Author Archives: Fiona

Miss Grayling’s Girls – an introduction

Posted on July 25, 2018 by Fiona

Miss Grayling is the headmistress at Malory Towers. She is ultimately responsible for all the girls at her school, down to accepting their applications to be pupils and expelling them if they cannot be kept on. She is quiet, dignified … Continue reading →

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Monday #277

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Fiona

Miss Grayling’s Girls and Blyton’s homeliest secret homes Just at that moment the old man came into the room again with a jug of water. How he stared! But, before he could do anything, the chest-of-drawers rose up in the … Continue reading →

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If you like Blyton: The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Fiona

There are five books about the Borrowers (and one short story) all written by Mary Norton between 1952 and 1982, but this post will focus mostly on the first in the series. The Borrowers (1952) The Borrowers Afield (1954) The … Continue reading →

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Top 11 Famous Five moments

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Fiona

I’ve written plenty about the Famous Five, including putting the whole series into order from my most favourite to least favourite. And now I’ve decided to list my ten favourite moments from the series. Being 21 books long I can’t … Continue reading →

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Monday #276

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Fiona

My top Famous Five moments and If you like Blyton: The Borrowers by Mary Norton Cliff Castle, from the book The Secret of Cliff Castle, is (hardly surprisingly) a castle on a cliff. Well it’s not a real castle, more a big … Continue reading →

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10 facts about Malory Towers and me

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Fiona

1. I didn’t own the full series as a child, but I’m not sure exactly what I did have. Fifth Form I had bought from the library for 20p, and Second Form I bought an Armada paperback somewhere eventually. I … Continue reading →

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Another load of search terms (#6)

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Fiona

Every time I look at our search terms there is something interesting, strange, or just completely baffling. Here’s the latest collection! (As usual all capitals are mine, and this is done is gentle jest meaning no malice to whoever is … Continue reading →

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Monday #275

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Fiona

Blyton search terms and 10 facts about Malory Towers and me I’M THE BOLD BAD GIRL! BEWARE! I BARK! I BITE! I HATE EVERYBODY! This is what is pinned to Elizabeth Allen’s back in The Naughtiest Girl in the School, as … Continue reading →

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June 2018 round up

Posted on July 7, 2018 by Fiona

WHAT I HAVE READ This was a really good month, even if you don’t count the two children’s picture books I still managed 8 books. Next month might not be so great as Outlander is an 800+ page beast of … Continue reading →

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My top 11 Adventure Series moments

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Fiona

The Adventure Series is one of Blyton’s best, and is full of exciting moments but also plenty of funny ones too. Here are my top 10, 11. It was going to be 10, as I said on Monday but as … Continue reading →

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Monday #274

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Fiona

My top ten Adventure Series moments and June round up “Ock-ock-oo.” – Mr Penruthlan Mr Penruthlan is a giant of a man but most of the time he lacks an important element of speech – his false teeth! Thus most … Continue reading →

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Summer reads

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Fiona

After a glorious May, and a bit of a cloudy June, summer seems to have arrived in earnest in Scotland. We spent an afternoon at the beach and Brodie paddled in the sea for the first time, and I started to wonder … Continue reading →

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Five On a Treasure Island

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Fiona

Five on a Treasure Island is an important book. It’s the first book of what is probably Enid Blyton’s most famous series, The Famous Five. It’s so important we have more than a dozen posts dedicated to it already, and it’s … Continue reading →

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Monday #273

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Fiona

  Five on a Treasure Island and Blyton’s Summer reads The Mystery of the Missing Man is the thirteenth Five Find Outers mystery, and involves well, a missing man! The police are after him, and therefore so is Fatty and … Continue reading →

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May 2018 round up

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Fiona

This is rather belated due to the laptop problems I had this month, but better late than never! WHAT FIONA HAS READ Not as good as last month, but not terrible! The Magic Faraway Tree (reviewed here) Mean Girls – … Continue reading →

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Philip Mannering’s animals – an essential A-Z guide

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Fiona

Philip has a magic way with animals and can tame just about anything to want to live in his pockets. He never keeps anything as banal as a cat or dog, but it would not be unusual to see a … Continue reading →

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Monday #272

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Fiona

In case you were wondering if you had missed it, we skipped Monday #271. I didn’t have my laptop and wasn’t sure when I would get it back in order for me to write and publish anything (though I’d forgotten … Continue reading →

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Blyton’s Fathers

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Fiona

A while back I wrote a post about Blyton’s mothers and then I had a sudden thought – what about Blyton’s fathers? Given that it’s Father’s Day this Sunday, it seemed like a good time to write about them. Her … Continue reading →

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Monday #270

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Fiona

My laptop is in being repaired at the moment so this week’s posts are reliant on me getting it back in time to write something! Fingers crossed. Philip Mannering’s animals and May roundup I remember a little boy called Dick … Continue reading →

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Even more search terms (#5)

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Fiona

This really is the blog idea that just keeps on giving. Every so often I browse the search terms that have led people to our blog and there’s always something interesting or amusing to see. Here’s the best of the … Continue reading →

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