The Moochers (1950)

 A nice scan of the very rare cover of The Moochers.

Quote of the Day

"You could ask Liz what she thinks," suggested Nicky.

"No, I couldn't," said Kay. Liz doesn't know about Gail's carry-on the Day of the Flood."

In the dormitory that night she glanced at Gail's arm, free at last of the plaster which, by the time it was taken off, was so covered in signatures and funny drawings that it looked more like an autograph album than a plaster. "What did Doc Winkle-picker say about hockey, Gail - are you allowed to play again?"

"Heavens, yes, I've mended very nicely. I'm turning up at the practice tomorrow. I'm dying, I must admit, to get a stick in my hands again. Those walks with Miss Chambers rambling on about seed-pods and making us pick lumps of wet, dead prickly undergrowth out of the hedges, or Fishy spouting bits of poetry about autumn, what she called that 'season of inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness', which I suppose was a quotation, were just about the end."

From NORTHMEAD NUISANCE, Chapter 11, Gossip and Grumbles.

Collins Annual 1963

 

My Jane Shaw Reads in 2020

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to read as much Jane Shaw as I would have liked this year. I only read five books. The House of the Glimmering Light was one, of course, which I read in depth while preparing to write the introduction to the reissue, along with Amanda's Spies. I also read three Penny books in a row back in April: Threepenny Bit, Fourpenny Fair and Fivepenny Mystery. Fourpenny Fair is my favourite in the Penny series. I also read two Susan stories: Where is Susan? and Susan's Kind Heart. Of all the "travel" stories that Jane Shaw wrote, Where is Susan? is the best in my opinion. I hope to read a lot more in 2021.

Annuals

Jane Shaw's first short story, Amanda's Spies, was pubished in the first Collins Girls' Annual in 1941. Her last short story, Jumble Sale, was published in the last Collins Girls' Annual in 1963. She was the only author to have stories published in both books and was a regular contributor throughout the 22 years that the annual was published. She also penned stories for other Collins annuals during this time, such as the Children's Annual. These tended to be stories for a younger audience, with titles like Tiger Kitten and The Dog that Couldn't Learn Tricks. Although the first Girls' Annual came out in 1941, annuals were by no means a new concept. Collins had been publishing the predecessor Schoolgirls' Annual since the 1920s. 

Collins Girls' Annual 1941

When I was looking for an angle for the introduction to House of the Glimmering Light, I started by focusing on an earlier Jane Shaw story in a similar setting. Amanda’s Spies was her very first published short story and, like Glimmering Light, was set on a Scottish loch during the war and involved two girls investigating the possibility of Nazi spies in Scotland. However, Amanda’s Spies is far less serious in tone and the heroines are a bit younger than Angela and Noel from Glimmering Light. But it showed how Jane Shaw was approaching her writing at the time and served as a good basis for the introduction. The short story was published in the very first Collins Girls’ Annual in 1941 Here is a scan of the cover, which is very hard to find. Thanks to Clarissa from GGBP for sharing this with me.

2020 in the World of Jane Shaw

What a year it has been, and I realize that throughout 2020 I didn’t post anything to Wichwood Village. So, in the dying seconds of the year, I’ll take the chance to note the latest developments in the world of Jane Shaw. The major event this year was the reissue (after 77 years!) of House of the Glimmering Light by Girls Gone By Publishers. I was happy to write the introduction to the book, which was no easy task. But I managed it in the end and received some positive feedback. I’m glad that the book finally got a second chance. It is one of the most difficult Jane Shaw titles to find and so it is great that people can now enjoy it and soak up the atmosphere of Loch Etive and the surrounding area. According to Clarissa at GGBP, the next title to be reprinted is the last Penny book, Crooked Sixpence. Readers were given the choice of a Northmead book and Crooked Sixpence, and the latter won. So, that gives Jane Shaw enthusiasts something to look forward to in 2021. Clarissa also said that the 2019 reissue of Highland Holiday sold out very quickly, showing that there is still a considerable demand for Jane Shaw’s books.

Breton Holiday

A better scan of the cover and spine of Breton Holiday. Thanks to Clarissa at GGBP for providing this.

