Stuart Petre Brodie Mais (4 July 1885 – 21 April 1975), known publicly as S. P. B. Mais, was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was an author of travel books and guides, and had an informal style that made him popular with the general public.

Biography

Petre Mais, as he was known in his personal life,"SPB Mais", Nicholas Shakespeare, in The Best Australian Essays 2002, ed. Peter Craven, Black Inc., 2002, p. 208 was the son of Rev. John Brodie Stuart Mais, curate of St Margaret's, Ladywood, Birmingham and his wife Hannah Horden (née Tamlin). He was born at Ladywood, but raised in Tansley, Derbyshire, where his family relocated on his father's appointment as rector there in 1890.Who's Who Among Living Authors of Older Nations, vol. I 1931-1932, ed. A. Lawrence, Golden Syndicate Publishing Company, 1932, p. 267 He was educated at Denstone College, Staffordshire, then read English Literature at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

(BA 1909, MA 1913) After teaching at Rossall, Sherborne and Tonbridge, and Royal Air Force College Cranwell, he later worked for

National Press National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

at Fleet Street. A prolific author of over 200 books, he also broadcast for numerous wireless programmes for the BBC between the 1920s and 1940s. Mais was an ardent campaigner for the English countryside and traditions, leading walks for people who came for a day trip by train from big cities, often from London. Mais worked as a journalist for '' The Oxford Times'' newspaper, and also for the BBC as a radio broadcaster, most famously on the ''Kitchen Front'' radio show that aired after the morning news during World War Two. He presented ''Letter from America'' from 1933, 13 years before a similar concept was made famous by Alistair Cooke. He also presented a series on ''This Unknown Island''. One grandson is '' Evening Standard'' writer Sebastian Shakespeare, who wrote of his grandfather:

Personal life

In 1913, Mais married Doris Snow; they had two daughters: Priscilla (1916–1982) and Vivien (born 1920). After their separation (they never divorced), he had a relationship with Winifred Doughty (1905–1993), who changed her name by deed poll to Gillian ("Jill") Mais; they also had two daughters. After becoming dissatisfied with living standards in the tiny retirement home at Lindfield, Sussex that had been offered to the penniless Mais by the Samaritan Housing Association, along with Mais's refusal to marry her, Jill left Mais for a mutual friend,

Dudley Carew Dudley Charles Carew (3 July 1903 – 22 March 1981) was an English journalist, writer, poet and film critic. Life and career Carew was educated at Lancing College, where he was the best friend of Evelyn Waugh. Later in life, Waugh spurned Carew ...

, whom she married, and lived with him across the road from Mais, taking him meals."SPB Mais", Nicholas Shakespeare, in The Best Australian Essays 2002, ed. Peter Craven, Black Inc., 2002, pp. 207-208

Death

Mais died on 21 April 1975 at his retirement accommodation Lindfield, Sussex.

Bibliography

Critical works

* ''Delight in Books'' (1931) * ''A Chronicle of English Literature'' (1936)

Novels

* ''The Education of a Philanderer'' (1919) * ''Prunello'' (1924) * ''Eclipse'' (1925) * ''Perissa'' (1925) * ''Orange Street'' (1926) * ''Light over Lundy'' (1938)

Travel books

These include: * ''See England First'' (1927) * ''Do you know North Cornwall? My finest holiday'' (1927 for the Southern Railway) * ''The Cornish Riviera'' (1928 for the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

) * ''Glorious Devon'' (1928 for the Great Western Railway) * ''North Wales'' (1928 for the London Midland and Scottish Railway) * ''Sussex'' 1929 * ''It isn't far from London'' (1930) * ''Southern rambles for Londoners'' (1931 for the Southern Railway) * ''The Highlands of Britain'' (1932) * ''This unknown island'' (1932) * ''Week-ends in England'' (1933) * ''Isles of the island'' (1934) * ''England's pleasance'' (1935) * ''Lovely Britain edited'' (1935) * ''Round about England'' (1935) * ''Southern schools'' (1935 for the Southern Railway) * ''Pictorial Britain and Ireland'' (ca1936 for the Anglo-American Oil Co –

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...

) * ''England's Character'' (1936) * ''A.C.E: the

Atlantic Coast Express The ''Atlantic Coast Express'' (''ACE'') is an express passenger train in England that has operated at various times between London and seaside resorts in the South West England. It is currently operated as a summer only service by Great Weste ...

'' (1937 for the Southern Railway) * ''Britain calling'' (1938) * ''Let's get out here'' (1938 for the Southern Railway) * ''Walking in Somerset'' (1938) * ''Highways and Byways in the Welsh Marches'' (1939) * ''Hills of the South'' (1939) * ''I Return to Scotland'' (1947) * ''I Return to Switzerland'' (1948) * ''I Return to Ireland'' (1948) * ''I Return to Wales'' (1949) * ''Little England Beyond Wales'' (1949) * ''The Land of The Cinque Ports'' (illus. by Rowland Hilder) (1949) * ''The Riviera – New Look and Old'' (1950) * ''We Wander in the West'' (1950) * ''Arden and Avon'' (1951) * ''Norwegian Odyssey'' (1951) * ''The Channel Islands'' (1953) * ''Our Village Today'' (1956) * ''Majorcan Holiday'' (with Gillian Mais) (1956)

References

External links

Eugene Suggett: An 80th anniversary
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mais, Petre 1885 births 1975 deaths 20th-century English non-fiction writers English travel writers English broadcasters People from Derbyshire Dales (district) English male non-fiction writers People from Ladywood 20th-century English male writers People from Lindfield, West Sussex