Abridgement of Breton Holiday and Bernese Holiday

Whenever I have read about Breton Adventure and Bernese Adventure, they are always described as "slightly abridged" versions of the original Holiday books. In Susan and Friends, detailed descriptions are given of two scenes that were edited or deleted prior to the publication of Bernese Adventure, both from Chapter 11. On Page 105, it says that when Caroline and Sara were on the train to Interlaken, "the nice blue-eyed guard came and passed the time of day with them; and when they reached Interlaken, Sara went quite wild over the shops". In Bernese Holiday, the train journey scene is longer, with Sara thinking that the guard's name is Bob because he has the letters BOB emblazoned on his cap. Caroline explains that the letters actually stand for Bernese Oberland Bahn. The other deleted scene takes place the next morning, when Sara awakes early and is delighted to find that it is snowing. After breakfast, Caroline and Vanessa decide to take advantage of the cold snap to write some post cards. The next paragraph begins: "Two days later, the snow had gone, the sun came out again and the flowers reappeared..." However, in Bernese Holiday, while the others are writing their post cards, Sara borrows the hotel owner's skis and has a go at skiing. Caroline eventually has to come out and dig her out of a snow drift. One of the members of the Jane Shaw Facebook group, who has a copy of Bernese Holiday, also recalls what she refers to as some "curtailed dialogue" but could not be more specific as she had conducted her comparison some time ago. I recently purchased a copy of Breton Holiday and looked forward to comparing it with the reissued version. However, as far as I can tell, there was no abridging of the story at all. The above photograph shows the contents page of Breton Holiday on the left and the Adventure on the right. They are identical. So, although the original book is much thicker, there are no extra scenes. The only differences are that the dedication to Jane Shaw's parents is omitted from the Adventure and that the Holiday has a black and white frontispiece drawn by Alice Helena Watson. My copy of Breton Adventure has no frontispiece, although I've been told that some editions of the book did have one. Bernese Adventure has had two frontispieces, one colour and one black and white, which you can see by clicking here and here.

Quote of the Day

"This is nice," said Sara next morning, as they drove through a lovely, undulating, wooded landscape. John's hat, the luggage and the cap on the petrol tank all safe, "but I wish we could come to the Black Forest."

"This is the Black Forest," said John.

"But it's not black," Sara wailed.

"It's not even a forest," sniffed Caroline.

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter 8.

Bernese Adventure

The colour frontispiece from Benese Adventure. Thanks to Elizabeth Lindsay for this one.

Places in Jane Shaw: the Mouse Tower

In Chapter 7 of Bernese Adventure, John points out the Mouse Tower to Sara as they drive from Koblenz to Bingen. He explains that the evil Bishop Hatto was eaten alive by mice there as punishment for burning poor people alive. During the burning, the bishop shouted "Hear the mice scream", according to local legend. He was attacked by mice and fled across the river to the tower (located on a small island). But the mice pursued him across and attacked him.

Quote of the Day

Even Caroline enthused at the scenery from Koblenz to Bingen, and though Sara missed the Lorelei rock, through having a little nap, John took care to point out the Mouse Tower where, he said, the wicked Bishop Hatto was devoured by mice for his sins; for Sara's horror of mice was always giving rise to little touches like that from the more hard-hearted members of her family.

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter 7.

Bernese Adventure blurb

Bernese Adventure (Retro Press)

In 2008, as part of their Retro Press series, Robert Fredrick Ltd. published Bernese Adventure and Crooks Tour in the United States. Why only these titles were selected is not clear. The covers are very nice laminated boards and the texts are unabridged. Thanks to Jan Johnson for the idea for this post.

Quote of the Day

"Oh, John!" said Sara, in an agony lest her long-cherished dream of nonchalantly handing over a bunch of crooks to Scotland Yard was to be denied fulfilment by over-caution on John's part. "Of course we know they're crooks, and the book will prove it, somehow. And look - if we don't lay too false a trail, just enough to give us sufficient start to collect the evidence in Rhöndorf, then we could have them arrested when they make up on us!"

"I'm having no dealings with foreign policemen if I can help it," said John, with a firmness which brooked no argument. "With the language difficulties and so on, you never know where you'll land."

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter Twelve. 

Quote of the Day

Caroline rose lazily from where she was lying, half buried in the sofa cushions.

"Come on, little shrimp," she said to Sara. "They want to talk about us behind our backs."

