Gill Bilski Books

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Gill Bilski Books

Finding lost treasures, promoting nostalgia, enjoying books; https://gillbilski.com
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I started selling books nearly 40 years ago when I began to find I had spares from my own collection when I had upgraded a copy. It became my full-time job when I stopped 'proper' work when my older daughter was born in 1984. The business has slowly expanded as much as it can when there is only one person doing all the work. I specialise in old girls’ books, but have a pretty big stock of lots of

other genres too. I’m based in the UK, in the Chilterns north-west of London but am happy to post anywhere as I'm mail order only. Friendly (occasionally slightly disorganised) service, but always with a smile.

04/06/2026

The Elsie J Oxenham Society has a new imminent title to add to their other paperback reissues.
It is Crisis in Camp Keema, a scarce title, which will be published soon. It's the first of the Camp Keema series introducing Maribel Ritchie, Rosalind Firth and Cecily Brown. Maribel and Cecily appear occasionally in later Abbey books.
Pre-orders will be £16 + postage, payment on receipt.
Please either order below as a reply, by messenger (preferably not my book page messenger as several years of complaining I don't get notified, FB has done nothing) or email to [email protected].

02/06/2026

Just for info, UK customs have added yet another thing that they 'need to know'. Every item (book) in a parcel - title, author, paperback or hardback etc etc.
Hoping it's one of those things that's going to disappear as quickly as it arrived ...

20/05/2026

Just an apology that most of those expecting Chalet School in Peril from me don't have it yet. My copies (3 large boxes) arrived yesterday afternoon ... I've managed to get 2 or 3 in the post today but I've run out of time and I won't be able to do more in the next few days.. I will get on to it as soon as I can.

24/04/2026

News of new books from Girls Gone By mostly June/July:
Lorna Hill - The Road to Freedom
A new title not previously published. It's a gripping thriller set in Scotland/Skye with a ballerina. Unlike her previous books. No cover picture yet
Elizabeth Goudge - Make Believe
A collection of 8 short stories about the du Frocq children plus 2 extra short stories about the same children culled from magazines. No cover pic yet
EBD - The Second Chalet Book for Girls an annual type book mostly written by EBD. Includes the first half of Tom Tackles the CS as a serial plus 6 stories & 7 articles some of them written by EBD. Full of b&w illustrations
News of other already announced titles - I can still take orders for these:
Katherine Bruce - The Chalet School in Peril should be early May
Caroline German - Juliet of the CS reprint should be mid May
Lisa Townsend - Further Tales from the Chalet School (most have been an extra in GGB's CS reissues but also 2 new stories) should be mid May
EBD - Coming of Age of the CS should be mid May
ME Allan - At School in Skye should be late May

If interested in any, please let me know by email ([email protected]), Messenger or carrier pigeon if you prefer 😉
Please note down that you've ordered it from me so you don't end up with 2 copies (I'm not GGB, but a small bookseller)
Pre-orders are £12 each plus postage, payment on receipt preferably bank transfer/cheque UK; Paypal if there's no other option from overseas.

03/04/2026

Some new unread books for sale as I need the space. Mostly I have multiple copies - I'll note if it's only 1.

All are paperback reissues published by Books to Treasure of classic girls' school stories (except the two Barbers which were newly written, not reissues)

Helen BARBER:
SOLD MOLLIE'S CHOICE 2017 A new school story in the tradition of Girls' Own tales set at Durham Girls' County School
MOLLIE'S FRIENDS 2021 A sequel to Mollie's Choice set at Durham Girls' County School in the 1920s

Joan BUTLER-JOYCE:
HOT WATER 2020. 1st of a trilogy (2 school 1 holiday); conventions are subverted and one of the main characters is a sympathetically portrayed Jewish girl unusual for 1930s school stories.
SHE WENT TO LONDON 2020. 2nd of the trilogy
NO RESPONSIBILITY 2020. 3rd of the trilogy

E M CHANNON:
HER SECOND CHANCE 2014 Frontis. Sequel to Expelled from St Madern's (1 copy)
THAT AWFUL TERM 2018

Dorothea MOORE:
SOLD THE WRENFORD TRADITION 2015. One of her scarcer titles

SMITH Evelyn:
BIDDY AND QUILLA 2014 4 bw plates (1 copy)
BINKIE OF IIIB 2017 (1 copy)
SOLD THE FIRST FIFTH FORM 2013 5 bw illus
SOLD MILLY IN THE FIFTH 2015 6 bw plates
SOLD NICKY OF THE LOWER FOURTH 2015
SOLD SEPTIMA AT SCHOOL 2014 Illus 2nd of a trilogy beginning with Seven Sisters at Queen Anne's
THE SMALL SIXTH FORM 2013 Illus (1 copy)
SOLD THE TWINS AT SCHOOL 2018

TALBOT Ethel:
NEW GIRL AT THE PRIORY 2015

£10 each; £9.50 each for two; £9 each for three; £8 each for four or more.

Postage extra at cost, payment on receipt (preferably bank transfer).

