Jane Shaw Postcard

Last year my friend Jan Johnson sent me this postcard that she picked up at a book sale in Crail. The postcard was issued to promote the publication of Susan and Friends: the Jane Shaw Companion in 2002. The following information is given on the back of the card:

Jane Shaw and Alison Lindsay, 1994 (photo: Ernest Marchand)
Susan and Friends: the Jane Shaw Companion (2002), edited by Alison Lindsay, is published by Bettany Press, price £14.99 including UK postage).

Jane Shaw 101

Jane Shaw was born Jeanie Bell Shaw Patrick in Glasgow on 3 December 1910, the youngest child of Dr. John Patrick and his wife Margaret (née Shaw). Jean, as she was known, was born into a professional, middle-class family; like his father William, John had studied medicine at Glasgow University, graduating MB, CM in 1893... Jean was first  taught at home by a governess, but when she was eight her parents sent her to Park School at 25 Lynedoch Street, about five minutes' walk from their home.

From A GLASGOW GIRL, by Alison J. Lindsay, Chapter 2 of Susan and Friends: The Jane Shaw Companion.

Yes, today is Jane Shaw's 101st birthday. Although she passed away in 2000, just a few days short of turning ninety, she is fondly remembered by thousands of readers around the world who enjoyed the Susan and Penny books and the many others she wrote. Susan and Friends was in preparation when she passed away and she was pleased that her works would enjoy a bit of a revival, although she was reportedly very modest about her achievements as an author. All that aside, I for one feel that the Jane Shaw experience has really brightened up the past two years and provided me with many fun moments, which was the purpose of her books to begin with. Sometimes we get carried away with concerns about a writer's place in history and their literary legacy. But at the end of the day, it's all about telling a good story. And nobody does that better than Jane Shaw. So happy birthday Jane!

The Magic Basket (Title)

Click on the image for a much larger view.

Quote of the Day

And suddenly there was a new danger. The phantom footsteps ceased, and a voice rang out. "Come out at once!" the voice shouted. "Don't imagine that I cannot see you! Come out!" and the voice was the voice of Mr. Port!

Penny was much too frightened to come out. If he wanted her, he would have to drag her out - why, she couldn't even stand on her legs, they were trembling so much! And just as she was making plans to resist to the death, there was a crash, as if the whole school was tumbling down and taking a thousand buckets with it. When the echoes had died down she could hear Mr. Port muttering furiously; then came another crash and a light was switched on.

This is the end, Penny thought, and shut her eyes tight.

From THREEPENNY BIT, Chapter 14, The Clue. Mr. Port, a schoolmaster at Friars and known to the boys as Old Starboard, doesn't appear to be a mild-mannered teacher anymore.

Tessa's Trying Tackle

When Gabrielle Gascoigne moves to St. Ronan's she decides that, among her numerous other skills, her hockey could be a boon to the school. Boasting that at her last school they had assured her she could play for Surrey, the ghastly girl annoys even members of her own team with her showing off. However, for all its merits, one player she would never encounter at Surrey would be the hopeless Tessa. Terrified by Gabrielle's onslought, the dreamy girl literally buries her face in the sand, or the field in this case, sending Gabrielle sprawling, resulting in a sprained ankle. That gets rid of her for a couple of days, but much to Susan's fury, her nemesis is inevitably promoted to Saturday's B game. This is the first illustration by, R. A. Branton, from Susan's Trying Term

Quote of the Day

"Well?" he snapped, not very pleasantly.

Stan touched his helmet politely. "Beg pardon, sir," he said, "just making a few enquiries."

"At this time of night?"

Stan looked surprised. "T'isn't nine yet, sir..."

"Where I come from," said the man, "people are often asleep by nine."

Where did he come from? we wondered. Did grown up people go to bed at nine o'clock in Russia?

"Well, I'm sure I'm very sorry, sir," Stan was saying politely, "to have disturbed you so late like, but we have the matter of a missing old gentleman on our hands, and from information received we think that he might be in this house."

