Plot

Debbie had a lot of complete short stories, some of them had a theme such as the flower series and the famous names. Most didn’t have a theme, but historical settings were popular. Later there was also complete photo stories too. Some picture stories include:

Determined to Dance
Madame Greta Petrov spends an evening where one of her former pupils, Dianne Terry, is performing with the Stellar Ballet Company. In flashback, Madame Greta tells Dianne’s story. As a pupil she was a determined dancer but there was a mystery about her, particularly about her family. Madame Greta investigates and finds that Dianne is having lessons in secret because her father will not allow her to pursue ballet as her ballet star mother had died in a theatre fire. Madame Greta persuades the father to change his mind. Ironically, Dianne is now performing at the theatre where she used to work to pay for her secret lessons. (This story and an earlier story The Wild One – featuring a Madame Romanov, seem to be a prototype for the Madame Marlova series)

Some photo stories include:

Dim Days for Dawn
Dawn Wilson keeps causing problems for herself by not wearing the glasses she ought to be wearing. Then a strange incident occurs, where Dawn accidentally stops a thief, whom she mistook for a pop star because she was not wearing her glasses. She becomes a heroine, but can’t admit the truth because she would look foolish. And she missed out on all the autographs of the pop stars because she could not see them properly. She learns her lesson and starts wearing her glasses. To her surprise, the glasses bring her together with the boy she fancies.

The Missing Pages
When Catherine clears out her grandmother’s attic, she finds missing pages in a diary from when her grandmother was in service. When she asks her grandmother about it, the grandmother gets extremely upset. The ghost of a maidservant, also named Catherine, appears in the attic and tells Catherine that the missing pages refer to when her grandmother was wrongfully dismissed for stealing a brooch. She herself is the true thief, and she hid the brooch in the spine of the diary. She had not intended the grandmother to be blamed and meant to confess, but then she died. She asks Catherine to return the brooch to the big house so she can find peace. She chose to appear to Catherine because they share the same name.

Notes

• Snap-Happy Sandie (Debbie: #108)”  was reprinted and translated int Dutch as “Susan valt in de prijzen”, published in Debbie boek #2 (1977)

List of Stories

• The Wild One – Debbie: #97
• Winken, Blinken and Nod – Debbie: #108
  
• Snap-Happy Sandie – Debbie: #108
• Wendy’s Surprise Saturday – Debbie: #134  [Art: Jesus Redondo]
• Night Rider – Debbie: #135
• The Crimson Cloak – Debbie: #136
• No Place to Hide – Debbie: #137
• Determined to Dance –  Debbie:  #139
• The Forbidden Island – Debbie:  #152
• The Sad and Silent Pool – Debbie: #185
• The Escape Clinic – Debbie #246
• The Spider’s Cave – Debbie: #254 [Art: Andy Tew]
• When Frenchmen Came to Stay – Debbie: #256
• Rose the Gentle Maid – Debbie: #268
• The Seamstress and the Song – Debbie: #269
• Voyage of a Lifetime – Debbie: #270
• The Unhappy Dancers – Debbie: #274
• Gateway to Happiness – Debbie: #278
• The Little Apple Tree – Debbie: #286
• The Dancers of Osiris – Debbie: #288
• He Loves Me… – Debbie: #332
• No More Jumping for Jenny (photo) – Debbie: #354
• Forgetful Flora – Debbie: #365
• A Tale of Old London Bridge – Debbie: #368 [Art: George Martin]
• The Young Hero – Debbie: #370 [Art: George Martin]
• Jason Must Go! (photo) – Debbie: #375
• The Missing Pages (photo)-  Debbie: #376
• The Copycat (photo) – Debbie: #377
• No Trust for Cathy (photo) – Debbie: #385
• The Runaway! (photo) – Debbie: #386
• Connie’s Camera Clue (photo) – Debbie: #394
• The Glamour Girls (photo) – Debbie: #395
• Margie on the Mat (photo) – Debbie: #396
• My Dream Holiday (photo) – Debbie: #397
• “Ballets Just for Cissies” (photo) – Debbie: #398
• Margie Saves the Day (photo) – Debbie: #399
• A Bit of a Dunce… (photo) – Debbie: #411
• Strange Things in the Night (photo) – Debbie: #414
• Shes My Mum! (photo) – Debbie: #415
• The Black Eleven (photo) – Debbie: #416
• The Portrait That Smiled (photo) – Debbie: #417
• Shelley’s Swing (photo) – Debbie: #418
• The Witch’s Stone (photo) – Debbie: #419
• The Whistling Kettle (photo) – Debbie: #422
• “Teddy Bear Trouble” (photo) – Debbie: #428
• Something Old, Something New… (photo) – Debbie: #429
• Forget Me-Not… – Debbie: #430
• When Lightning Strikes! – Debbie: #431
• Dim Days for Dawn (photo)-  Debbie: #435
  
• A String of Beads (photo) –  Debbie: #436
• Buried Treasure (photo) – Debbie: #441
• Second Fiddle (photo) –  Debbie: #461
• The New Girl (photo) –  Debbie: #462
• Nobody’s Perfect (photo) –  Debbie: #463
• The Perfect Rose (photo) – Debbie: #468
• That Special Hat! – Debbie: #475
• Donna’s Rag Doll (photo) – Debbie: #500