Dorita Fairlie Bruce | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 May 1885 Palos, Spain |
| Died | 21 September 1970 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Other names | Dorothy Morris Fairlie Bruce |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Years active | 1905 – 1961 |
| Known for | School series which followed their protagonists through the years |
| Notable work | The Dimsie series of books |
Dorita Fairlie Bruce (20 May 1885 – 21 September 1970) was a Scottish children's author who wrote the popular Dimsie series of books published between 1921 and 1941. Her books were second in popularity only to Angela Brazil's during the 1920s and 1930s. The Dimsie books alone had sold half a million hardback copies by 1947.
Early life
Dorita Fairlie Bruce, was born as Dorothy Morris Fairlie Bruce, in Palos, Heulva, Spain, on 20 May 1885,[1] to Alexander Fairlie Bruce MICE (7 September 1857[2] – 20 January 1944),[3] a Scottish civil engineer, and Katherine (Kate) Elizabeth Fairbairn (c.1861 – 1931), the daughter of William Freebairn of Drummilling, West Kilbride, Ayreshire. Alexander was working on the Heulva waterworks in Spain at the time. [2] The early years in Spain resulted in Dorothy begin known as "Dorita".[1][note 1]
Bruce's early childhood was spent in Scotland, first at Blanefield among the Campsie Hills, Stirling, an area that was to feature in many of her early stories,[5] and then at Blairgowrie, Perthshire, where her brother Alan Cathcart Fairlie Bruce (2 March 1894 – 10 October 1927)[6][note 3] her only sibling, was born. In 1895 her father got the contract to build the Staines Reservoirs, next to what is now Heathrow Airport and the family moved south to Ealing in west London.[1]
After moving to London Bruce was sent to a boarding school at Clarence House in Roehampton, the model for Dimsie's school, the 'Jane Willard Foundation'.[1] Many of her holidays were spent with relations in Scotland, particularly the Firth of Clyde area around Largs in Ayrshire, which was later to become her particular literary landscape. Her mother's family lived in West Kilbride, a few miles south of Largs.[5][note 4]
At the time of the 1901 census, the family were living at 28 Inglis Road in Ealing. By the 1911 census the family have moved to 27 Boileau Road in Ealing, which was to remain the family home until at least 1944 when Bruce's father died there.
Bruce's paternal grandmother, Roberta Cadell, was a daughter of Robert Cadell, Sir Walter Scott's publisher, who is mentioned briefly in her historical novel, A Laverock Lilting.[5] The Cadell family genealogy is available online.[9]
Apart from her writing, Bruce seems to have led a life similar to that of many other unmarried middle-class women of her time, devoted to family duties and voluntary work. She looked after her invalid mother and later her ageing father, and helped to bring up her brother's three children after his early death. For more than 30 years, from about 1916 to the late 40s, she was engaged in the Girls' Guildry.[10] This was a uniformed girls' organisation founded in 1900 by Dr William Francis Somerville and originally associated with the Church of Scotland, but later spread over other parts of Britain and the Empire.[note 5] She was for a period in the 30s President of its West London Centre. She contributed factual articles to the Lamp of the Girls' Guildry magazine and Girls' Guildry plays a role in her Nancy series and gets a mention in her Dimsie series.[5] In July 1965 The Girls' Guildry merged the Girls' Life Brigade Service of England and the Girls Brigade of Ireland to become the Girls' Brigade.[12]
Bruce was above all, in spite of all her years in London, a Scottish writer. She often went back to Scotland for holidays, as witnessed by the detailed descriptions of the landscape in her many books set there. Not until 1949 was she free to move back to Scotland, to the big house she had bought in Upper Skelmorlie in the northern part of Ayrshire.[5] In this house with its marvellous view of the Firth of Clyde, and named 'Triffeny' after one of her own books, she spent the last 21 years of her life,[1] dying there aged 85 on 21 September 1970.[13]
Writing
