Died 19 November 2000 | ||
Books Susan's Helping Hand, A job for Susan, Full rulle, Fifi! | ||
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.