"In this house!" the man repeated in a voice of utter astonishment. "But I've only just got here myself and there was no old gentleman here when I arrived, I can assure you!" He seemed to have recovered from his earlier ill temper.

"Just got here, sir?" Stan was saying in his pleasant, low voice.

"Yes, I've just come from South Africa on a visit. I rented this place and moved in a couple of days ago. Haven't had time to get straight. Made up a bed and was only too glad to turn in early. But come in and look around for yourself."

Taking off his helmet Stan stepped into the hall. We stepped in after him. The man seemed to notice us for the first time. "This the source of the information?" he said, but quite pleasantly, grinning as a matter of fact. "Aren't you the kids whose dog fell in the pond?"

From WILLOW GREEN MYSTERY, Chapter 5, Blunder at Willow Green.

Quote of the Day

The girls and Bill beamed and nodded delightedly, but their delight was short-lived, put to an end by Mrs. Weatherby’s next words. "A reward, Sergeant?" she said. "Oh, I don’t think that’s at all necessary..."

Joe murmured. "But such a valuable brooch, Mrs. Weatherby. And one of the cleaners, you know." He grinned as Susan, who nodded in violent agreement several times.

Mrs. Weatherby shrieked down the telephone, "Valuable, Sergeant? Where did you get that idea? My little brooch is very precious to me, Sergeant, it belonged to my mother, you know, but it has no value..."

"Oh, my mistake, Mrs. Weatherby, madam," said Joe smoothly, "I thought you told me it was worth hundreds of pounds. Ten per cent," he added casually, "is quite a usual reward."

"The sentimental value, of course I meant, Sergeant," Mrs. Weatherby interrupted quickly. "But perhaps you could arrange to give the cleaner half a crown or so."

"You can tell me about that when you come in to identify the brooch, Mrs. Weatherby," said Joe. "After all," he added, a little spitefully, "it might not be your brooch... Mean old skinflint," he went on, after he had put down the receiver.

"Half a crown!" Susan was snorting. "Honestly, it's hopeless! Half a crown! We never seem to be able to get our hands on big money!"

From NO TROUBLE FOR SUSAN, Chapter 11, Think it Over.

Twopence Coloured Chapter 1

At the beginning of every Penny story there is a half-page sketch. Here we can see Penny and Jill perusing brochures of Brittany, where they will go for their next holiday. Although the text of all the books clearly states that Penny and Jill are so similar that they are often mistaken for twins, the artist has decided to give Jill dark hair, probably to help the reader tell who's who. I don't care for this sort of interference very much, but I can understand the reasons for it.

Quote of the Day

"Dead faint my foot," said Susan. "Someone slipped him a Mickey Finn."

Midge turned her head slowly and gazed at her cousin. "Someone slipped him a Mickey Finn?" she repeated in a blank voice.

"Knock-out drops, whatever you like to call them," said Susan. "Someone's always slipping someone a Mickey Finn in the books I read."

"Well, fancy," said Midge. She added slowly, "Who on earth would want to do that to the poor chap..." and then fixed Susan with a stern eye. "Susan...! Was it...?"

Susan giggled. "Where would I get a Mickey Finn?" she said. "No, I reckon if he didn't do it himself that girl did it. All that messing about changing seats and changing trays, stupid way to behave unless she was manoeuvring to get next to him..."

In Midge's opinion people very often did behave stupidly, much oftener than they slipped other people Mickey Finns, for instance. Still, it would only get Susan worked up if she argued with her too much, so she asked cautiously, "What would be the point of all that, then?"

"Well," said Susan cheerfully, "they might be, say, f'r instance, spies. Smuggling the secret papers out of England."

Midge guffawed. "Surely that's a bit old hat, Susie?" she said.

From WHERE IS SUSAN? Chapter 1, Sunday, September the Third. This is the tenth Susan book, which sees Susan and Midge travelling to Venice to meet Charlotte and reunite with Mr. and Mrs. Lyle, who are returning from South Africa. Unfortunately, and they don't know it yet, they are also going to meet up with the ghastly Gascoignes! By this time, Jane Shaw herself was tired of the Carmichaels' awful neighbours, and this would be their final appearance, with the exception of a couple of passing references in A Job for Susan. 

