posted on 11 May 2016

Career novels: fact or fiction?

Even as a young child I always wanted to be a teacher and so enjoyed lining up dolls and teddies, bossing them about in a very authoritarian way and telling them off with great frequency. Real teaching wasn't anything like that of course and I'm not quite sure where I got my ideas from as I remember very kind, caring and patient teachers that were much more like Roald Dahl's ' Miss Honey' than ‘ Miss Trunchbull’. I didn’t know any teachers other than the ones I met at school and I suppose that I must have imbibed other cultural stereotypes from comics, books, TV and films. Real life as a teacher had its ups and downs as with all jobs, but I mostly look back on it now with some affection because I’ve banished the many frustrations and disappointments and often repackaged them as funny anecdotes. It's interesting to reflect on how stories help to make sense of and validate past experiences in this way.

I might have taken inspiration from what my job could be from any of the career novels available in the 1960s, but I would have been completely unprepared for the realities of work. I dimly remember there being a limited selection of these books available in my convent secondary school library, but never thought to borrow any to give me a glimpse of my intended career. I was comfortable with my chosen vocation and reassured by teachers and parents that I had conveniently made an 'appropriate' choice. Over the past few years I have started to build up a personal collection of career novels which mostly rely on outlandish plots to spice them up.

Let's start with 'Rosemary takes to teaching' (1960) by Patricia Baldwin which is one of a series published by Victory Press described on the fly leaf as ' a true to life picture of various careers and training open to Christian girls'. Rosemary is an idealistic and conscientious type who loves her job and her pupils eventually also rate her pretty highly. But at first she is daunted by having to deal with a very cheeky fifteen year old girl and later agonises ‘Was it the way a Christian should have tackled Judy? And, above all, will I be able to stick it?’ Having looked more closely at this book recently, there is an awful amount of praying and as we real teachers all know ‘God can work wonders through a naughty girl if she is truly converted.’ To save you the trouble of reading it, I can reveal that the girl ends up praying with Rosemary and renouncing an interest in rock and roll in favour of the Scripture Union – very like in the real world.

Another obvious twentieth century career choice for girls was nursing and I have so far managed to acquire plenty of American ones without too much difficulty. The Cherry Ames series by Helen Wells and The Sue Barton series by Helen Dore Boylston both cover a huge range of nursing specialisms including rural nurse, private duty nurse, cruise nurse and one intriguing title that I must have: dude ranch nurse. The blurb on the back cover of the Cherry Ames books promises so much:

The one English career novel I have in my collection is Jean tours a Hospital by Doreen Swinburne and is much more down to earth and even has a helpful author’s note explaining the implications of the recent National Health on nurse training. No dangerous adventures in this one but lots of cheery hospital folk that would fit into a cosy Doctor in the House film.

I once briefly flirted with the idea of becoming an air hostess (having read about this in my ‘Bunty’ comic) but knew in my heart that I lacked the necessary glamour. The Shirley Flight series by Judith Dale and published by World Distributors (Manchester) Limited certainly presents a intimidatingly upbeat and competent heroine whose adventures include dealing with diamond smugglers. Having travelled on planes quite a lot since becoming an adult, I fear that this is not an accurate portrayal at all.

The same publishers produced the Sarah Gay, Model Girl series by Janey Scott, a career described as' exciting, cut-throat and sometimes dangerous.' Once again this is a life packed full of adventure, romance and intrigue. What young girl could resist?

But you may not be surprised to read that my favourite by far is Shirley: Young Bookseller (1956) by Valerie Baxter published by Bodley Head which offers a broader list including careers in farming, advertising, and the police. This one actually has quite an engaging plot with some authentic sounding customers and mix ups. But it is also a ridiculously romantic tale of a girl who inherits a bookshop falls in love with a rich, young handsome man. I wonder if someone working in Waterstones would recognise this world at all?

These career novels are increasingly hard to find, and some are highly collectable so I am pleased that I have stumbled on such a rich and interesting seam. Most provide an inaccurate and usually romanticised picture of the career but nevertheless represent a slice of recent social history that is fascinating. The pictures on the covers speak volumes.

Karen Argent

11th May 2016