List highlights: Girls' stuff

Lately, as you may have noticed, I seem to be almost as obsessed with books aimed at girls and young woman as I am with middlebrow fiction more generally.  Even if I don't feel compelled to read all of the girls' fiction I come across (though obviously lately I have felt compelled often enough), I still always enjoy exploring what was published and getting a feel for the plots and the style of a very interesting subgenre.  Whether they're school stories, adventure tales, romances, or career novels, they seem to have as much to tell us about the culture and gender roles of the time period as any other writings of the period.  Not to mention that they can have an irresistible charm all their own.

As it happens, my most recent update to the Overwhelming List doesn't feature any writers who specialized in school stories.  This is because I'm still wrestling with the intimidating number of new writers I've come across in the wonderful Encyclopedia of Girls' School Stories (aka The Book) by Sue Sims and Hilary Clare and am hoping to do an update devoted entirely to them at some point in the not-too-distant future.  For my most recent update, then, I included only those authors who specialized in fiction for young people that isn't specifically school-related.  There proved to be some quite interesting ones that were new to me—including a few that I may indeed feel compelled to read.

JOSEPHINE KAMM is surely the edgiest of the authors listed here.  She pioneered the field of young adult novels, which was really only coming into its own in the 1960s when she shook things up with Young Mother (1965), her acclaimed and controversial novel about a pregnant teenager.  She had earlier published two girls' career novels, Janet Carr, Journalist (1953), and Student Almoner (1955), as well as biographies of Gertrude Bell, Fanny Burney, Emmeline Pankhurst, and two pioneers of girls' education, Frances Buss and Dorothea Beale, two histories which sound right up my alley—Hope Deferred: Girls' Education in English History (1965) and Rapiers and Battleaxes: The Women's Movement and Its Aftermath (1966)—and several works of Jewish history.  But that was all late in her career, and I find myself also drawn to her five very early novels for adults, which have the enticing titles All Quiet at Home (1936), Disorderly Caravan (1938), Nettles to My Head (1939), Peace, Perfect Peace (1947), and Come, Draw This Curtain (1948).

Fellow blogger CallMeMadam posted not too long ago about FREDA C. BOND and her post was the first time I'd come across Bond's works and made me particularly want to check out the WWII-era trilogy The End House (1943), The Lancasters at Lynford (1944), and Susan and Priscilla (1945).  Bond also wrote the later Carols series, comprised of The Holiday that Wasn't (1947), The Week before Christmas (1948), The Carols Explore (1949), and Squibs at School (1951).  Her career apparently began with a single novel for adults, The Philanthropists (1933), about which precious little information is available.

Girls' career stories are always interesting to peruse for what they say about the assumptions and priorities of their day—not to mention for some often lovely or entertaining jacket art.  In this update, I came across two more authors who specialized in career stories.  ROSAMOND BERTRAM, about whom little seems to be known, focused on journalism in her novels, while JOAN LLEWELYN OWENS, who likewise remains shrouded in some obscurity, wrote about more widely varied careers, including medicine.

Perhaps ALICE MARGARET STEVENSON could also be seen as a career story author, though since she published only a single novel, there's only one career to focus on.  Her 1920 novel Hilary: The Story of a College Girl (1920), is about a young woman at Oxford who becomes a missionary providing medical attention to Indian women.

And it's possible that BARBARA VEREKER belongs in the career category as well, though I haven't found enough information about her work to be sure.  She may have been involved in the film industry herself, as she published a history of the cinema as well as Caroline at the Film Studios (1955), which could be a career story.  But Caroline returned in three more novels which don't seem to carry on the theme—Adventure for Caroline (1956), Caroline in Scotland (1957), and Caroline in Wales (1959).

MARGARET BAINES REED was the daughter of boys' school story author Talbot Baines Reed.  Much of her work is historical fiction for children, such as The Forest Road (1923), The Foundling of Thornesford: A Story of Norman and Saxon (1926), Sir Adam's Orchard: : A Story of York and Lancaster (1926), and The Gate House: A Story of Queen Elizabeth's Days (1927), but some of her later works sound suspiciously like girls' school stories, including H.R.H. Miss Johnson (1929) and Betty Lends a Hand (1930).  What do you think?

