product made from a closely guarded secret formula. Everyone at the agency is keyed to high pitch as the huge advertising campaign finally gets underway. From the day the glamorous Cleo herself sweeps into the reception room, Connie is caught up in the general excitement. But soon mysterious developments threaten not only the success of the campaign but Cleo Marville herself. The climax comes when Cleo – and the secret formula – suddenly disappear. How Connie’s lively intelligence and ingenuity rise to the challenge of one unanswerable question after another will keep the reader spellbound to the very last page of this gripping mystery story.

03: Puzzle in Purple – 1948 – When Connie Blair goes to art school she enters an exciting new world, but mystery enters too in the form of a purple-cloaked skeleton. When Connie Blair goes to art school she enters an exciting new world in which glamour and mystery mingle. Connie expects to meet unusual and colorful personalities, and she is not disappointed. But she hasn’t bargained for a skeleton named Adam who turns up in a purple cloak at the midwinter fancy dress ball and leaves his signature scrawled across the ceiling. From that moment on, tension mounts in the stately old Philadelphia mansion that houses the art school. Who is back of the debacle of the masked mall? Eric Payson, the shy, sensitive young painter whose mural was the only one not defaced? Roby Woodward, irresistible young dilettante who despises Eric for his ability? Fritz Bachman, sharp faced and sardonic, and determined to win the Fairchild Prize by fair means or foul? Sensing the impending catastrophe that later dwarfs the episode of the ball, Connie tries feverishly to fit into the place the scattered pieces of the puzzle. How she accomplishes this and what she sees when the picture finally becomes clear is told in a thrilling mystery story set against the fascinating background of art school.

04: The Secret of Black Cat Gulch – 1948 – An old turquoise mine, a silent Indian and a talking parrot bring Connie high adventure in picturesque New Mexico. For Connie Blair adventure rings in every syllable of this wire which she receives from the advertising agency while on vacation in Meadowbrook. Indians, adobe, sagebrush- everything Connie has ever heard about New Mexico whirls in her delighted brain. On the trip down Connie and Georgia make friends with Jeff Chandler. Jeff, an enthusiastic young archaeologist, is on the track of a mysterious little man with a limp and a missing finger – who may hold the key to untold historical treasure. Connie throws herself wholeheartedly into Jeff’s quest, and in doing so uncovers a modern mystery in ancient Taos. Why does Dolly Morgan, the ugly but fascinating innkeeper, behave so strangely? Who is trying to keep Connie and Jeff away from the abandoned mine – and why? How Connie solves Jeff’s mystery as well as her own is told in a thrilling story of mystery and romance in colorful New Mexico.

05: The Green Island Mystery – 1949 – A guest book, check stubs and a torn photograph add up to a puzzling mystery on the island paradise of Bermuda. Mystery was the furthest thing from Connie’s mind as she waved good-bye to her family and realized again that she was on her way to Bermuda – on business, with all expenses paid by her employer, Reid and Renshaw! But Connie, running true to form, finds herself knee-deep in mystery long before the Queen of Bermuda docks. While on board, Connie meets David Scott and learns about a missing half of a manuscript that was left to him after his aunt’s sudden death. Later, on the island paradise, Connie finds herself deluged with clues, clues, and more clues… until the whole mystery is jumbled like a jigsaw puzzle. With danger and suspicion dogging her every step, Connie rearranges the clues, until, suddenly, like a jigsaw, the picture becomes clear, and the culprit is exposed.

06: The Ghost Wore White – 1950 – A series of bizarre happenings lead Connie to discover the strange secret of Eagle Rock. Connie is willing to believe almost anything about the eerie old mansion on top of Eagle Rock – but a violin-playing ghost is too much for even her vivid imagination. On vacation in aristocratic Newport, Rhode Island, Connie and her twin sister Kit are invited for a moonlight sail with their cousins Tom and Randy. Passing the long-deserted mansion, Connie and Randy are sure they see a strange light in a window, and Connie is determined to search the imposing old house the first chance she gets. Her chance comes all too soon, and almost spells disaster for our intrepid sleuth. Only her quick wits and daring resourcefulness save her and her friends from something more dangerous than a musical ghost.