Interest from Press and Media

Jane’s writings from March 15, 1993, especially extracts from her diary, reached many outlets: some negotiated, others unofficially or by chance.

The writings appeared officially in many very different publications and seemed to reach across boundaries.

Louise France interviewed the family in their home in South London and wrote up a sensitive, three-page illustrated account in the Weekend Magazine of the Mail on Sunday (1993); editor Christina Odone granted Jane’s story a full page with photographs and diary extract in The Catholic Herald   (1993);  Joanna Moorhead, editor of the magazine Catholic Life, presented a ‘First Person’ three-page spread in colour on Jane’s story called Seven Red Roses (1994), referring to the seven roses brought forward and laid on her grave by members of the Croydon Youth Theatre; John Wilkins, editor of The Tablet magazine accepted a short diary extract for its Living Faith column (1996);  Fr Brian McKevitt, O.P., published an article on Jane with diary extracts for The Irish Family (1996); Clare Campbell of The Daily Mail recorded a one-hour telephone interview focused on Jane’s life and writing which then appeared in the Mail as a double-page spread called For the love of our Jane (1999); in the same year ITN news desperately (it seemed, by the number of answer-phone messages we were not at home to respond to) wanted to do a news bulletin about the impact of Jane’s diary; Mgr Michael Sharkey requested a diary extract in his religious vocations compendium Some Definite Service – Jane’s writing appearing alongside that of Cardinal Newman, Pope John Paul 11 and St Therese of Lisieux (1996); Alan Brown, Director of the National Society’s London RE Centre (C of E) used Jane’s ‘Last Thoughts’ as a preface to his new book Spiritual Development in Schools (1997).

There was also unofficial use of the diary (we heard) on Spanish radio and local London radio in 1993.

Jane, aged seventeen.