![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
callmemadamI love Jane Shaw. When I was a child, I had the Susan books which were published by The Children’s Press and read them over and over again, always finding them funny. Susan Pulls the Strings is still on my comfort reading list. Even as a child, I longed to live in the Carmichael’s house, opposite the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Alas, such a house would cost millions today, or I’d move there like a shot. I also had Bernese Adventure and Breton Adventure. Little did I know back then that there were more Susan books, that the ‘Adventures’ had previously been published as ‘Holidays’ nor that there was a third, extremely rare book about Sara and Caroline: Highland Holiday. Plus, a lot more books as well as the short stories which appeared in annuals. So, my collection was made as an adult and a number of the books I have were bought from Australia, which seemed then to be the home of many books it was hard to find here (oh, happy days).
Like Anthony Buckeridge’s Jennings, Susan never changes. The Susan of A Job for Susan (1969) is exactly the same as the Susan of Susan Pulls the Strings (1952). The Penny series is quite different, in that we see some character development. This is probably why Alison Lindsay (see below), thinks the Penny books are perhaps Jane Shaw’s best series. They were all published by Nelson with illustrations by Gilbert Dunlop. Like Shaw’s other books, they have various settings. She wrote about places she knew, so the sense of place is always strong. Penny is a quiet, dreamy girl, usually overshadowed by her livelier younger sister, Jill. In Penny Foolish, Penny has been sent to Arran to regain her strength after an illness. While she’s there, being fed up with delicious food by her kindly landlady, her sister suddenly turns up. She’s convinced that she’s caught their father’s secretary out in spying (both parents have important jobs) and wants to keep out of the way. So, instead of having a lovely quiet time, getting fatter and enjoying the health-giving air, Penny has to both feed Jill and help to keep her concealed from the enemies she’s sure are after her. Plus, the local Minister’s children seem to despise her. Poor Penny! No wonder she starts to look peaky again, especially when a mysterious stranger seems interested in her activities. Needless to say, all comes well in the end and it’s thanks to Penny.
Each of the six books has its own mystery, In the second book they meet John and Laura in Brittany, where they rescue an heiress. In books three and four they stay with John and Laura in Somerset. Fivepenny Mystery is set in Austria. Crooked Sixpence sees the four back in Somerset with two new friends, Cam and Richard. John likes Penny a lot and defends her from charges of feebleness. By the last story, she has gained in self-confidence and is no longer in Jill’s shadow. I enjoyed this re-read very much. Of course, the whole point of the post is to boast that I have a first edition of Crooked Sixpence :-)
The Penny Books
Penny Foolish 1953
Twopence Coloured 1954
Threepenny Bit 1955
Fourpenny Fair 1956
Fivepenny Mystery 1958
Crooked Sixpence 1958
For information on Jane Shaw (Jean Bell), see Susan and Friends: The Jane Shaw Companion edited by Alison Lindsay, Bettany Press 2002.
Some pics on LJ
Like Anthony Buckeridge’s Jennings, Susan never changes. The Susan of A Job for Susan (1969) is exactly the same as the Susan of Susan Pulls the Strings (1952). The Penny series is quite different, in that we see some character development. This is probably why Alison Lindsay (see below), thinks the Penny books are perhaps Jane Shaw’s best series. They were all published by Nelson with illustrations by Gilbert Dunlop. Like Shaw’s other books, they have various settings. She wrote about places she knew, so the sense of place is always strong. Penny is a quiet, dreamy girl, usually overshadowed by her livelier younger sister, Jill. In Penny Foolish, Penny has been sent to Arran to regain her strength after an illness. While she’s there, being fed up with delicious food by her kindly landlady, her sister suddenly turns up. She’s convinced that she’s caught their father’s secretary out in spying (both parents have important jobs) and wants to keep out of the way. So, instead of having a lovely quiet time, getting fatter and enjoying the health-giving air, Penny has to both feed Jill and help to keep her concealed from the enemies she’s sure are after her. Plus, the local Minister’s children seem to despise her. Poor Penny! No wonder she starts to look peaky again, especially when a mysterious stranger seems interested in her activities. Needless to say, all comes well in the end and it’s thanks to Penny.
Each of the six books has its own mystery, In the second book they meet John and Laura in Brittany, where they rescue an heiress. In books three and four they stay with John and Laura in Somerset. Fivepenny Mystery is set in Austria. Crooked Sixpence sees the four back in Somerset with two new friends, Cam and Richard. John likes Penny a lot and defends her from charges of feebleness. By the last story, she has gained in self-confidence and is no longer in Jill’s shadow. I enjoyed this re-read very much. Of course, the whole point of the post is to boast that I have a first edition of Crooked Sixpence :-)
The Penny Books
Penny Foolish 1953
Twopence Coloured 1954
Threepenny Bit 1955
Fourpenny Fair 1956
Fivepenny Mystery 1958
Crooked Sixpence 1958
For information on Jane Shaw (Jean Bell), see Susan and Friends: The Jane Shaw Companion edited by Alison Lindsay, Bettany Press 2002.
Some pics on LJ
no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 01:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 02:28 pm (UTC)Getting that vanishingly scarce book years ago was very exciting!