Quote of the Day

Penny didn't much fancy scrabbling about in the undergrowth half-way up a cliff. "I thought I'd go to the village," she said, "and look for something to buy with the money Daddy gave me."

Dr. Carter, much afflicted in the past by his daughters' expensive souvenir-buying, had that morning handed them each what seemed to Penny an enormous number of francs. "That's for spending and postcard-buying and souvenirs and everything," he said, "and don't come to me for any more, and don't go to your mother either and ask her to buy you things."

"Oh, we won't," said Penny. "All those francs!"

"It's only just over a pound," said Jill.

"Well, even a pound," said Penny. "I don't know when I had a pound, just to spend!"

From TWOPENCE COLOURED, Chapter 7, Penny Buys a Picture.

Quote of the Day

Selina suddenly flung out her arms again with joyous abandon. "Let's dance!" she cried. Gabrielle ran to a radiogram in the corner and put on a record and, to the horror of Susan and Midge, began to dance round the room. Selina gaily dragged Susan and Midge to their feet. Hideously embarrassed, Midge and Susan thumped round like elephants.

When the record, which of course was a long-playing one, did at last stop after what seemed like a couple of centuries to Midge and Susan, Selina said, "Now I feel thoroughly refreshed! I know I could throw a superb pot-"

While the girls would have enjoyed seeing her throw pots about, they felt that this was their chance to get out of the house, so as soon as they decently could, they muttered polite thanks for coffee and cakes and took themselves off.

From SUSAN RUSHES IN, Chapter 1, A Job for Susan, describing the girls' first encounter with Selina Gascoigne.

The Matchmakers (2)

A happy ending to The Matchmakers as Elizabeth shows off her engagement ring and her sisters rejoice that they are going to be bridesmaids. I would like to express my gratitude to Beth Drysdale, who provided me with all the scans used in this and the previous post. A very welcome contribution to this site. Below, a high resolution scan of the Collins annual in which the story was originally published.

The Matchmakers (1959)

The Matchmakers was published in the Collins Girls' Annual 1959 and marks something of a turning point in the writings of Jane Shaw. Besides being the only short story of hers that is set in South Africa, it also introduces an element of romance into her work that hadn't appeared before. Jennifer, Jill and Tina wish that their big sister Elizabeth would hurry up and get married, as they all want to be bridesmaids. While they lie sunbathing, they watch Elizabeth and James on the other side of the river and decide that he needs some "prodding" and concoct a plan. Tina will pretend that she has fallen into the river and is drowning. James will jump in and rescue her and Elizabeth, who cannot fail but to be impressed by this brave deed, will marry him on the spot! 

But either Tina's acting deserves an award or things have gone awry! But not to worry, Tina is rescued, but to her surprise by James's rival for Elizabeth's affections, Paul.

Next day, Tina tries again by getting lost in the mountains to give James a second chance. But a troop of baboons have spotted her and look set to chase her!

Tina escapes the baboons but finds herself out on the steep mountainside, unable to crawl back to safety. And Paul comes to the rescue again!

But this is a Jane Shaw story, so all will end well! Elizabeth gets engaged to James after all and tells Paul's admirer, Jennifer, that she can have him for herself. The wedding is not in the story, but the artist provides us with a glimpse of the happy couple, with the bridesmaids in tow.

Fourpenny Fair Cover

When I reviewed Fourpenny Fair a few weeks ago, I posted only a small picture of the cover at an angle, so here is a high resolution scan. Here we can see Penny at the fair with Sid the little orphan boy. Penny is dressed in a suit of armor and walking around the fair to advertise the play that the boys from the orphanage are putting on. This scene is the best in the book and one of the best written in the whole Penny series. The review can be read at: http://wichwoodvillage.blogspot.com/2011/02/fourpenny-fair.html