Please order in this thread, by messenger or email to [email protected]

19/03/2026

2 series of detective novels for sale. One may interest school story readers and the other one people who enjoy Miss Marple type stories:
Joan Coggin (who also wrote the Catherine school stories under the pseudonym Joanna Lloyd) :
Detective stories written in her inimitable style featuring Lady Lupin, the young newly wedded wife of a vicar, set in the late 1930s/early 1940s and originally published in the 1940s.
All are large format paperbacks published by Rue Morgue (US) in the early 2000s:
1. Who Killed the Curate? Tiny bumps on corners of front cover but otherwise vg £10
2. The Mystery at Orchard House Tiny bump on 1corner of front cover but otherwise vg £10
3. Penelope Passes VG £20
4. Dancing with Death VG £10
Miss Seeton series by Heron Carvic. Detective stories with a heroine thought to be a caricature of Miss Marple. This is the complete original series (there are other books featuring Miss S written by others after his death).
1. Picture Miss Seeton Bles 1968 1st Very slight marking on foredge otherwise fine in protected VG dw £15
2. Miss Seeton Draws the Line Bles 1969 1st Spine slightly creased otherwise VG in protected dw slightly rubbed & creased on spine £19.50
3. Miss Seeton Bewitched Bles 1971 1st Fine in protected vg dw £25
4. Miss Seeton Sings Peter Davies 1974 1st UK Ex South African library Top and front foredges a bit browned Protected dw with small crease on front Smells slightly musty £20
5. Odds on Miss Seeton Peter Davies 1976 1st Foredge slightly foxed otherwise VG in protected dw with small bump top front £17.50
Payment is on receipt, preferably bank transfer (UK), Paypal overseas if no other method available. Postage is extra at cost.
Please order here or email ([email protected]) If you want any more information, please contact me.

23/01/2026

News of new titles from Girls Gone By this morning
April/May:
Lisa Townsend - Further Tales of the CS. 11 short stories that have been published in various GGB books plus 2 new stories (no cover picture yet)
Mabel Esther Allan - At School in Skye. 3rd and last of the Dundonay House series. Also includes an MEA short story set in Skye
Caroline German - Juliet of the Chalet School, a reprint of a long out of print title. Set in between Jo of and Princess, how Juliet copes with following Gisela to be the second head girl of the CS
Antonia Forest - End of Term, a reprint of the 4th of the Marlows series.
Also a reminder of previously announced titles 'coming soon':
March/April:
Katherine Bruce - CS in Peril (set during the first half of Exile) - cover picture finally released ... see below
EBD - Coming of age of the CS (many cuts in the Armada reprint) (with new short story by Katherine included)
Malcolm Saville - All Summer Through (first of the Nettleford series)
Monica Edwards - The Cats of Punchbowl Farm (non-fiction)
Unless anything changes from GGB it'll be £12 + post for pre-orders, payment on receipt.
Please post below if you would like a copy or mail me on [email protected]. NB I am not GGB, I'm an independent bookseller.

18/01/2026

Next selection of books …
Payment on receipt, preferably bank transfer (UK), Paypal overseas if no other method available. Postage is extra at cost.
Please order here or email ([email protected]) If you want any more information, please contact me. (for info, several state they smell a bit musty; this is mostly dust from sitting around waiting for me to do something with them.
Picture 1
Front row
Paperbacks of 5 of the 6 brilliant Casson family series by Hilary McKay (all paperbacks published Hodder 2009):
Saffy’s Angel Front wraps & spine slightly creased; label part removed from back cover 75p
Indigo’s Star Front wrap creased; spine slightly bumped £1
Caddy Ever After Corners of front wrap very slightly creased £1
Permanent Rose Covers creased £2
Forever Rose Generally vg £2

Back row
May Baldwin:
Troublesome Topsy and her Friends Chambers nd (probably 1913 1st) 5 of 6 coloured plates Mabel L Attwell Lacks fep Hinges very weak Smells slightly musty Pictorial boards a bit worn & bumped £10
Dora a High School Girl Chambers 1906 1st 6 bw plates Mabel Lucy Attwell Prize label A bit loose Page edges browning Smells musty Pictorial boards worn, bumped & rubbed £20
Christine Chaundler:
Friends in the Fourth Ward Lock nd 1945 prize label (looks earlier) Pictorial boards, back board a bit grubby £12
A Credit to her House Ward Lock 1926 1st 4 bw plates Inscrs Lacks fep weakening front hinge Pictorial boards Corners bumped Spine a bit stained Foredge browned Smells slightly musty £15

