Review: "Beth Hilton, Model" by Lee Wyndham

Beth Hilton, Model by Lee Wyndham
Published ~1961
★★★

Beth has always felt like an ugly duckling compared to her cousin Lisa, who has worked as a model since she was a child—but a stint in charm school leads to some unexpected opportunities for Beth, and suddenly she's the one in front of the camera.

I go through phases of reading old and outdated children's lit, and I seem to be in one of those phases now. Beth Hilton, Model does not disappoint: it feels charmingly wholesome and elderly, with the occasional jolt of WTF to remind you that it was written in the early 60s. There are some attempts at good lessons here—Beth is told, directly, that charm school will not help someone become a model if they don't already have the genetics for it (and to be wary of scams); she's also told more than once to maintain a healthy diet, not skip meals, and that models shouldn't be too thin. (Twiggy hadn't hit the scene yet when this was written, so who knows what she would have been told had this been published ten years later.) It's also well into the book before Beth starts modelling, and I love that she's not an overnight success—she gets a few jobs here and there, but it's a while before she's working regularly, and she's reminded more than once that she's lucky to live nearby and to have family who can support her. I also love the plotline with Pete, her platonic male friend—she's maybe interested in him, but he's more interested in Lisa's glamour. Later, when Beth starts to show some of that glamour too, Pete starts coming round again...and Beth is very sensibly cautious, and does not forget that he wasn't interested in her when she was Beth Hilton, Not a Model. (Later, there's a different boy for whom she's willing to give up an enormous opportunity, and I don't love that—but at least he's willing to do the same for her.)

But at the same time...some of the messaging is less good. Beth is told to lose a few pounds and that "When you're down to where you ought to be, you can binge once in a while for the sake of your morale" (104), which is a recipe for disordered eating. And when sexually assaulted, she's told that "It is your own fault" (159) for not knowing better when a previously charming-seeming man invites her in to "look in on my mother" (157). (Obviously there's no mother there.) Never mind that Beth is naïve and didn't know better; never mind that at other points in the book, she goes with some trepidation, alone, into strange men's apartments or workspaces and those experiences lead to her becoming a sought-after model. It was the 60s, and I know "it was her fault for being assaulted" was the order of the day, but...eurgh.

Anyway. The end of the book takes a wild turn that has nothing to do with modelling (snowstorm! trapped in a house up a mountain! drama!) and is frankly unnecessary to the book, but at least it's entertaining.

Do not recommend unless, like me, you're weirdly into outdated YA. Will absolutely read more.