Like so many other writers she started writing at an early age and is said to have won a competition for poetry at the age of six. The first time she used her pen name 'Dorita' was in small hand-written magazines. After leaving school she wrote a great number of poems and short stories in various genres for juvenile periodicals and anthologies from about 1905.[1] Most of her short stories are set in Scotland, like the 'Regiment' stories, about two children and their pets living with their grandmother in the Campsie Hills. This is also partly the setting of the long historical romance "Greenmantle" (The Girl's Realm, 1914–15).[5]
Her first known school story, "The Rounders Match" (The Girl's Realm, 1909)[14]: 121 is set in a school, 'St. Hilary's', vaguely reminiscent of Clarence House. The three early 'Jane's' short stories ("The Jane-Willard Election" (1911),[14]: 122 "The Terra-Cotta Coat", "For Mona's Sake", 1911–18) – set before the arrival of Dimsie herself – would eventually lead up to her first novel, The Senior Prefect (1921), later renamed Dimsie Goes to School.[5]
She was a pioneer in creating series of books which followed a group of girls throughout their schooldays and even beyond. Her Dimsie, Nancy and Springdale series all follow this pattern, which was widely imitated.[15]
The Colmskirk sequence, a set of nine novels for young adults, widened her scope, dealing with a group of families in the Scottish countryside around Largs from the seventeenth century to the twentieth.[5]
Books and Series
The following lists of books are based on a search[16] on the Jisc Library Hub Discover.[note 6] supported by other sources (as indicated) including Sims and Clare,[14], D. L Kirkpatrick,[19]: 130-131 R. Kirkpatrick,[20] and Abe Books.[21] The reading order shown for each series (in the Ord. column of the tables) is taken from Sim and Clare.[14]: 123-124
One feature of the different series, other than the Sally series, is that characters from one series appear in other series. Dimsie and her friends appear in the Springdale books, while Anne and Primula are the principal characters in Dimsie Carries On. They also appear briefly in Nancy at St. Bride's. One girl from Maudsley is mentioned in Dimsie Intervenes, and another is a principal character in Toby at Tibbs Cross. Characters from the Dimsie series reappear in The School on the Moor. Lastly we meet Primula Mary in the last Colmskirk book, The Bartle Bequest, as if Colmskirk were not another incarnation of the Redchurch of her own school.[5]
Dimsie
Bruce's best known books are the nine 'Dimsie' books (1921–41), seven of them set in the 'Jane Willard Foundation' ('Jane's') in Kent, the other two in Dimsie's family home, 'Twinkle Tap' on 'Loch Shee' (Gael. 'Loch of the Fairies') in Argyll. Any exact site has never been identified. Jane's is situated on the Kentish coast, most likely at St. Margaret's Bay, but the buildings are clearly modelled on Bruce's own old school, Clarence House. The school stories follow Dimsie (Daphne Isabel Maitland) from 10 year old Junior to popular head girl. The Dimsie books are famous for the 'Anti-Soppists', a group of six girls acting for the good of the school.[5]
Two of the Dimsie books, Dimsie Intervenes (1936), and the final book Dimsie Carries on (1941) were written in response to reader's requests and letters.[22]: 30
In the last book, Dimsie Carries on (1941), set during WW2, she is married to Dr Peter Gilmour, has two children and makes medicines from her own herb garden. The books were not published in the correct reading order. The Dimsie books were very popular. Half-a-million Dimsie books had been sold by 1947.[23]
| Ser. | Year | Title | Illustrator | Location | Publisher | p. | Ord. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1920 | The Senior Prefect AKA Dimsie goes to school | Walter Paget | London | OUP | 270 p. ill., 8º | 1 | [note 7] |
| 2 | 1921 | Dimsie Moves Up | Walter Paget | London | OUP | 254 p. ill., 8º | 2 | [note 8] |
| 3 | 1922 | Dimsie Moves Up Again, etc | Gertrude Demain Hammond | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 3 | [note 9] |
| 4 | 1923 | Dimsie among the Prefects, etc | Gertrude Demain Hammond | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 4 | [note 10] |
| 5 | 1924 | Dimsie Grows Up, etc | Henry Coller | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 7 | [note 11] |
| 6 | 1925 | Dimsie, Head-Girl, etc | Mary Strange Reeve | London | OUP | 280 p., 8º | 5 | [note 10] |
| 7 | 1927 | Dimsie Goes Back, etc | Mary Strange Reeve | London | OUP | viii, 277 p., 8º | 8 | |
