Jane Shaw (1) (1910–2000)

Jane Shaw was the pen name of Jean Bell Shaw Patrick, born in Glasgow, Scotland. She was taught at home by a governess until age eight, when she began attending The Park School. After graduating, she enrolled at Glasgow University, from which she earned a degree in English literature and language in 1932. She then spent a year in London studying to be a teacher at the Maria Grey Training College. After completing the course, she decided to go into publishing instead, and went to work for the Times Book Club. She was then offered a job with the Scottish publishing house William Collins, Sons. The editor of children's books at Collins encouraged Jean to write, and the result was her first book, Breton Holiday, published in 1939. Jean went on to become a prolific author of some 40 children's books, including family and adventure tales, as well as the Susan series of school-related stories for girls. In 1938, she married Robert Evans, an accountant, with whom she had two children and lived in London. During World War II, their house was bombed, and she moved in with friends in Bath. Some of her books written during this period, such as House of the Glimmering Light (1943), had spy adventure themes. After the war, several of her short stories were broadcast by the BBC. In 1952, she and the children accompanied her husband to a new job in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she wrote Venture to South Africa (1960) among others. In 1978, following her husband's retirement, the family returned to Scotland, settling on the Isle of Arran. Her other works included Susan Pulls the Strings (1952), Crooked Sixpence (1958), and Crooks Tour (1962).