The Famous Five Go to Hogwarts, Fan Fiction by Abi, chapters 1 & 2

Posted on April 24, 2013 by worldofblyton

CHAPTER ONE: THE LETTERS

It was a normal day in Kirrin. Seagulls were squawking and fishermen in boats were out on the water. Kirrin Island looked out silently over the waves as they crashed onto its beach. Julian, Dick and Anne had just arrived at Kirrin Cottage. Aunt Fanny was there to welcome them at the door.

“Hallo! How has your summer been, Julian?” said Aunt Fanny, bustling around. “I hope you behaved yourself Dick. Anne, don’t look like that, George and Timmy are in the kitchen.”

“Come on, Dick, Julian! Let’s go see George and Timmy!” Anne shouted, running into the kitchen. George was leaning against the table with Timmy at her heels. Her hair was short like a boy’s and curly. She wore boys’ shirt and shorts. If you hadn’t known she was a girl, you would think she was a boy

“Hallo! Timmy’s been eager to see you!” It was true; as soon as they walked into the kitchen, Timmy was running straight for them and it was such a shock for Anne that she fell over!

“Timmy, get off! Yes, I know it’s been a long time but it doesn’t mean you have to run at me and knock me over!” Anne said while Timmy was licking her face. Eventually, Aunt Fanny, had to scold Timmy into leaving Anne alone.

“Sorry Anne. “ George said. Before Anne could reply Joanna sent them up to their rooms to unpack. George, who had been forced to watch Anne put the many soft toys from her trunk onto her bed, was very bored. Presently there was a knock on the front door.” I’ll get it. Mother!” she shouted, running down the stairs. The postman was there.

“’Allo, George. Sorry the post is late. Sorter fell ‘sleep on the job, poor girl. Anyway, you’ve got post and there’s also post for your cousins. ‘Right? Bye!” She clutched the four letters. The handwriting was almost unreadable and she didn’t recognise it. Also, it included the bedroom they normally slept in at Kirrin. She flipped her letter over. A stamp covered the opening of the envelope. It was a crest with a large H in the middle with a lion, serpent, eagle and badger surrounding it. She tore it open, confused. It took George several times to take in what it said.

Dear Georgina Kirrin,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
From
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
 (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

But one thing was for certain. The Kirrins were going to Hogwarts.

CHAPTER TWO: UNCLE QUENTIN IS NOT PLEASED

“You’re what?!” Uncle Quentin boomed. The Kirrins were standing in Uncle Quentin’s study. They had been in there for two hours. Anne was wearing a face of terror; George, Dick and Julian were rather excited; Aunt Fanny looked rather proud and Uncle Quentin looked like a time bomb.

“Father, we’re witches,” George pointed at Anne and herself, “and Julian and Dick are wizards. It’s not abnormal.” she said, solemnly.

“Abnormal?! Everything is abnormal about magic!” he roared. “You know what I’m going to do with you, Miss Georgina Wilhelmina Kirrin! You are going out of this house! Forever! Your freak cousins, too!” After what he had said, George ran out of the room, tears of anger and shock in her sparkling blue eyes.

“Darling, darling, I think you’re over reacting. You should be proud of your daughter! Your nieces and nephews, too! Come now, do any of your fellow scientists say ‘I have a daughter who can do magic!’ No, they don’t! Now, dear, I’ve got a secret to tell you. A secret that I haven’t shared with anyone except Joanna. I was hoping that George and her cousins wouldn’t be affected through my Kirrin ancestors, but apparently they are. I am a witch, Quentin.”

It was unbelievable. Aunt Fanny, a witch? ‘I suppose it explained why she made such good cakes,’ Julian thought. He looked across the room at Uncle Quentin.

His uncle had gone quite green and his lips were quivering. Eventually Quentin whispered “I need some time to think about this. I need everyone to get out of this house. Now. Pack your bags. Don’t talk. Just get out.”

Aunt Fanny didn’t look offended or pleased. Everyone obliged. By the time Julian, Dick and Anne had walked upstairs, George had already packed. Timmy was at her heels. Apart from the sounds of Dick loudly putting his clothes and other knick knacks in his trunk, Kirrin Cottage was silent. In an hours’ time, Aunt Fanny, now quietly sobbing, and the rest of the Kirrins left the house. Anne was also sobbing into Julian’s chest while he held her hand as they walked down the road towards the beach. Aunt Fanny was taking them to the station so they could take a train somewhere that Aunt Fanny had not revealed. Dick was trying to keep everyone’s spirits up but no-one laughed.

The waves rolled mournfully onto the pale sand. Buildings were damp from the crying of the heavens above. Seagulls cried sombre tunes. The world seemed to be in pain. After the half-hour walk to the station, they arrived. Pony traps were lined up, the owners looking bored and angered because the five – no, six – did not order them to take them and their trunks.

“Aunt Fanny, why didn’t you get one of those men to bring us here?” asked Dick, pointing to the pony traps. This was the first time someone had spoken directly to her since Uncle Quentin’s speech because they were afraid that she would zap them with the wooden wand sticking out of her skirt pocket.