| 8 | 1932 | The Dimsie Omnibus | London | OUP | 3 parts, 8º | [note 12] | ||
| 9 | 1933 | The New Dimsie Omnibus | London | OUP | 3 parts, 8º | [note 13] | ||
| 10 | 1937 | Dimsie Intervenes | M. D. Johnson | London | OUP | 286 p., 8º | 6 | [note 14] |
| 11 | 1942 | Dimsie carries on | W. Bryce Hamilton | London | OUP | 254 p. ill., 8º | 9 | [note 11] |
| 12 | 1985 | Dimsie Takes Charge | Wendover | Goodchild | 224 p., 8º | 10 | [note 15] |
The St. Bride's and Maudsley (Nancy) series
Her second series of school stories may be seen as two different series connected by the character of Nancy Caird. The three 'St. Bride's' books are set in an island in the 'Hebrides', more or less identical with Great Cumbrae opposite Largs. The first book, The Girls of St. Bride's (1923), actually takes place a few years before the arrival of Nancy. The five 'Maudsley' books, on the other hand, are set in a day school in a town in southern England, probably based on Farnham in Surrey, where Nancy spends a few years between her two sojourns at St. Bride's. The Maudsley books are probably the most significant manifestations of the Girls' Guildry in girls' fiction. The last Nancy book, Nancy Calls the Tune (1944) is another 'adult' sequel, about life in a small town in Scotland, probably Crieff in Perth, during the War.[5]
| Ser. | Year | Title | Illustrator | Location | Publisher | p. | Ord. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1923 | The Girls of St. Bride's, etc | Henry Coller | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 1 | |
| 2 | 1925 | That Boarding School Girl | Roy | London | OUP | 160 p., 8º | 3 | [note 10] |
| 3 | 1926 | The New Girl and Nancy, etc | Mary Strange Reeve | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 4 | [note 10] |
| 4 | 1927 | Nancy to the Rescue | London | OUP | 159 p., 8º | 5 | ||
| 5 | 1931 | The best bat in the school | D. Osborne | London | OUP | 95 p., 8º | 6 | [note 16] |
| 6 | 1933 | Nancy at St Bride's | M. D. Johnson | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 2 | [note 10] |
| 7 | 1935 | Nancy in the Sixth | M. D. Johnson | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 7 | [note 10] |
| 8 | 1937 | The Dorita Bruce Omnibus | London | OUP | 3 parts, 8º | [note 17] | ||
| 9 | 1938 | Nancy Returns to St. Bride's, etc | M. D. Johnson | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 8 | |
| 10 | 1944 | Nancy calls the Tune | Margaret Horder | London | OUP | 192 p., 8º | 9 | [note 11] |
The Springdale series
The six 'Springdale' books are Bruce's most Scottish school stories, set in the little seaside resort 'Redchurch', without a doubt modelled on Largs. But Springdale is a far larger school than 'Jane's', a more typical English public school with five, later six, different houses and a more complex prefect system. These books follow the little group of friends around Anne Willoughby and Primula Mary Beton through their schooldays, from new juniors to prefects. Anne's elder sister Peggy and some of her contemporaries are among the principal characters in the first three books.[5]
| Ser. | Year | Title | Illustrator | Location | Publisher | p. | Ord. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1928 | The New House-Captain, etc | Mary Strange Reeve | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 1 | [note 18] |
| 2 | 1930 | The Best House in the School, etc | Mary Strange Reeve | London | OUP | 287 p., 8º | 2 | [note 10] |
| 3 | 1932 | Captain of Springdale, etc | Henry Coller | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 3 | [note 10] |
| 4 | 1934 | The new house at Springdale | M. D. Johnson | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 4 | [note 10] |
| 5 | 1935 | The Springdale Omnibus | London | OUP | 3 parts, 8º | [note 19] | ||
| 6 | 1936 | Prefects at Springdale, etc | M. D. Johnson | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 5 | [note 10] |
| 7 | 1939 | Captain Anne, etc | London | OUP | 288 p., 8º | 6 | [note 10] |
The Toby and Sally series
Her last two sets of school stories are shorter, the 'Toby' books set in two very different schools, The School on the Moor on Dartmoor, and The School in the Wood in the New Forest respectively, with another 'War' sequel, Toby at Tibbs Cross.[5]
| Ser. | Year | Title | Illustrator | Location | Publisher | p. | Ord. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1931 | The School on the Moor | Mary Strange Reeve | London | OUP | 285 p., 8º | 1 | [note 10] |
