Dorita Fairlie Bruce (1885-1970) is one of the leading authors of
school
stories for girls during the great period between the two World Wars,
mostly
remembered for her nine 'Dimsie' books, often paired with her near
contemporaries
Elinor Brent-Dyer and Elsie J. Oxenham.
I've only added new information about Clarence House, DFB' old
school, now, March 2009, but there will hopefully be more necessary
changes and additions later.
Books and series
The Dorita Fairlie Bruce Society
Dorita Fairlie Bruce Excursions
Bibliography
Who's Who in Dorita Fairlie Bruce
Flickpensionsboken
The Boarding School Story
Collection of Boarding School Stories
Links to Other Writers and Societies
Eva's Homepage
Dorothy Morris Fairlie Bruce, as was her original name, was born in Palos in Spain on May 20, 1885, as the daughter of Alexander Fairlie Bruce, a civil engineer of Scottish birth, and Katherine (Kate) Elizabeth Fairbairn. But much of her early childhood was spent in Scotland, in Blanefield among the Campsie Hills, Stirling, an area that was to feature in many of her early stories. She also had a younger brother, Alan. In about 1895 the family moved to Ealing, NW London, where Dorita was to live until 1949. At about the same time she went to boarding school at Clarence House in Roehampton, the model for Dimsie's school, the 'Jane Willard Foundation'. Many of her holidays were spent with relations in Scotland, particularly the Firth of Clyde area around Largs in Ayrshire, which was later to became her particular literary landscape. Her mother's family lived in West Kilbride, a few miles south of Largs.
Dorita'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. You may read about their genealogy at The Cadells of Grange and Cockenzie.
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' - no doubt inspired by her Spanish
connection - 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. 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" (Girl's Realm, 1914-15).
Her first known school story, "The
Rounders Match" (Girl's Realm, 1909) is set in a
school , 'St. Hilary's', vaguely reminiscent of Clarence House. The
three
early 'Jane's' stories ("The Jane-Willard Election", "The
Terra-Cotta Coat", "For Mona's Sake", 1910-18) - 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.
Apart from her writing, Dorita 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, an alternative organisation
to the Girl Guides, 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. She was for a period in the 30s
President of its West London Centre, and contributed many interesting
articles
to the Guildry magazines. History of
the
Girls'
Guildry.
Dorita Fairlie 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. 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 and
died there on September 21, 1970.
Dorita Fairlie 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 Dorita'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.
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. N.B. that the Dimsie books were not published
in the correct reading order.
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.
The six 'Springdale'
books are Dorita'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.
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. 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.
Dorita Fairlie 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. Her plots are skilfully built around the
relations
between schoolgirls of the same or different ages: friendship, rivalry
and conflicts. Teachers and lessons play a comparably smaller part.
'Outside'
adventures and mysteries are normally well incorporated in the central
plot, often inspired by her great interest in history, local legends
and
archeology.
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 Dorita 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.
All Dorita Fairlie Bruce's series of books, save the Sally books, are more or less interconnected. 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 are 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 Primula Mary 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 days.
Unlike her near contemporary Elinor Brent-Dyer, Dorita Fairlie 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.
But attractive, unabridged, paperback editions are now available from Girls Gone By Publishers, who plan to reprint all the books of Dorita Fairlie Bruce. All of the Maudsley/St. Bride's series and the first 2 Toby books, The School on the Moor and The School in the Woods, are already published. The Girls Gone By editions have well researched introductions and original illustrations and cover art.
This text was mainly based on my Ph. D. Thesis at Stockholm
University,
1993:
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
There are still several copies left for sale, so please, contact
me for information.
For links to some other interesting web sites about girls' school
stories,
see my Swedish or English main page.
More about Dorita
Books and series
Bibliography
Who's Who in Dorita Fairlie Bruce
Back to Top
Most of this information was based on my own visits to the various
sites.
A group of members of the Dorita Fairlie Bruce Society spent a week in
Largs and surroundings in 1996. Other members have made excursions to
St.