I know little enough about MAUDE LEESON, but her early novels are apparently romances for girls, including The Fords of Hilton Langley (1913) and The Marriage of Cecilia (1914).  SYBIL HADDOCK published only five novels, including several in the Orfull series which sound intriguing.  And SYBIL BURR was already mentioned in my Mystery List for her intriguing Scottish mystery Lantern of the North/Night Train to Scotland.  But she is best known for Life with Lisa (1958), a fictional diary written by a 12-year-old girl, which was reprinted by Puffin in 1979 and adapted for Radio 4 in 2003.

That's all for this round.  Do any of these particularly strike your fancy?

ROSAMOND BERTRAM (dates unknown) More research needed; author of at least six career novels for girls, including Ann Thorne, Reporter (1939), Mary Truslove, Detective (1940), Ann Thorne Comes to America (1941), Philippa Drives On (1947), Scoop for Ann Thorne (1949), and Front Page Ann Thorne (1951).

FREDA C[ONSTANCE]. BOND (1894-1960) Novelist and author of Girls Own type tales, including a trilogy discussed here—The End House (1943), The Lancasters at Lynford (1944), and Susan and Priscilla (1945); others include The Holiday That Wasn't (1947), Squibs at School (1951), and an early adult novel, The Philanthropists (1933).

SYBIL [EDITH] BURR (1909-2002) Author of several children’s novels in the 1950s, including the intriguing Lantern of the North (1954, aka Night Train to Scotland), a mystery with a 15-year-old heroine, The Saint Bride Blue (1956), apparently also set in Scotland, and Life With Lisa (1958), dramatized for Radio 4 in 2003.

SYBIL HADDOCK (dates unknown) Author of five novels for girls, including several featuring a single character, Nancy Orfull, and her family; titles include Vera the Vet (1940), That Orfull Girl (1943), That Orfull Family (1944), Nancy Takes a Hand (1952), and Nancy Runs the Show (1958).

JOSEPHINE KAMM (1905-1989) (née Hart) Known for her pioneering young adult novels, including Young Mother (1965), about a pregnant teen, Kamm started with five adult novels—All Quiet at Home (1936), Disorderly Caravan (1938), Nettles to My Head (1939), Peace, Perfect Peace (1947), and Come, Draw This Curtain (1948).

MAUDE LEESON (dates unknown) More research needed; author of at least six novels just before and after WWI; early titles like The Fords of Hilton Langley (1913) and The Marriage of Cecilia (1914) seem to be cheerful romances for young girls, while later works like God's Price (1920) and Still Waters (1922) are more serious.

JOAN LLEWELYN OWENS (1919-????) (married name Venner) More research needed; author of both fiction and non-fiction about career choices for girls; her fiction includes Sally Grayson: Wren (1954), Margaret Becomes a Doctor (1957), A Library Life for Deborah (1957), and Diana Seton: Veterinary Student (1960).

MARGARET BAINES REED (1882-1957) Daughter of boys' school story author Talbot Baines Reed; much of her work is historical fiction for children, such as The Forest Road (1923) and Sir Adam's Orchard (1926), but some works seem like school stories, including H.R.H. Miss Johnson (1929) and Betty Lends a Hand (1930).

ALICE MARGARET STEVENSON (1875-1957) (née Adams) Scholar and author of several books on Indian culture and language, Stevenson also published a single novel, Hilary: The Story of a College Girl (1920), about a young woman at Oxford who becomes a missionary providing medical attention to Indian women.

BARBARA VEREKER (1921-1993) Journalist, playwright, and author of four girls’ stories—Caroline at the Film Studios (1955), Adventure for Caroline (1956), Caroline in Scotland (1957), and Caroline in Wales (1959)—as well as The Story of Films (1961); could she have been associated with the film industry in some way?