The Jean Bell Spitfire Books

It has been a while since I last posted anything on the blog, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been making progress with Jane Shaw. In the last year, I have acquired both of the books published under the pen name of Jean Bell. They are tiny little books, aimed at a slightly younger audience than most of Jane Shaw's stories, maybe the same age group as the Thomas  books. Both stories were published in 1967 as part of the Spitfire series, with Collins going mass market and moving into paperback publishing. The two stories are mysteries. Paddy Turns Detective is set in a village in Kent. Penhallow Mystery, as the name suggests, is set in Cornwall. PTD is written in the first person, by Patricia (Paddy). PM is written in the third person. A third book. A Girl with Ideas, was written for the series, but was only published many years later in Susan and Friends. The photograph below, with both books alongside a regular Collins hardback, shows how tiny the little paperback volumes were. At only 1/-, the Spitfire books were also more affordable.