Bernese Adventure

For the last few days I've been reading the second Sara and Caroline book, Bernese Adventure. The girls are sent home for an early holiday due to an oubreak of scarlet fever at their school. All their relatives apparently have plans to go abroad and view the sudden arrival of the girls as a major inconvenience. However, Caroline's elder sister, Vanessa, and her husband, John, more or less at gunpoint, agree to take the two girls to Switzerland, where John is going to a conference in Basle. A series of wonderful adventures follows, involving a cache of stolen diamonds. The girls travel all over Europe, including France, Belgium and Germany. There are many funny scenes, such as when Sara wakes up in the middle of the night to find that their room at a German gasthaus has been invaded by a curious baby cow. Hearty meals, despite John's efforts to economize, pepper the story, and a number of exciting events keep Jane Shaw's very first heroines on their toes as they grapple with crooks and all sorts of adventures, culminating in a dramatic showdown back in Dover. Sara has a wonderful time recounting her adventures to a group of hungry reporters. Caroline rounds off the story with a nonchalant quip. This is the most exciting of the Sara and Caroline stories.

Jumble Sale

Above: Lindy and Mitzy set out on their nocturnal mission to retrieve a couple of pots that were made by a temperamental local artist and sold by mistake.

Jumble Sale, published in the Collins Girls' Annual 1963, is notable because it was Jane Shaw's last short story. Set in the sleepy village of Willow Green, near Maidstone, it stars fifteen-year-old Lindy, her friend Jill and Jill's slightly older brother David. During the summer holidays, they are bored, and wish that something exciting would happen. There has been a spate of so-called Country House Burglaries at Lockesley Castle, fifty miles away, but that's about as near as excitement gets to their village. Lindy is excited at the prospect of being a bridesmaid at her sister's wedding, but Jennifer and her fiancé Tim keep putting it off due to a lack of funds, so the prospect appears to be dwindling. Lindy is also rather taken by an attractive young artist, Mark Lamont, and secretly dreams of marrying him in the distant future. But since Mark isn't proposing just yet, the teenagers agree to help out at the local jumble sale by gathering donations for and working at the White Elephant stall. Most villagers promise to give them some old relics and even Mark Lamont agrees to make a donation. On the day of the sale, David goes to the artist's house and mistakenly carries off two beautiful pots of African violets instead of a pile of junk Mark had left for him. Tim buys the pots as a gift for Jennifer and carries them off to his surgery. Mark Lamont arrives at the stall in a rage, accusing David of stealing the pots and demanding their return. When Tim refuses to give them back, David concocts a plan to break into his surgery and steal the pots. This results in a midnight excursion by the three teens and Lindy's noisy dachshund puppy, Mitzy. Arriving at the surgery, David discovers that he has grown too big to squeeze through the window, so Lindy is elected to break in instead. In the dark room, she is frightened out of her wits by Hector, a skeleton that Tim used when studying anatomy. She raises the roof with her screams and knocks down the pots, breaking them. Tim charges in to see what is going on and, lo and behold, they discover the reason why Lamont had been so angry about losing his pots, for concealed in the earth is a cache of diamonds, the fruits of a recent Country House Robbery. Lamont is clapped in jail, and the kids receive a huge reward, enabling Jennifer and Tim to tie the knot and Jill and Lindy to be bridesmaids. However, Lindy is a bit upset that she will have to wait a bit longer for Mr. Right to come along.

This story was a fine conclusion to more than two decades of contributions to the Collins annuals. Starting in 1941 with Amanda's Spies, Jane Shaw had been a regular contributor over the years. Sometimes her stories included her most famous characters (Susan, Sara & Caroline, and Ricky, Julie & Fay), while on other occasions, she created new characters for a one-off appearance, as is the case here. Jumble Sale has all the classic Jane Shaw elements: the unlikely coincidence of her characters unmasking a crook, a quiet country setting hit by a crimewave, an adventure stemming from a pretty mundane event like a jumble sale or fair, a treasure and a handsome reward. The characterization is very good, even in the case of minor characters like Lindy's mother. All in all, an excellent story. 

Below: Lindy enters the surgery, unaware of the skeleton lurking behind her!

