Blyton in front of her books

This week I thought it would be a good idea to talk about my favourite adults in Blyton’s books. As with my favourite characters post I have decided to do a top three.

1. Aunt Fanny

Now who can not love Aunt Fanny? Who else didn’t love the idea of having an aunt like her? So understanding, accommodating, and such a whiz in the kitchen alongside the wizard Joanna. She was still a lovely person, cared for her daughter, niece and nephews by letting them go away on adventure hunting holidays, while packing smashing picnics so they wouldn’t go hungry, while pacifying her stressed scientist husband. I wish my aunts lived closer and could act like this, I would have loved all the chances she gave the children and Timmy, not to mention the food. I know I keep mentioning the food, but its a proper big part of what makes up Aunt Fanny; she is stereotypically the perfect housewife, she even tries to dust off her husband when she gets a chance. I dare you not to love Aunt Fanny!

2. Mam’zelle Dupont

Malory Towers is one of the books where we have a number of adults to choose from. There’s Miss Potts, Miss Parker, Miss Peters, Miss Williams, Miss James, Miss Oakes, Miss Grayling and not to forget Mam’zelle Rougier! So many teachers with all those qualities to choose from and I decided that Mam’zelle Dupont would have to pip the others to the post. She’s funny in her reactions, mostly over the top and acted out, a lot more so than Mam’zelle Rougier who is more dignified. Mam’zelle Dupont has a good sense of humour as well, for example when Belinda draws a ‘humorous’ picture of the two Mam’zelles fighting, it is Mam’zelle Dupont who finds the pictures amusing and convinces the other French teacher to take them in humour. She definitely lightens up the book, and her ‘treek’ in book five is utterly superb! Bravo, Mam’zelle, bravo!

3. Miss Grayling

It has to be Miss Grayling for number three, the cool, level-headed headmistress of Malory Towers. She was always there in the background, marking the passage of the girls through the forms, sorting out all the silly little squabbles that take up the time of the pupils and her staff. Miss Grayling runs Malory Towers with a steadying hand, knowing how to get the best out of her staff and girls. She is the headteacher I always wanted, calm, kind considerate and never too busy to listen to the girls and their problems, like Daphne for example. Its a shame we don’t get to see more of her however, like Miss Theobald from St Clare’s who seems to be appear regularly within the story. However as an avid Malory Towers fan, Miss Grayling will always have a special place in my top three adults that Blyton wrote.

There we are then, my top three adults; this was much more of a challenging than I thought it was going to be, mostly because I had to gather the reasons I like these characters the best. Its not easy because Blyton was much more focused on the children and their adventures than the adults, but I did my best.

Why don’t you tell me about your three favourite adults? I’d love to know!

Find more favourite characters here.