Jane Doe Collection

The collection consists of books, diaries, account books, press cuttings, letters and photographs recording the life and career of the journalist and writer Jane Doe, aka Nettie Lewis.

(Ada) Nettie Lewis, née Brockley was born in Enfield in 1891. She found fame as a journalist in the 1920s and 1930s, writing under the pseudonym Jane Doe. She was a regular columnist for the 'Daily Chronicle and Sunday News', and later wrote a Health and Beauty page for the magazine 'Woman's Own'. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the writing work dwindled and Nettie took a teaching post in Wimbledon. Following the War, she continued to teach English at St Gabriel's College, London. She died in Putney in 1979 at the age of 88.

Her publications include three collections of her columns 'Through the Glad Eyes of a Woman', 'Glad Eye Views', and 'Jane Doe Calling', and a novel 'The Enchanted Duchess'.

Before your first visit to the Special Collections Reading Room please complete a Reading Room registration form . The form is also available from the Headington Library Enquiry Desk. Internal staff and students will be asked to show their University ID card, and external applicants should bring proof of address

Applicants are bound by the Reading Room regulations .

The Reading Room is open between 1pm and 5pm, Monday to Friday, during the University semesters (dates available here ) and researchers can visit by prior appointment outside these times; Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. Please email us to arrange a visit or if you have any queries: libraryenquiries@brookes.ac.uk

A full online catalogue for the collection is available.

Collection created by Nettie Lewis during her lifetime and inherited by her daughter and then her grandsons.