Quote of the Day

The pony had really revived amazingly. "We could take turns riding him," suggested Mike, but Jennifer considered that it was enough responsibility getting the pony to Colly's without the complication of people falling off his back. On the way she and Eleanor heard the whole story of his purchase. Eleanor thought it was all a trifle queer; but Jennifer, very much touched had thought only for the kindness of Belinda and Mike to her.

From VENTURE TO SOUTH AFRICA, Chapter 8, Enter Stella. 

Breton Holiday Colour Frontis

Colour frontis from the first edition of Breton Adventure. This scene takes place in Chapter 14, Capture of a Car Thief, with the girls mistaking The Man of Mystery for a crook. Thanks to Elizabeth Lindsay for providing this high-resolution scan.

Quote of the Day

There was a sound. A soft, indefinite slurring sound. Of faint shuffling, ghostly feet? Sara kept swallowing her heart, which had in some peculiar way jumped right up to the back of her throat. She took a step forward, and her hand, instead of empty air, met something soft, and warm, and hairy. Her last poor remnants of courage left her. She let out a yell, and, heedless where she might go, dashed forward as quickly as her shaking legs would carry her, slipping and tripping over the uneven ground, panic-stricken...

From BRETON HOLIDAY, Chapter 9, "...Because He Knows a Frightful Fiend Doth Close Behind Him Tread".

Breton Adventure

Black and white frontispiece from the second edition of Breton Adventure. This illustration shows Sara running from the cave after inadventently running into Susette, the runaway chimpanzee, which she thought was a ghost or monster.

Quote of the Day

The Junior Common Room was the usual seething mob, everybody yelling at the tops of their voices, so we didn't bother much to introduce Lisa around, only grabbed as much tea as we could - it's rather special on the first day, sandwiches and cake, so that the poor victims think that's how they're going to eat every day and feel quite cheered, little do they know. Prune was stuffing away quietly in a corner, so we took Lisa over to talk to her.

From A GIRL WITH IDEAS, Chapter 1, Dotty Has An Idea. This book was written under the pen name Jean Bell and was clearly intended for the Collins Spitfire series in the late sixties. However, it was only published in 2002 in Susan and Friends.

Bernese Holiday Cover

After years of searching, I finally have the front cover of Bernese Holiday. Breton Holiday had a colour cover and a black and white frontis depicting different scenes. In Bernese Holiday and Highland Holiday, the frontis was simply a black and white copy of the cover illustration. None of the books had additional internal illustrations. Thanks to Clarissa from GGBP for sending me this scan.

Quote of the Day

This wasn't the chattiest gathering that she had ever been at, Susan thought, but for once she simply couldn't think of a single thing to say. What she wanted to say, Why are you following us? What do you want, What's your game? would hardly have added to the chattiness.

And then fortunately Midge found her tongue. "How is the young man?" she asked politely.

"Young man? What young man?" said the spy, raising very slightly her beautiful eyebrows.

From WHERE IS SUSAN?, Chapter 6, Move and Counter-Move.

Highland Holiday GGBP Edition

It has been a while since I posted anything here, but now things are happening in the Jane Shaw world. Girls Gone By Publishers are reissuing Highland Holiday, the third of the Sara and Caroline books. This is just the first in a series of hard-to-find books that are in the works. There are also plans to reissue House of the Glimmering Light and Crooked Sixpence. I was asked to write the introduction to Highland Holiday and was pleased that they accepted it with hardly a tweak. In the introduction, I provide a biography of the author and an outline of the whole Sara and Caroline saga, from Breton Holiday in 1939 to the short story Sara's Adventure in 1953. Sara's Adventure is also included in the book, with all its illustrations, as well as scans of all the covers and frontispieces of the Holiday books and their reissues as Adventures. Considering all these contents, Highland Holiday is a bargain at £13.00. This morning, I received word that the book has just been sent to the printers and should be available in November. You can purchase your advance copy here.

Breton Holiday DW

This is very rare, the dust jacket from Breton Holiday, published in 1939. It was drawn by A. H. Watson, who also drew the dust wrappers and internal illustrations for Bernese Holiday and Highland Holiday. Thanks to Heather Lawrence for providing the scan.

Quote of the Day

Judy flicked through the pages of her history notebook. "Oh, it's too much!" she said. "French Revolution, Napoleon and the American War of Independence! How can anyone be expected to learn all about the French Revolution, Napoleon and the American War of Independence in a week! Not to mention all the Latin, French, maths, English, biology, science and geography that we have to learn as well."

