Jane Shaw (Scottish author)

Jane Shaw (1910–2000) was a Scottish author of books and short stories for children and young adults. From 1939 to 1969, she published over forty books and numerous short stories. She is best remembered as the author of the Susan series.

Biography

Jane Shaw is the pen name of Jean Bell Shaw Patrick, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 3 December 1910. Her family lived at 9 Newton Place. She was tutored at home by a governess until, at the age of eight, she began attending Park School on nearby Lynedoch Street. In her last two years at the school, she was editor of the Park Chronicle, the school magazine. After leaving school, she studied at Glasgow University, graduating with a Second Class Honours Degree in English Literature and Language in 1932.^[1] She then spent a year in London at the Maria Grey Training College, studying to be a teacher. However, after completing the course she decided that teaching was not her calling and moved into the field of publishing. Her first job was at the Times Book Club in London. She was then offered a job with William Collins, Sons. The editor of children's books at Collins, Jocelyn Oliver, recognized her talent and encouraged her to write a story. The result was her first book, Breton Holiday, which was published in 1939.^[2] In 1938, Jean married Robert Evans, an accountant, whom she had known since childhood. They set up home in Dulwich Village, London, living in the top floor flat at 11 College Road. The Evans had two children: Margaret Jane, born on 9 April 1942, and Ian, born on 23 June 1944. During Jean's second pregnancy, the house in Dulwich was bombed, and she moved in with friends in Bath. Despite the war and her duties as wife and mother, she continued to write, and a further three books were published during the War. After the War, she saw several of her short stories broadcast by the BBC on Children's Hour.^[3]

A new chapter opened in the life of the Evans family in 1952 when Robert was offered an accountancy position in Johannesburg, and the whole family sailed out on the Warwick Castle.^[4] This move was the inspiration behind her book Venture to South Africa, which chronicles the upheaval faced by a British family moving overseas. In Johannesburg, she quickly found work at the Children's Book Shop and continued writing her books and short stories. In 1978, following Robert's retirement, the family returned to Scotland, setting up home on the isle of Arran, which had been a favourite holiday destination for the Patrick family when Jean was a child. Robert died in 1987. Jean continued to live in the house, receiving frequent visits from her children, granddaughter and friends.^[5] Following a short illness, Jean Evans died peacefully in her sleep on 19 November 2000, just two weeks before her ninetieth birthday. She was buried beside her husband at the Shiskine cemetery on Arran.

Bibliography

BOOKS

THE HOLIDAY SERIES

BRETON HOLIDAY (1939)

BERNESE HOLIDAY (1940)

HIGHLAND HOLIDAY (1942)

All titles published by Collins.

THE MOOCHERS

THE MOOCHERS (Lutterworth, 1950)

THE MOOCHERS ABROAD (Lutterworth, 1951)

A third book, MOOCHERS AND PREFECTS, was written in 1951 but was never published. Lutterworth forwarded the manuscript to West Regional TV, whose staff lost it while considering it for production.

THE SUSAN SERIES

SUSAN PULLS THE STRINGS (1952)

SUSAN’S HELPING HAND (1955)

SUSAN RUSHES IN (1956)

SUSAN INTERFERES (1957)

SUSAN AT SCHOOL (1958)

SUSAN MUDDLES THROUGH (1960)

SUSAN’S TRYING TERM (1961)

NO TROUBLE FOR SUSAN (1962)

SUSAN’S KIND HEART (1965)

WHERE IS SUSAN? (1968)

A JOB FOR SUSAN (1969)

All titles published by Collins.

THE PENNY SERIES

PENNY FOOLISH (1953)

TWOPENCE COLOURED (1954)

THREEPENNY BIT (1955)

FOURPENNY FAIR (1956)

FIVEPENNY MYSTERY (1958)

CROOKED SIXPENCE (1958)

All titles published by Nelson.

THOMAS

LOOKING AFTER THOMAS (1957)

WILLOW GREEN MYSTERY (1958)

THE TALL MAN (1960)

All titles published by Nelson.

NORTHMEAD

NEW HOUSE AT NORTHMEAD (1961)

NORTHMEAD NUISANCE (1963)

Both titles published by Nelson.

DIZZY AND ALISON

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN (1964)

NOTHING HAPPENED AFTER ALL (1965)

Both titles published by Nelson.

SINGLE TITLES

THE HOUSE OF THE GLIMMERING LIGHT (Collins, 1943)

MAGIC SHIPS (Collins, 1943)

THE CREW OF THE BELINDA (Collins, 1945)

FARM FRIENDS (Collins, 1953)

PUPPY TALES (Collins, 1953)

VENTURE TO SOUTH AFRICA (Nelson, 1960)

UNCLE REMUS STORIES RETOLD BY JANE SHAW (Collins, 1960)

HEIDI GROWS UP RETOLD BY JANE SHAW (Collins, 1961)

LEFT-HANDED TUMFY (Lutterworth, 1962)

CROOKS TOUR (Collins, 1962)

BRER RABBIT AND BRER FOX RETOLD BY JANE SHAW (Collins, 1969)

SHORT STORIES

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

References