The Moochers

Jeff and Heather at Peakirk Books came through once again with an excellent copy of The Moochers. This book and its sequel The Moochers Aborad were published in 1950 and 1951, respectively, just before the first Susan book saw the light of day. A third book, Moochers and Prefects, was written in 1951 and the only copy was sent to Lutterworth Press. They later forwarded it to West Regional TV for consideration, but their staff lost it. A pity that the computer technology we enjoy today was not available back then, as a back-up would have been kept for security reasons. Returning to published works, the first Moochers book was set in Cornwall, the only novel of hers to be set there, unless you count The Penhallow Mystery (1967), for which she used the pen name Jean Bell. It is surprising that only this story and Family Trouble are set in Cornwall, since this region was a regular holiday resort for the author and her family for many years. The Moochers Abroad is the second of four books set in Binic in Brittany (preceded, of course, by Breton Holiday (1939), reissued as Breton Adventure, and followed by Twopence Coloured (1954) and Susan's Kind Heart (1965). From the wording of the title, it seems that Moochers and Prefects was a school story. Whether it was as good as the excellent Susan at School and Susan's Trying Term, one can only imagine. A sad loss. But maybe it will turn up someday among some long neglected papers of a West Regional TV employee.

A view of The Moochers from a different angle and, below, the cover of The Moochers Abroad, which I also purchased this week, this time from Pat Barrett Books in Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire. Pat also had a copy of New House at Northmead, and I snapped that up too. All in, I've got a fair number of books on the way: the two Dizzy & Alison books, the two Moochers Books, New House at Northmead, Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox and Magic Ships. That should keep me busy for a while! 

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! 

LIST OF SHORT STORIES BY JANE SHAW

Listed below is every known short story by Jane Shaw that was published in Collins annuals (and often reprinted in later annuals or compendiums), with their dates of publication when available.

STORIES FOR COLLINS GIRLS’ ANNUAL

AMANDA’S SPIES (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1941)

SARA’S ADVENTURE (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1953; reprinted in The Crackerjack Book for Girls, Collins, 1959)

THE ADVENTURES OF A SNOWMAN (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1954; reprinted in The Crackerjack Book for Girls, Collins, 1959). This is the only short story for older readers on this list that is not included in Susan and Friends: The Jane Shaw Companion (Bettany Press, 2002).

THE WILSONS WON’T MIND (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1955; reprinted in The Treasure Book for Girls, Collins, 1958, and Ballet Stories, edited by Ian Woodward, 1982). This is the first of four short stories featuring Susan that were published between 1955 and 1960).

SUSAN’S SCHOOL PLAY (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1957; reprinted in The Crackerjack Girls Own Book, Collins, undated)

SUSAN AND THE HOME-MADE BOMB (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1958)

THE MATCHMAKERS (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1959). This is the only short story set in South Africa.

SUSAN AND THE SPAE-WIFE (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1960). Set on Arran, where the author and her husband would later retire in 1978, this is the last of the short stories to feature Susan.

FAMILY TROUBLE (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1961)

CROOKS LIMITED (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1962). This is the only other story featuring Ricky, Julie and Fay, from Crooks Tour, and the only Jane Shaw story set entirely in her native Glasgow.

JUMBLE SALE (Collins Girls’ Annual, 1963)

THE PICTURE (Susan and Friends: The Jane Shaw Companion). This story was found among the author’s papers after her death. Exactly when it was written cannot be established. It is set in Paris and, similar to a scene from Crooks Tour, there are references to Utrillo and a woman struggling to run a restaurant frequented by starving artists, suggesting that it could have been written in the early sixties. The main protagonists are two older English girls, Carol and the unnamed narrator. It is not possible to say whether this book was actually intended for a Collins annual, but since it shares the romantic theme introduced into FAMILY TROUBLE, it has been included in this list.

A GIRL WITH IDEAS (Susan and Friends: The Jane Shaw Companion). More a novella than a short story, this work started life as ADVENTURES OF A MOUSE. The ideas from that story were then expanded to form A GIRL WITH IDEAS. Jane Shaw’s correspondence shows that the story was written at the behest of Collins, beginning in the mid sixties. However, it only appeared in print in Susan and Friends in 2002.

