DORITA Fairlie Bruce (1885-1970) wrote 39 books for girls. The best known is the 'Dimsie' series which follows Dimsie from her first day at boarding school until after her marriage and establishment as a herbalist in Scotland during World War 2.

Eva Lofgren has kindly rewritten this biography to rectify some earlier errors. Eva has her own DFB website; you'll find the link below.

Dorita Fairlie Bruce, inventor of that heroine of schoolgirl fiction, Daphne Isabel Maitland, 'Dimsie' to her friends, was born as Dorothy Morris Fairlie Bruce in Spain on May 20, 1885, the daughter of a civil engineer with international engagements. She spent her early childhood in her native Scotland but would later live in Ealing from about 1895 to 1949. Her own boarding school, Clarence House in Roehampton, is the model for Dimsie's school, the Jane Willard Foundation (Jane's). She regarded her school years as the happiest years of her life and probably used many autobiographical elements in her own school stories. Clarence House was closed down in 1919 and the buildings razed in 1934. Much of Dorothy's holidays were spent in Scotland, especially in Ayrshire, the district around Largs; that is the scene of so many of her books. Her younger brother, Alan, was friends with Hugo Dunkerley, younger brother of Elsie Oxenham, who was to become Dorothy's friend.

Like many other girls' authors, Dorothy started writing early, winning a poetry competition at the age of six. Her pen name, 'Dorita', was first used in a hand written magazine she edited with a friend. After leaving school she started writing poetry and short stories for various girls' annuals and anthologies, including more and more school stories about fictional schools named St Hilary's, Fearnside College and St. Agatha's. Three early stories about Jane's finally led to her first book, 'The Senior Prefect' (1921), later retitled 'Dimsie Goes to School' to bring it into line with the other 'Dimsie' books. Again, like many girls' authors, Dorita never married but devoted herself to looking after her aging parents. She was also for many years engaged in the Girls' Guildry, an organisation similar to the Girl Guides, and wrote many articles for their magazine. She went back to live in Scotland in 1949, to Skelmorlie, Ayrshire, where she died on September 21,1970 at the age of eighty five.

Jane's is situated in Kent, but most of Dorita's books are set in Scotland, not only school stories, like the 'Springdale' and 'St. Bride's' series, but also the 'Colmskirk' novels, some of which are historical. Most of her various series of books interconnect, with the exception of the very late 'Sally' books. Dorita Fairlie Bruce was (and is) regarded as one of the best writers of school stories for girls in the first half of the 20th century. She did not moralise and avoided dated slang, giving her stories a timeless appeal.

(Eva M. Löfgren, 1998)

References
A World of Girls by Rosemary Auchmuty, WP Ltd, 1992
Book & Magazine Collector  No.14 (UK)
Schoolmates of long ago: Motifs and Archetypes in Dorita Fairlie Bruce
Lofgren, Eva Margareta. Symposium Graduale, Stockholme/Stehag, 1993. (English Lang, ed)
A 'must' for all DFB collectors! E-mail Eva for details   evam.lofgren@swipnet.se

Eva has a comprehensive web site so do check it out:

Dorita Fairlie Bruce Homepage  http://home.swipnet.se/flickbok/bruce.htm

The Boarding School Story http://home.swipnet.se/flickbok/

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