Picture 1
Back row
Katharine Oldmeadow: Madcap Judy Collins nd Very thick old book Coloured frontis Coloured pictorial boards a bit worn & rubbed but protected with cellophane which is holding it together School story. Scarce title £20
May Baldwin: Muriel and her Aunt Lu Chambers 1909 1st 8 bw plates Prize label Smells musty Pictorial gilt decorated bevelled boards Corners & spine edges/ends a bit bumped & worn. A tale of Paris £20
EBD:
SOLD Adrienne & the CS Chambers 1965 1st Bw frontis Smells slightly musty Foredge browned and slightly foxed Corners bumped Spine creased Torn worn dw rubbed on edges £25
Chalet School Triplets Chambers nd 1st Bw frontis Very small bump top right corner Smells a bit musty VG in dw £40
Lying flat
EBD:
Chalet School in Exile Chambers 1952 rep Bw frontis A few page corners creased but nice clean copy Boards grubby & a bit of scribble on the back Corners bumped Spine faded with small tear at top £15
SOLD Carola Storms the CS Chambers 1951 1st Lacks prelims to title page Drawing on bep Chipped dw missing tiny pieces £25
A Chalet Girl from Kenya Chambers 1956 rep Bw frontis Prize label Foredge brown and marked Bottom spine & part back faded/marked where huge chunks missing from dw Dw also creased and torn £30
SOLD Mary Cadogan & Patricia Craig: Women and Children First Gollancz 1978 1st Line illus Nice copy except slightly musty smell Line illus
Very slightly marked dw. Includes several reviews cut from newspapers. The fiction of two World Wars £6
SOLD Gabrielle Donnelly: The Little Women Letters Penguin paperback 2011 1st Ex library with a couple of labels Spine slightly creased but looks barely read. When Josephine March's great-great-granddaughter stumbles across her letters, the Little Women shed a glorious light on a new generation of sisters £3

10/01/2026

Books to Treasure have decided to publish a few more titles as physical books in the UK which is lovely as their choice is excellent.

The first 2 should appear in April:
Joanna Lloyd - Catherine goes to School. The Catherine/Bramber Manor series is one of the funniest in classic school stories. This is the first (and probably hardest to find) of the series. She is also known as Joan Coggin who wrote humorous detective stories.

Nancy Breary - The Impossible Prefect. Breary is another writer who often sees the humorous side of things and, even when she doesn't, her stories are well worth reading.

They will be £12 each as pre-orders, £14 after that + postage

Payment is on receipt, preferably by bank transfer, otherwise cheque or paypal. I believe they will be available in Australia direct from the publisher so do check before ordering here.

Please order here or email ([email protected]). If you want any more information, please contact me

03/01/2026

More books that have turned up in strange places.
2nd attempt as the first deleted itself when adding the photo

Payment is on receipt, preferably bank transfer (UK), Paypal overseas if no other method available. Postage is extra at cost.
Please order here or email ([email protected]) If you want any more information, please contact me.

BACK ROW:
SOLD D F BRUCE - The School in the Woods OUP 1940 1st Coloured frontis + line Pencil inscr Foredge foxed Original gold boards a bit marked, bumped and rubbed Photocopy dw browned on spine & patchily on back; cut slightly short £60
SOLD BRENT-DYER - The New Chalet School Chambers 1938 1st Bw frontis Front hinge a bit weak Light blue gilt lettered boards a bit marked Spine faded & dull Foredge slightly foxed £25 (the illegible one)
SOLD MAY BALDWIN - Golden Square High School Chambers 1908 1st 6 bw plates Inscr Smells musty Pictorial gilt decorated boards a bit bumped & rubbed Ragged front & part spine only of dw from a reprint. £15
BRENT-DYER - A Head Girl's Difficulties Chambers nd very early reprint 4 bw Brisley plates Foredge grubby & slightly foxed Pictorial boards slightly bumped. Second of the la Rochelle series £30

LYING FLAT
SOLD The Tenth Chalet Annual - Friends of the Chalet School Christmas 2005 Large paperback Corners slightly creased. Articles, quizzes etc £15
SOLD The Tenth Chalet Annual - Friends of the Chalet School Christmas 2005 Large paperback Edges of wraps a bit bumped and creased. Articles, quizzes etc £15
(and, no, I have no idea why I have 2 copies of this but can't find any of the others at the moment)
SOLD HELEN McCLELLAND - Visitors for the Chalet School Bettany Press 1995 1st Paperback 2nd hand Spine creased; small bumps bottom edge. The term following Princess written from EBD's notes for a book she didn't write £10
BRENT-DYER - The School by the River Bettany Press paperback 1999 Wraps a bit bumped Covers creased, grubby and a bit bumped. Intro by Helen McClelland. Set in a music college in Mirania and out of print since 1930, it's loosely connected to the Chalet series £15
SOLD JEN CAMPBELL - The Bookshop Book Constable 2014 rep Photo illus Bottom spine slightly bumped otherwise VG in dw slightly bumped/rubbed on spine ends. A love letter to book shops all around the world £5
SOLD JOHN BOYNE - The House of Special Purpose Black Swan paperback 2010. Almost as new. A complex story about love, loss, and the Russian Revolution £6
LUCINDA GOSLING - Great War Britain History Press 2014 1st Full of illus Spine ends slightly bumped Dw slightly torn. The 1st World War at home, mainly as told through 'upper class' magazines such as Tatler, The Queen The Sketch Quarto format & very heavy £7.50

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