"The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place" series (Maryrose Wood), about a (presumptively) gifted 15-year-old governess and her three students, who were raised by wolves prior to being taken in by an English nobleman. A little bit of mystery, a little bit of humor, many stray tidbits of edutrivia (she is a governess, after all!).

...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...