| 26 | 1940 | The School in the Woods | G. M. Anson | London | OUP | 256 p., 8º | 2 | [note 20] |
| 28 | 1943 | Toby at Tibbs Cross | Margaret Horder | London | OUP | 192 p., 8º | 3 | [note 11] |
The three 'Sally' books, her very last books, turn back to Scotland, but their plots and themes are somewhat different from those of her earlier school stories. What make this series different from the other school series is that the characters are unique. All Bruce's series of books, except the Sally books, are more or less interconnected. It has been suggested that indicates that Bruce had a loyal readership who were familiar with the different series.[22]: 10
| Ser. | Year | Title | Illustrator | Location | Publisher | p. | Ord. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1956 | Sally Scatterbrain | Betty Ladler | London | Blackie & Son | 253 p., 8º | 1 | [note 21] |
| 2 | 1959 | Sally Again | Betty Ladler | London | Blackie & Son | 238 p., 8º | 2 | [note 21] |
| 3 | 1961 | Sally's Summer Term | Joan Thompson | London | Blackie & Son | 224 p., 8º | 3 | [note 21][note 22] |
The Colmskirk series
The 'Colmskirk' series is different from her school stories, nine young adult novels about a group of families living in and around Largs ('Colmskirk') and West Kilbride ('Kirkarlie') from the 17th C to post WW2 time. The first four of them are historical. This is probably the kind of novels Sylvia Drummond is supposed to write in the later Dimsie books, and Bruce evidently wanted to consider these books her more 'serious' works. They are full of references both to the history and church history of Scotland and to local traditions.[5]
| Ser. | Year | Title | Illustrator | Location | Publisher | p. | Ord. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1930 | The King's Curate | London | John Murray | 316 p, 8º | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1932 | Mistress Mariner | London | John Murray | 365 p., 8º | 2 | ||
| 3 | 1945 | A Laverock Lilting | Margaret Horder | London | OUP | 190 p., 8vo. | 3 | [note 23] |
| 4 | 1945 | Wild Goose Quest | London | Lutterworth Press | 256 p., 8º | 5 | [note 24] | |
| 5 | 1947 | The Serendipity Shop | Margaret Horder | London | OUP | 205 p., 8º | 6 | |
| 6 | 1950 | Triffeny | Margaret Horder | London | OUP | viii, 275 p. | 6 | [note 25] |
| 7 | 1952 | The Bees on Drumwhinnie | Margaret Horder | London | OUP | 273 p., 8º | 4 | [note 26] |
| 8 | 1953 | The Debatable Mound | Patricia M. Lambe | London | OUP | vii, 232 p., 8º | 8 | |
| 9 | 1955 | The Bartle Bequest | Sylvia Green | London | OUP | vii, 253 p., 8º | 9 |
Stories
- Erica the Ever-right in The Great Book of School Stories for Girls, Mrs Herbert Strang (ed.), (c.1930s), Humphrey Milford, OUP
- The School For Scandal in The Big Book Of School Stories For Girls, Mrs Herbert Strang (ed.), (1931), Humphrey Milford
- The Influence Of Anne in The Big Book For Girls, Mrs Herbert Strang (ed.), (1925), Humphrey Milford
- Captain Betsy in Happy Stories For Girls, (c. 1930s), Humphrey Milford
- The Smugglers Of Portincross in The Great Book For Girls Mrs Herbert Strang (ed.), (c. 1930s), Humphrey Milford and The Big Book For Girls Mrs Herbert Strang (ed.), (1935), Humphrey Milford
- All Fools Day in The Big Book Of School Stories For Girls Mrs Herbert Strang (ed.), (1930), Humphrey Milford
- The Monster of Loch Shee in The Oxford Annual For Girls Oxford University Press (1934)
Locations used in Bruce's books
Clarence House – Jane Willard Foundation
The buildings and grounds of Jane's were modelled on Bruce's old school in South West London, on Priory Lane, south of Upper Richmond Rd (SW15).[5]
Clarence House[note 27] was originally built c. 1730 and for a time owned by the Duke of Clarence, later William IV. The buildings were used as a girls' school from 1867 to about 1919, as a junior school for the Royal School for Daughters of Military Officers until 1885. The grounds were bought by the Bank of England and were for many years part of their sports grounds. The buildings were demolished in 1934.[5]
The site of Clarence House is now wholly changed and occupied by the new National Tennis Centre opened by the Lawn Tennis Association in 2007.[5]
St. Margaret's Bay – St Elstrith's Bay
6 km W of Dover, is the most likely site for 'St. Elstrith's Bay'.[5]
