THE HOLIDAY SERIES
BRETON HOLIDAY (1939)
BERNESE HOLIDAY (1940)
HIGHLAND HOLIDAY (1942)
All titles published by Collins.
These were the author’s earliest works, featuring Scottish cousins Caroline and Sara Storm. The first two books were later slightly abridged and reissued as Adventures. The two Adventure titles are very easy to find and low in price. Highland Holiday, published during World War II and never reissued, is extremely rare. Caroline and Sara would only make one more appearance in the SARA’S ADVENTURE, a short story published in the Collins Girls’ Annual in 1953 and reprinted in The Crackerjack Book for Girls in 1959. The plot of this story would later serve as the basis for the final chapters of one of her most popular books, Crooks Tour. The author often used the same settings and recurring themes in her stories.
THE MOOCHERS
THE MOOCHERS (Lutterworth, 1950)
THE MOOCHERS ABROAD (Lutterworth, 1951)
A third book, MOOCHERS AND PREFECTS, was written in 1951 but was never published. Lutterworth forwarded the manuscript to West Regional TV, whose staff lost it while considering it for production.
THE SUSAN SERIES
SUSAN PULLS THE STRINGS (1952)
SUSAN’S HELPING HAND (1955)
SUSAN RUSHES IN (1956)
SUSAN INTERFERES (1957)
SUSAN AT SCHOOL (1958)
SUSAN MUDDLES THROUGH (1960)
SUSAN’S TRYING TERM (1961)
NO TROUBLE FOR SUSAN (1962)
SUSAN’S KIND HEART (1965)
WHERE IS SUSAN? (1968)
A JOB FOR SUSAN (1969)
All titles published by Collins.
It is quite likely that the first Jane Shaw book that you read was an early Susan book. The series enjoyed a wide audience right up to the mid 1960s. The last three books are very hard to find, although a limited number were reissued in paperback in 2006 by Bettany Press. There were also four short stories published in annuals: THE WILSONS WON’T MIND, Collins Girls’ Annual, 1955 and reprinted in The Treasure Book for Girls in 1958; SUSAN’S SCHOOL PLAY, Collins Girls’ Annual, 1957; SUSAN AND THE HOME-MADE BOMB, Collins Girls Annual, 1958; SUSAN AND THE SPAE-WIFE, Collins Girls’ Annual, 1960. THE WILSONS WON’T MIND is the only title that does not include the leading character’s name, and SUSAN’S SCHOOL PLAY is the only story narrated in the first person, by Midge. By the late sixties, Jane Shaw’s output was slowing down. Not only was A JOB FOR SUSAN the last book in the series, it was also her last published work. In 1970, she began a twelfth book, SUSAN IN TROUBLE, with Susan and Midge trying to raise money for a trip to America. But the story never progressed beyond a few tentative pages. Susan had gone to live with her cousins in London while her parents were in Africa. By the eleventh book, Mr. and Mrs. Lyle had returned to Britain and everything had come full circle and the time had come to round off the series. However, it is worth pointing out that the quality of the series held firm right to the end. The later books are every bit as good as the earlier ones, perhaps even better.
THE PENNY SERIES
PENNY FOOLISH (1953)
TWOPENCE COLOURED (1954)
THREEPENNY BIT (1955)
FOURPENNY FAIR (1956)
FIVEPENNY MYSTERY (1958)
CROOKED SIXPENCE (1958)
All titles published by Nelson.
These books were something of a departure from the usual Jane Shaw style. Penelope Carter is a quiet girl, in contrast to Susan Lyle and Ricky Andersen, who enjoy madcap banter with their friends. The first three titles are quite easy to come by, but the others are harder to find. CROOKED SIXPENCE, on the rare occasions that a copy comes available, changes hands for over sixty euros on e-bay.
THOMAS
LOOKING AFTER THOMAS (1957)
WILLOW GREEN MYSTERY (1958)
THE TALL MAN (1960)
All titles published by Nelson.
NORTHMEAD
NEW HOUSE AT NORTHMEAD (1961)
NORTHMEAD NUISANCE (1963)
Both titles published by Nelson.
DIZZY AND ALISON
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN (1964)
NOTHING HAPPENED AFTER ALL (1965)
Both titles published by Nelson.
SINGLE TITLES
THE HOUSE OF THE GLIMMERING LIGHT (Collins, 1943)
MAGIC SHIPS (Collins, 1943)
THE CREW OF THE BELINDA (Collins, 1945)
FARM FRIENDS (Collins, 1953)
PUPPY TALES (Collins, 1953)
VENTURE TO SOUTH AFRICA (Nelson, 1960)
UNCLE REMUS STORIES RETOLD BY JANE SHAW (Collins, 1960)
HEIDI GROWS UP RETOLD BY JANE SHAW (Collins, 1961)
LEFT-HANDED TUMFY (Lutterworth, 1962)
CROOKS TOUR (Collins, 1962)
BRER RABBIT AND BRER FOX RETOLD BY JANE SHAW (Collins, 1969)
CROOKS TOUR was followed up with CROOKS LIMITED, a short story involving the same three characters, Ricky, Julie and Fay, published in the Collins Girls’ Annual, 1962. This story is interesting because it is the only one set entirely in Jane Shaw’s native Glasgow.