Margaret's Bay in recent years, but my only visit there was made
already
in 1984. Members have also searched for other possible sites for the
Nancy
books, in England and Scotland.
Site of Clarence House, Roehampton
The buildings and grounds of Jane's were modelled on Dorita's old
school
in SW London, on Priory Lane, south of Upper
Richmond Rd (SW15).
Clarence House was originally built c1730 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. My drawing was
based
on a photo c1912. The grounds were still fairly intact at my first
visit in 1988, with the original gates and lodge and several large
cedar trees at the bottom of the lawn.
The photos below, of the wall, gates, and drive, were taken in 1988. (cop. Eva and Astrid Löfgren)
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. Very little is left of the original features apart from parts of
the wall and some of the wood inside it.
There are a few recent photos on the Lawn Tennis
Association website, but they used to have more information about
the buildings and the grounds.
St. Margaret's Bay, 6 km W of Dover, is the
most
likely site for 'St. Elstrith's Bay'.
This used to be a popular seaside resort from the early 19th C 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.
The upper village, St. Margaret's-at-Cliffe, with it's 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.
St. Margaret's Bay
The Francis Frith Collection
with old phtos and maps from all of the British Isles
28 Inglis Rd,
Ealing, was the
home of the Bruce family according to
the 1901 Census. A short walk from Ealing Broadway Station.
27
Boileau Rd, North Ealing, was Dorita's home for many
years until
1949.
She had her study in the attic. Close to N. Ealing Underground Station.
Photo 1985, © Eva M. Löfgren
Largs and the Firth of Clyde Area is
the
central
landscape in Dorita Fairlie Bruce, 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.
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.
The Skelmorlie Aisle ('Seaward Vault'), a 17th C
mortuary chapel and
crypt,
is fascinating in itself, quite apart from its connection with Prefects
of Springdale. The three pillars on the 'Fairy Mound', erected
by Mr Boyd in A Laverock Lilting, are still to be seen
at
the back of the town, called the 'Three Sisters'. And there is a
pleasant
walk to the 'Prophet's Grave' in its shady glen.
Largs is the point of departure for the little car ferry to
Cumbrae,
and
the lovely boat trips to Arran or the Kyles of Bute, that Dorita used
to
love so much. There are several websites for this area and lovely
photos on the web, but they keep changing.
Largs
Largs for you
Largsonline
Largs
(maps)
Great Cumbrae ('Inchmore'), just
opposite
Largs, is the site of the St. Bride's books - thought Dorita might have
thought of an island further out in the Hebrides when she wrote The
Girls of St. Bride's. Unfortunately we could never find any
trace
of a large house suitable for the school. Apart from the nice little
town,
Millport, at the S end, there are very few houses on this island, but I
would recommend a drive or walk around it, and the marvellous view from
its highest point.
Little Cumbrae ('Inchbeg') is unfortunately not accessible to visitors.
West Kilbride, 10 km S. of Largs, is the 'Kirkarlie' of the Colmskirk novels and Dorita's maternal grandparents' home at Drummilling was probably the model for 'Windylands'.
Law
Castle, the 'Braidheugh', is the scene of The King's Curate,
the first Colmskirk novel. This 15th C tower house would have been the
chief attraction of the village, if it had not been too heavily
restored
in recent years, after having been a ruin since the 17th C. My photo
from
1987 (© Eva M. Löfgren) shows it as it probably looked
already
at the time of Mistress Mariner, in the early 19th C.
The history of Law
Castle and more recent photos after the restoration.
Celtic Castles
Portencross, 'Portarlie' in the
Colmskirk
books, is a similar kind of small ruined castle with a dramatical
situation
on the edge of the sea.
197Aerial
Photography
Both Francis Frith and 197Aerial Photography are great
sites for old and modern photos of the United Kingdom.
Skelmorlie,
where Dorita spent the last 21 years of her life, 1949-70, lies about 8
km N. of Largs. From her house, 'Triffeny', in Upper Skelmorlie she had
a wonderful view over the Firth of Clyde. What was her garden is now
greatly
destroyed by new smaller houses on either side.
Photo 1987, © Eva M. Löfgren