Author Archives: Fiona

Enid Blyton’s short stories

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Fiona

Enid Blyton wrote a lot of short stories. I was planning to start reviewing some of them to encourage me to read more of them. But first, I thought I would just write a bit about her short stories in … Continue reading →

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Monday #308

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Fiona

Enid Blyton’s short stories and February round up “This is a real secret passage. A really proper one. Golly – isn’t it fun!” Brock says what they’re all thinking in The Secret of Cliff Castle. The Mystery of the Burnt … Continue reading →

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Five Go Off in a Caravan part 2

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Fiona

We left off on an almost literal cliffhanger at the end of my last post, with Julian and his caravan about to be pushed off the hill by Tiger Dan and Lou the acrobat. Shall we see what happens next? … Continue reading →

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My top Blyton locations

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Fiona

I had, initially, intended this to be a top ten. But knowing how they almost always turn into top elevens, example A (top Famous Five moments) and example B (Top Adventure Series moments), I missed the number out of the … Continue reading →

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Monday #307

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Fiona

My top Blyton locations and Five Go Off in a Caravan part 2 To his enormous astonishment he saw two Mr Larkins on the ground. Two faces with straggly beards and shaggy eyebrows and thick glasses looked up at him, blinking in … Continue reading →

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The Secret Series covers through the years

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Fiona

I recently looked at the different covers used for the Famous Five books and The Adventure Series. One series. Five books. Four cover artists. The Secret Series is perhaps unusual due to how many different cover artists the series had. While … Continue reading →

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Fiona

Romance is rare in Enid Blyton’s books. I can’t think of many scenes or plots that lend themselves to romance or love. There are lots of married parents, of course, but few weddings. Bill and Aunt Allie get married, of … Continue reading →

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Noddy loses his clothes, artwork by Gina Parr

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Fiona

While searching for information on who steals Noddy’s clothes in one of the books (for the latest search terms post) I stumbled upon something a bit random and surprising. Now that’s not that uncommon with the amount of stuff on … Continue reading →

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Monday #306

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Fiona

A piece of Noddy artwork and Secret Series covers The Second Form at St Clare’s is not, as the title suggests, the second book in the St Clare’s series. Rather, it is the fourth. After three books focussing on the … Continue reading →

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Five Go Off in a Caravan

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Fiona

Five Go Off in a Caravan is the fifth Famous Five book. The Five are a well-established group now and they had their first non-Kirrin adventure in the last book, Five Go to Smuggler’s Top. This time they go off in … Continue reading →

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January 2019 round up

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Fiona

What I have read I have set a new target of 100 books for 2019. I haven’t started out very well, though. I got quite a few books for my Christmas but I haven’t started any of them yet. I’m … Continue reading →

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Monday #305

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Fiona

  January round up and Five Go Off in a Caravan “Who is he, Jack? Who is the prisoner?” cried Nora impatiently. “Well,” said Jack, turning to them, “he has just spelt out on his fingers that he is Prince … Continue reading →

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This Is Enid Blyton Magazine

Posted on February 2, 2019 by Fiona

In December 2018 a new magazine came out, all about Enid Blyton. It was a one-off, as part of a This Is series of magazines each of which has a different topic. The series has been published by DC Thomson … Continue reading →

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Search terms 8

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Fiona

I like doing posts about our search terms so much here’s the 8th one for you! Good questions Can you read Famous Five in any order? > You can, as each story is complete in itself – Blyton says this … Continue reading →

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Monday #304

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Fiona

Enid Blyton search terms part 8 and This Is Enid Blyton Magazine The Rat-a-Tat Mystery is the fifth Barney mystery. This one has the children staying at Rat-a-Tat house in the middle of the country. It is even more isolated … Continue reading →

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The Adventure Series covers through the years part 2

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Fiona

Last week I wrote a great deal about the Stuart Tresilian covers for this series. In my defence there are three different covers for six of the books and two for the other two. That’s twenty-two different designs! Anyway, after … Continue reading →

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Five Go to Smuggler’s Top part 3: a focus on Uncle Quentin

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Fiona

Unlike the 70s TV series in the books Uncle Quentin doesn’t turn up at the end of every adventure (only a slight exaggeration) to resolve everything. Normally he is to be found skulking around Kirrin Cottage slamming doors and shouting when other people are noisy. I have reviewed … Continue reading →

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Monday #303

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Fiona

Five Go to Smuggler’s Top part 3: A focus on Uncle Quentin and The Adventure Series covers through the years part 2 I tell you Red Tower isn’t a place. Red Tower is a man. Jo sets Julian right in … Continue reading →

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The Adventure Series covers through the years

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Fiona

I recently looked at the covers of the Famous Five covers through the years. There were so many incarnations of the 21 books that it took two posts. The Adventure Series hasn’t been reprinted nearly so many times, so this should … Continue reading →

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2018 birthday and Christmas present round up

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Fiona

As always I got spoiled for my birthday and Christmas. Every year my nearest and dearest manage to come up with something Blyton-y to give me, so here’s what they did this year. 1. Enid Blyton t-shirt How often do … Continue reading →

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