"'Let them eat cake'," said Kay helpfully.

Judy stared at her. "What's that got to do with it?" she demanded.

From NORTHMEAD NUISANCE, Chapter 12, Exam Fever.

Notes on A Job for Susan

1. A Job for Susan (1969) is the eleventh and last book in the Susan series and the last book Jane Shaw ever published. She did begin a new story, Susan in Trouble, but the manuscript was abandoned after a few tentative pages. In that story, Susan and Midge were to go to the USA.

2. A Job for Susan recycles many elements of past Susan books. Indeed, readers often confuse it with No Trouble for Susan. Both stories are set in Wichwood at Christmas time, with the children helping out a local shopkeeper in difficulty. In both stories, the ghastly Gascoignes are thankfully absent and a new nemesis steps in: Sir Arthur Symes, a.k.a. the Wicked Baronet or Bad Bart.

3. Susan is no longer living with the Carmichaels. Her parents have returned from Africa and have rented a house called Owl Cottage, not far from the Carmichael residence.

4. Tessa Marshall, Susan and Midge’s rather dim but likeable friend from St. Ronan’s, features prominently in the story. When Susan hears that Tessa’s grandmother has gone away and that Tessa will have to spend the holidays with her Aunt Rachel, who lives in deepest Devon, she invites her friend to stay with her in Wichwood.

5. At the beginning of the story, Charlotte announces yet another change in her planned career. Her dreams of becoming a nurse, cook and archaeologist having been thwarted in previous stories, in Where is Susan? Charlotte had made up her mind to become an artist. However, after studying the works of the Old Masters, she feels that she will never be very good and decides to set her sights on studying the history of art at the Courtland Institute. But when she has some success with her paintings in AJFS, she decides to be an artist again.

6. In this book, Tessa and Bill are given more prominent roles. They were hardly even mentioned in the previous two stories (Susan’s Kind Heart and Where is Susan?) but here Bill’s financial problems are the focus of the story. At school, goaded by an unpleasant teacher, Bill rashly promises to donate the massive sum of ten pounds to Oxfam and now has to spend the holidays trying to raise the money.

7. As usual, Charlotte has no shortage of admirers. Much to Susan’s surprise, one of Charlotte’s admirers takes a fancy to Tessa instead! Being a Susan story, nothing comes of this budding romance.

8. This story features the pompous artist, Tertius Smith, who creates abstracts, such as Mr. Egg.

9. Now that Susan’s mother is back, the role of Aunt Lucy is greatly diminished and she only appears when preparing meals and has apparently lost her enthusiasm for crazy new hobbies that she had early in the series.

10. There are no internal illustrations. The front cover was drawn by Roger Hall, who would become a prominent illustrator of children’s book in the 1970s.

11. There is yet another cryptic dedication at the front of the book:

FOR

Flora Cohen

WHO ALWAYS WATCHES THE DATES

In Susan and Friends, Jane Shaw’s son, Ian Evans, explains that Flora Cohen was the sister of Sylvia Klugmen, who founded the Children’s Book Shop in Johannesburg. The two sisters, Jane Shaw and another shop employee, Norah Hampton, became a “circle of loyal friends”.

12. A Job for Susan was also the title of Chapter 1 of Susan Rushes In.

Quote of the Day

She saw Bill delivering his papers at the almshouses at the foot of Gallery Road. Bill's jaw dropped open when he saw the van driving back, with Joe Taylor apparently very much in command of the situation. His mouth was still open when Susan reached him.

"You got him!" he yelled. "Spot-on!"

Susan stopped. "Well, yes, we got him," she said. "But Bill, it was Mr. Smith the artist--"

"Mr. Smith the artist!" Bill repreated blankly. "Stealing his own stuff at half-past six in the morning? He must be bonkers!"

"Well, we know he is," said Susan. "That egg! But the thing is, Bill, he wasn't stealing it at all--"

"Why in the middle of the night, then?"

"Only time he could get the van, he said--"

"Oh," said Bill. "Is he cross?"

"Not too pleased," said Susan.

From A JOB FOR SUSAN, Chapter 7, Guarding the Masterpieces. For more on "that egg", click here.