This used to be a popular seaside resort from the early 19th century to WW2, when most of the buildings in the Bay itself were destroyed. The Bay is now also more shallow after erosion of flanking cliffs, but wooden flights of stairs still climb the cliff from the beach, which is still good for swimming. There are caves visible in the white cliff, memories of their smuggling past. Many ships have been stranded here during the centuries, so the wreck featured in the Dimsie books is certainly realistic.[5]
The upper village, St Margaret's at Cliffe, with its Norman church, was still fairly old-fashioned in the 1980s. South Sands Lodge is the most likely model for 'St. Elstrith Lodge', and you may still see South Forland Lighthouse, the 'old lighthouse' of the Dimsie books.[5]
Largs and the Firth of Clyde Area
Largs and the Firth of Clyde Area is the central landscape in Bruce's work, the scene of nearly half her books. Ayrshire is known as 'Brigshire' in the Springdale books. Largs itself is a pleasant seaside resort with a beautiful view of the Firth of Clyde, The Cumbrae Islands, and, in fine weather, the distant peaks of Arran. This is the 'Redchurch' of the Springdale and St. Bride's books, and the 'Colmskirk' of the Colmskirk novels, both names obviously derived from the parish church, St. Columba's, built in 1892 by red sandstone and quite a landmark with its lofty spire.[5]
A visitor may follow the Springdale or Colmskirk characters along the streets of Largs and its surroundings. Four of the 'Springdale' houses still lie along Greenock Rd, just N of the church, though what must have been the 'Rowans' is now mostly hidden behind Nardini's Restaurant.[5]
Assessment
The Dundee Courier called Bruce "a writer who makes girlhood real in a delightful way."[26] Bruce was one of the Big Four of girls' school fiction, together with Angela Brazil, Elsie Oxenham, and Elinor Brent-Dyer. Auchmuty calls Bruce one of the Big Three, and excludes Angela Brazil.[27] Auchmurty notes that all of the big three dedicated books to each other,[28][note 28] and these authors were very successful commercially between the wars.[29]: 3
Clare notes that the interest of Bruce's school stories "depends chiefly not on romantic settings or exciting incidents (although both occur) but on the interplay of characters and the resolution of personal dilemmas within the limits of a small, clearly defined community."[1] Lofgren makes the same point, stating that "Bruce's school stories are more concentrated on the intrinsic themes offered by the (boarding) school as a small society of girls, than those by many other writers."[5]
Lofgren and Clare both praise Bruce's plotting. "Her plots are tightly constructed and her school backgrounds very real"[1] "Her plots are skilfully built around the relations between schoolgirls of the same or different ages: friendship, rivalry and conflicts. . . 'Outside' adventures and mysteries are normally well incorporated in the central plot . . ." [5]
Sims and Clare state that Bruce "was perhaps the most skilful exponent of the traditional girls’ school story of the 20s and 30s, with plots deftly exploring the narrative potential of the schoolgirl community, in particular relationships between girls of different age groups and conflicts between friendship and rivalry. Even the elements of mystery and adventure are wholly integrated into the plots."[14]: 123 Cadogan, in comparing Bruce with Angela Brazil states that "Bruce's plots and characterizations have a subtlety and an uncontrived exuberance that are lacking in many of Brazil's stories"[19]: 131 Clare states that the overall quality of Bruce's books is higher than those of Oxenham or Brent-Dryer.[1]
Cadogan calls Bruce's Dimsie, Nancy and Springdale series her most memorable books.[19]: 131 Sneddon says that these three series "include some of the best girls' school stories ever written."[30]: 18
Availability
Unlike her near contemporary Elinor Brent-Dyer, Bruce was not republished in paperback editions. The new editions of the Dimsie books in the 1980s, including a collection of short stories, are heavily updated, removing the books from their original period.
Attractive, unabridged, paperback editions of some of Bruce's books were published by Girls Gone By Publishers, but these are now (September 2020) out of print, and are only available from second-hand booksellers. The Girls Gone By editions have well researched introductions and original illustrations and cover art.
