Quote of the Day

Amanda sniffed. Elizabeth, she thought, was all too prone to attach a false importance to mundane things like food. Was her country's fate nothing to her? But, all the same, Amanda suffered herself to be led to where their little rowing-boat was beached, and graciously permitted Elizabeth to row her down the Loch towards the house and lunch.

From AMANDA'S SPIES, Jane Shaw's first short story, published in 1941.

Jane Shaw Guide: Amanda's Spies

Amanda’s Spies is a short story that was published in the Collins Girls’ Annual 1941. It was to be the first of many Jane Shaw stories to be printed in various annuals over the next twenty-two years. The story is set during World War II in Scotland, more precisely on Loch Ard near Aberfoyle, and stars two girls, Elizabeth and Amanda (their surnames are not given). To escape the horrors of the war, Elizabeth has been sent to stay with Amanda in this out-of-the-way place and is grateful for the relative safety that the remote location offers. Amanda is a more adventurous type and wishes to emulate the achievements of a woman she has read about in the newspaper who reportedly captured a Nazi spy single-handed. Riding around the loch in their dinghy, they are caught in the rain and decide to seek shelter at Larachbeg, the house of a local school mistress, Miss Potts, known to the girls as Potty. No one has seen the woman for some time and the girls believe she is off in the army, although she is also known to have inherited a healthy legacy and may be off on holiday somewhere. With Nazi spies on the brain, Amanda and Elizabeth are shocked to hear a voice calling out in German as they approach the house. After considerable confusion, it is revealed that Miss Potts is holed up in the house training parrots to carry messages. Carrier pigeons, she explains to the girls, can be caught and their messages read, but her parrots memorise the messages and only reveal them after hearing a password. The parrots are also taught some German words to confuse any enemy agent that might capture them. When the girls voice their scepticism, Miss Potts admits sadly that this unlikely scheme has so far only met with moderate success, to put it lightly. The story rounds off with a sharp and comical exchange between Amanda and one of the parrots.

This would be the only appearance of Elizabeth and Amanda in Jane Shaw’s work, and also the only time that Loch Ard was used as a setting for one of her stories. Amanda’s Spies is not the most memorable of the author’s tales, but it is a good solid story that shows signs of great things to come and also paved the way for her to become one of the most important contributors to Collins annuals for children of all ages for the next two decades.

Quote of the Day

Her eyes nearly staring out of her head, Amanda whispered, "Shut up for goodness sake. Did you hear? Did you hear? That was German, that bit about donner and blitzkrieg - it means, oh, something or other. And the other one - did you hear him? It's a nest of spies, Nazi spies -"

Elizabeth swallowed once or twice, then croaked out, "Let's go back to our boat," and started to run. She looked neither to right nor to left until she reached the shore, then, panting with terror, she crawled underneath the dinghy. Her heart was beating so loudly she simply did not hear the approaching footsteps - heard nothing until the little boat creaked under the arrival of a heavy weight, and then her heart stopped beating altogether.

"Tut," Amanda clicked her tongue angrily and drummed her heels against the boat, "Where is the ass?"

A muffled and sepulchral voice form the depths answered, "You're practically sitting on me."

Amanda lifted the boat.

"Come in, do," said Elizabeth hospitably.

"Lily-livered knave," Amanda stormed. "What's the good of that? If they've heard us the first thing they'll look for is a boat, if they don't see us on the road, they'll tip this up and we'll be caught like rats."

"Let's go then," said Elizabeth, beginning to crawl rapidly away.

"Come here, poltroon," said Amanda, dragging her back by one pigtail. "We must have a plan."

"I have a plan," said Elizabeth, "I'm going home."

From the short story AMANDA'S SPIES, published in the Collins Girls' Annual 1941. This was Jane Shaw's first of many short stories that would be published over the next twenty-two years in a variety of annuals. Her last published short story was Jumble Sale in 1963.

Amanda's Spies



This is an illustration from Jane Shaw's very first published short story, Amanda's Spies. It appeared in the Collins' Girls' Annual 1941. The story is set in Loch Ard, Scotland and features two girls: Amanda, the eccentric heroine, and her friend Elizabeth. Amanda, after reading a report in the newspapers about a woman single-handedly disarming and capturing a Nazi spy, wishes that she could have a similar exciting adventure and begins to imagine that spies or stray German parachutists could be on the loose in this unlikely location. It is a good, but not brilliant, story with many of the Jane Shaw traits and twists. However, Amanda and Elizabeth were not destined to grace the pages of later annuals.

A photo of Loch Ard. Hard to imagine Nazi spies around here!