STORIES FOR VERY YOUNG CHILDREN

The exact publication dates of these stories cannot be determined, but they appeared in various Collins Children’s Annuals.

ALADDIN’S LAMP GROWS OLD

THE GIANT’S WASHING (a Griselda story)

TIGER KITTEN

THE MAGIC BASKET (a Griselda story)

THE CAT’S GRANDMOTHER (a Griselda story)

GRISELDA AND THE GOBLIN

GRISELDA AND THE BABY ELF

THE ONION MAN

THE CAT AND THE CABIN BOY (Treasure Trove for Boys and Girls, Collins, undated)

THE DOG WHO COULDN'T LEARN TRICKS (Treasure Box for Boys and Girls, Collins, undated)

GRISELDA AND THE RAIN FAIRIES (Treasure Book for Boys and Girls, Collins, undated)

THE LONELY GIANT (Treasure Book for Boys and Girls, Collins, undated)

VISITING A FAIRY (My Book of Elves and Fairies, Collins, undated)

THE TALE OF THREE PUPPIES (Five Listen With Mother Tales Number 6, BBC Books, undated)

STORIES FOR LUTTERWORTH

The author noted that five of her stories were sold to Lutterworth Press in 1950 and 1951. As far as can be determined, the stories remained unpublished.

A PONY OF YOUR OWN (sold on 10 March, 1950)

NO ROBBERY (sold on 10 March, 1950)

I RODE WITH THE COVENANTERS (sold on 17 August, 1950)

MERE AND MOORLAND (sold in January, 1951)

HEATHER MIXTURE (sold in December, 1951)

STORIES FOR DIE BRANDWAG

Die Brandwag was an Afrikaans newspaper that purchased six of Jane Shaw’s short stories and translated them into Afrikaans for publication. Only one story (Die Man Langsaan) is known to have been published, as a clipping of it was found among the author’s papers.

THE MAN NEXT DOOR (Die Man Langsaan, 10 December, 1954)

THE MATCHMAKERS

BIRTHDAY

PATCHWORK QUILT

TWO’S COMPANY

THE QUARREL

Family Trouble (1961)

Set in a small village in the north of Cornwall, near Bude, this short story, published in 1961 in the Collins' Girls' Annual, stars Nicky, daughter of the local vicar, her three sisters and their neighbours the Trevelyans. Jane Shaw was clearly a real asset to Collins by this time, with the popularity of the Susan books at their zenith and Crooks Tour in the works, ensuring lavish illustrations for her short stories.  

While climbing a tree, Nicky falls on Edward Trevelyan as he returns from a term at university. She is surprised to find him much changed. Unusual for a Jane Shaw story, the sixteen-year-old girl is immediately smitten by Edward. One of the few stories to contain a real romantic element, this story is also a departure from the typical JS style because it is told in the first person. This style was used in only a handful of her tales, most notably Susan's School Play, A Girl with Ideas and the Thomas books. In Family Trouble it works very well, as Nicky's thought processes are the key to all the humour in the story. 

In addition to the romantic theme, there is a typical Jane Shaw mystery afoot. Little sister Tubs excitedly tells her family that the police are on the lookout for an escaped convict from Dartmoor.

On the way to the local carnival, Nicky, dressed as a witch, bumps into her other little sister Ruth, who is dressed up as a Christmas cracker!

Nicky and her sisters have captured the convict. Or have they?

There has to be a happy ending for Nicky in her only appearance in a Jane Shaw story. A pity we never see her again. The family had potential...

The annual the story appeared in. Very nice cover. My copy has the following dedication on the inside front cover: To Libby, from Mummy, Xmas 1962. Poor Libby, whoever she was, doesn't appear to have had very loving parents!



Nicky tells us that the sea lies just across the fields from her village and in the distance she can just make out the isle of Lundy. This is the only Jane Shaw short story set in Cornwall. However, the Moochers novels are set there and Tessa, Susan's friend at St. Ronan's, lives there with her grandmother.