Notes
- ↑ The Spanish equivalent of Dorothy is Dorotea, and Dorita is a diminutive form of the name, or of any female name starting with Dor.[4]
- ↑ As a reserve officer, he needed formal permission to leave the UK.
- ↑ Alan joined the Royal Navy as a Midshipman on 1 January 1915. He retired from active service on 25 November 1921 and applied for a Master's Cert from the Board of Trade on 1 December 1922. The certificate was issued in 1923, and he got permission to travel to Colombo, Sri Lanka,[note 2] to take up an appointment under the colonial office.[6] He died in the Fraser Nursing home in Colombo on 10 October 1927,[7] following an operation.[8]
- ↑ The text on this archived website is largely based on Eva M. Löfgren's PhD Thesis at Stockholm University, 1993 – published as: Löfgren, Eva Margareta. "'Schoolmates of the long-ago': motifs and archetypes in Dorita Fairlie Bruce's boarding school stories", Stockholm: Symposion Graduale, 1993, (Diss., Stockholm University) (Skrifter utgivna av Svenska barnboksinstitutet. No 47) ISBN 91-7139-141-X
- ↑ In 1939, The Girls' Guildry had about 24,000 members spread over 475 companies, with 338 in Scotland, 131 in England, and 3 each in Wales and Northern Ireland.[11]
- ↑ The Jisc Library Hub Discover brings together the catalogues of 165 major UK and Irish libraries. Additional libraries are being added all the time, and the catalogue collates national, university, and research libraries.[17][18]
- ↑ Originally published as "The Senior Prefect", and then republished as Dimsie goes to School.
- ↑ Jisc suggests illustrations were by Margaret Holder, but Cadogan[19]: 130 , Kirkpatrick,[20]: 324 and the press give the illustrator as Wal Paget.[24]
- ↑ Jisc suggests illustrations were by Margaret Holder, but Cadogan,[19]: 130 and Sims and Clare,[14]: 123 gives the illustrator as Gertrude D. Hammond.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Illustrator credit from Sims and Clare.[14]: 124
- 1 2 3 4 An adult sequel
- ↑ This omnibus contains Dimsie Goes to School, Dimsie Moves Up, and Dimsie Moves Up Again.
- ↑ This omnibus contains Dimsie Among the Prefects, Dimsie Head Girl, and Dimsie Grows Up.
- ↑ Illustrator credit and publisher from Sims and Clare[14]: 124
- ↑ Collected Dimsie stories from annuals. Reissued as Dimsie and the Jane Willard Foundation by Girls Gone By in 2011.
- ↑ Publisher and page count from Abe Books.[21]
- ↑ This omnibus contains Nancy at St. Bride's, That Boarding-School Girl, and The New Girl and Nancy.
- ↑ Illustrator credit from Abe Books.[21]
- ↑ The omnibus contains The New House-Captain, The Best House in the School, and Captain of Springdale.
- ↑ Illustrator detail from Abe Books[21]
- 1 2 3 The Sally series of stories are the only school stories that are not tied into the other series through common characters, locations etc.
- ↑ Ray says that Sally's Summer Term was very much poorer than her earlier work.[25] Bruce was 76 when it was published.
- ↑ Illustrator credit and page count from Abe Books.[21]
- ↑ Publisher credit from Abe Books.[21]
- ↑ Triffeny was the name of Bruce's house on Wemyss Bay, where she spend the last twenty-one years of her life.[1]
- ↑ Fantastic Fiction gives the publication date as 1932, but Abe Books and Jisc list it as being first published in 1952.
- ↑ Not to be confused with Clarence House, the British royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London.
- ↑ The other major author of Girls' School Stories was Enid Blyton, but she only started producing them in the 1940s and early 1950s. Auchmuty's A World of Girls (1992) adds Blyton to the big three as the fourth author she reviews.[23]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Clare, Hillary (23 September 2004). "Bruce, Dorothy Morris Fairlie [Dorita Fairlie] (1885–1970)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: OUP. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/55196. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 3 September 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- 1 2 Institution of Civil Engineers. "Proposal for Membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers no 51409 for Alexander Fairlie Bruce, Dated 23 August 1882". Institution of Civil Engineer Membership Form 1818–1930. London, UK: Institution of Civil Engineers. London: Institution of Civil Engineers.