Sara showed a disposition to argue against leaving this most intersting discussion, but Caroline led her away. "Gosh, Caroline," she was saying before the door shut beind them, "d'you think they'll take us? What fun it would be-"

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Prologue.

Quote of the Day

"I don't see how we dare risk a meeting," said Caroline, "in case they find out where the book is. We've just got to get to Rhöndorf first."

"Gosh, yes!" said Sara, her impish little face screwed up in an expression of grim determination. "Step on the gas, John, and race them to it."

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter 13.

Quote of the Day

It was indeed a sorry sight. Leaving the Alpenrose, the girls had had some qualms at the condition of Sara's poor father's beautiful hogskin bag, all stained and discoloured with dirt; so, in a panic, they had decided to wrap newspaper round it each morning. So newspaper, tossed and torn by the wind, festooned the already unsightly pile of soiled bag and haversacks, and Sara was just suggesting that a towel wrapped round and hanging down would obscure the number plate better when John emerged, and ordered them back into the car in a hurry.

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter 13.

Quote of the Day

"This was a good idea," thought Sara, knocking back her lemonade. "Gosh, I was thirsty!" Halfway through she put down her glass suddenly and felt sick. "I've no money," she thought. "Caroline's got no money. John's got no money. Vanessa never has any money. Nobody's got any money. Oh, gosh, what'll I do? I can't return it now. Here I am sitting in a strange café on the top of a mountain" (Sara was getting a little excited) "drinking lemonade, and I've no money. I'll just have to run for it."

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter 6.

Bernese Adventure (frontispiece)

Thanks to my new friend Pam Kirkland for sending me this wonderful scan from the second of the Caroline and Sara series, Bernese Adventure. Illustrations from the Sara and Caroline stories are not easy to come by, mostly because very few were ever drawn, and what did appear was not used in every edition. This one from the 1953 Seagull edition of Bernese Adventure shows the group at the top of the Drachenfels. A rare find for me and a great addition to the blog. Thanks again to Pam, and to Pam Airth from Cape Town for introducing the topic of Jane Shaw's birthday on GO. This is what I call team work!  

Quote of the Day

As they sat in the sun having breakfast next morning, Sara helped herself to enough cherry jam to last a normal person a week, fed surreptitious morsels to the Alpenrose hound and said, "What's the dog's name, Caro?"

"Towser," suggested Caroline.

"Oh, it couldn't be---!"

Caroline sighed. "It's too easy getting a rise out of you, Sara."

"What d'you feel like doing to-day?" Sara changed the subject.

"Lying on my back in the sun somewhere and sleeping," Caroline answered, poking moodily at her bread and honey and privately longing for some bacon and eggs.

"Gosh, Caro, you lazy pig! You can't possibly sleep all day in Switzerland---"

"Oh, can't I? Believe me, I can hardly keep my eyes open. It must be the strong air."

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter 10.

Quote of the Day

"Oh, hallo, Caro darling!" Sara called. "Fancy, I haven't got scarlet fever at all-"

"No!" Caroline mocked her.

"No, it's nettle-rash. Vanessa says it's hay fever, but I know about that, and I think she means nettle-rash; she had it once just after she was married."

"I expect it's from eating all those sausages," said Caroline severely.

"Gosh, I only had about two! Or maybe three," said Sara, "and sausages never gave me anything before."

"I don't suppose you ever ate so many at one sitting before," Caroline suggested.

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter 4.

Bernese Adventure (blurb)

Quote of the Day

It took Sara at least some little time to understand why they were now looking for a nice hotel, and to realise that poor Vanessa did not know and had never known anyone who lived in Dover; but as she told Caroline in the seclusion of their bedroom later, The Three Bells was very nice, and she for one was jolly glad they weren't going to spend the night on somebody's floor: and as even John, for all his ingenuity, could not contrive that they should miss the ferry a second time, Friday morning saw them safely on board and very well pleased with the little boat, and particularly with the great claw arrangement that lifted cars off the pier into the hold.

"Major Morris doesn't look so bad, does he?" said Sara as they watched the car dangling in mid-air.

"The luggage looks a bit odd," said Caroline.

The Major was not new enough to have a boot, and the luggage, exposed as it was to public gaze, certainly did have a peculiar appearance.

From BERNESE ADVENTURE, Chapter 2.

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.