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.