- ↑ "Wills and Probates 1858–1996: Pages for Bruce and the year of death 1944". Find a Will Service. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "Origin and meaning of Dorita". eBabyNames. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Löfgren, Eva M. (8 March 2009). "The Dorita Fairlie Bruce Homepage". Swipnet Sweden. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - 1 2 The Admiralty. "ADM 196/122/77: Name Bruce, Alan Cathcart Fairlie Date of Birth: 02 March 1894". The National Archives. Kew: National Archives. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "Wills and Probates 1858–1996: Pages for Bruce and the year of death 1927". Find a Will Service. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "Deaths". The Times (Thursday 13 October 1927): 1. 13 October 1927. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ Cadell, Ian. "Introduction". The Cadells of Grange and Cockenzie. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ↑ "The Girls' Guildry". The Girls' Brigade Scotland. Archived from the original on 15 July 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ Springhall, John (1977). "Appendix 1: Girls in Uniform". Youth, Empire and Society: British Youth Movements, 1883–1940. London: Croom Helm. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-85664-102-2. Retrieved 5 September 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
- ↑ "Girls' Life Brigade Service". Coventry Evening Telegraph (Monday 28 June 1965): 11. 28 June 1965. Retrieved 5 September 2020 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Wills and Probates 1858–1996: Pages for Bruce and the year of death 1970". Find a Will Service. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sims, Sue; Clare, Hilary (2020). The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories. Coleford, Radstock: Girls Gone By Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84745-257-3.
- ↑ Gosling, Ju (20 June 1905). "The History of Girls' School Stories". Virtual Worlds of Girls Hypertext Cluster. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ↑ "Search Results for author: Dorita Fairlie Bruce". Jisc Library Hub Discover. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ↑ "Libraries on Discover: Contributing libraries list". Library Hub Discover. 25 July 2020.
- ↑ "About Library Hub Discover". Library Hub Discover. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Cadogan, Mary (5 June 1905). "Bruce, Dorita Fairlie". In Kirkpatrick, Daniel L. (ed.). Twentieth Century Children's Writers (2nd ed.). New York: St Martin's Press. pp. 130–131. ISBN 0-312-82414-9. Retrieved 7 August 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
- 1 2 Kirkpatrick, Robert J. (2019). The Men Who Drew For Boys (And Girls): 101 Forgotten Illustrators of Children's Books: 1844-1970. London: Robert J. Kirkpatrick.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Search Results for Aouth; Dorita Fairlie Bruce". Abe Books. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- 1 2 Rosoff, Nancy G.; Spencer, Stephanie (25 February 2019). British and American School Stories, 1910–1960: Fiction, Femininity, and Friendship. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-05986-6. Retrieved 3 September 2020 – via Google Books.
- 1 2 Auchmuty, Rosemary (1992). A World of Girls. London: Women's Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-7043-4310-8. Retrieved 4 September 2020 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Christmas Books". Western Morning News (Monday 12 December 1921): 7. 12 December 1921. Retrieved 3 September 2020 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ Ray, Sheila (1996). "Types and Genres: School Stories". In Hunt, Peter; Ray, Sheila (eds.). International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. London: Routledge. p. 352. Retrieved 4 September 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
- ↑ "Books for Christmas Gifts". Dundee Courier (Thursday 01 December 1932): 10. 1 December 1932. Retrieved 18 November 2020 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ Auchmuty, Rosemary (28 June 1905). "Bruce, Dorita Fairlie". In Zipes, Jack (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Vol. I: Aamu-Duan. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 222. Retrieved 15 August 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
- ↑ Auchmuty, Rosemary (1989). "You're a Dyke, Angela! Elsie J. Oxenham and the rise and fall of the Schoolgirl Story". In Lesbian History Group (ed.). Not a passing phase : reclaiming lesbians in history 1840–1985. London: Women's Press. p. 122. Retrieved 5 September 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
- ↑ Humphrey, Judith Ann. Liberating images: A feminist analysis of the girls' school-story. PhD thesis (PDF). Milton Keynes: The Open University. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ Sneddon, Sarah J. (1 July 1998). The girls' school story : a re-reading (PhD Thesis) (PDF). Ast. Andrews: University of St. Andrews. Retrieved 3 September 2020.