Threepenny Bit cover

Threepenny Bit was published in 1955 by Nelson. Jane Shaw published the Penny series with Nelson because her first editor at Collins, Jocelyn Oliver, moved there in the 1950s. They had a firm friendship, but that didn't stop him from making severe criticisms of her work when he felt the need, and she took his opinion very seriously. The result was that the Penny series, in terms of the quality of the writing, is probably Jane Shaw's greatest output, although the fan base for the Susan series was much larger. I personally believe that with the fifth book in the series, Fivepenny Mystery, Jane Shaw reached the pinnacle of her career.