“Because Uncle… because Uncle… he cut the telephone wire.” she replied, stuttering slightly. It looked like she couldn’t say Uncle Quentin because it would upset her so. Before anyone could chip in, she said “now, let’s get into the station. The train will be leaving soon.” Silently, they walked onto the platform. The well-built and kind porter was standing by the wall next to the entrance. Aunt Fanny walked over to him.

“What destination, ma’am?” he asked. Aunt Fanny mumbled something but Dick, who was closest to her, couldn’t hear. Then, she showed her wand to the porter. “Ebony, 11-and-a-half inches, unicorn hair. You must be Fanny Georgina Kirrin. Train arriving in one minute,” he said. Gripping her wand firmly, she bustled over to a plain brick wall. To everyone’s utter surprise, she started tapping random bricks. Then something happened, something more thrilling than anything they had seen before.

The wall shifted apart to make a narrow archway. Nobody around them seemed to notice what had happened. Julian pinched himself. It was unreal. A wall had opened and revealed another train platform. But that shouldn’t be there. Outside, where the other side of the wall was, bushes were normally surrounding it. A deep purple train could just be seen pulling into the mysterious platform. “Well don’t hang around children. This way, on to the train,” said Aunt Fanny.  Slowly and cautiously, they made their way through the archway. Aunt Fanny was ushering them into a carriage, full of sleeping people. Anne saw a sign on the side of the train. It read: The Knight Train.

Continued in chapter three

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Spring into Monday

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Fiona

It would seem that spring has sprung at last! We’ve had some sunshine (and rain, and wind but that’s not important) the birds are out and chirping all day long, the daffodils and crocuses are out and we’re starting to see the wildlife waking up.

Mr Frog
Daffodils
Frogspawn
Crocus?

I now need to look out any nature books I have by Blyton to read about frogs and tadpoles. I hope when I go back soon I will see some tadpoles and then see them developing into frogs!

Anyway, on to blog matters! This week we are going to have the first two chapters of a new fan fiction, Five Go to Hogwarts by Abi. As you might have guessed this is a Famous Five and Harry Potter crossover, so to read about Aunt Fanny with a wand you’ll have to come back to the blog on Wednesday.

From me this week is a post about influenza. That may not sound very Blyton-y to you, but it’s the first of a few  posts about illnesses featuring in Enid Blyton books. From Stef, a surprise this week. I’ve no idea what she’s got up her sleeve!

And that’s all the news from the blog this week, hope you enjoy what we post this week.

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Who’s Who in Enid Blyton by Eva Rice, a (quite critical) review 2: School Stories

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Fiona

As you may remember I was fairly unimpressed with the first section of the book – Adventure Stories. My main issue was how some series had every conceivable character mentioned, while other series barely got two pages, as well as noticing several small errors and omissions.

Before I get myself all worked up again, let’s move on to the second part of the book.

SCHOOL STORIES

St Clare’s
Malory Towers
The Naughtiest Girl in the School

The only other potential book for this section would be Mischief at St Rollo’s (originally published under the pseudonym Mary Pollock.) I’ve no issue with that title not being featured, it’s not particularly well-known.

ST CLARE’S

St Clare's by W. Lindsay Cable

St Clare’s by W. Lindsay Cable

I’ve only read the St Clare’s series once, so although I remember the general plots and most of the main characters, this could be a good opportunity for the book to remind me of what I’ve forgotten.

On reading the St Clare’s section it is obvious the author is very knowledgeable about the series and the characters. We not only get a description of their personalities – but we get several examples of their behaviour and escapades too. More minor characters get described much like in the Famous Five section, though there are not nearly so many. Also good are some of the parallels, coincidences and patterns noted – such as the various Blyton characters called Pamela.

Over all I think the St Clare’s section is really very good, and it shows how good the whole book could potentially have been (unfortunately this also makes the poor sections look even poorer by comparison.) I found the majority of the St Clare’s section very interesting, and found it all a very good reminder of the characters and the major plots in the series. 

Unfortunately Rice gets rather carried away with some of her ideas. She speculates that Carlotta Brown of St Clare’s is also Lotta (from the circus the school girls see in the first book) who appears in Mr Pink-Whistle and the Circus along with her horse Black Beauty, as well as Jimmy and Lucky. That clearly makes her the Lotta we know from the Galliano’s Circus books though Rice doesn’t make that connection. We know Lotta’s parents (Lal and Laddo) are both circus performers with Galliano’s Circus whereas it’s said that Carlotta’s father is a gentleman who ran off and married a gypsy.

Rice also asks “was Blyton writing about the same circus every time she referred to one?” To which the obvious answer is no. I can think of at least five circuses in other books (The Circus of Adventure, Five Are Together Again, Three Boys and a Circus, Come to the Circus!,  Boys’ and Girls’ Circus Book [reissued as Enid Blyton’s Circus book]) and none of them are about Galliano’s Circus. This is another example of a lack of knowledge about other series that spoils large sections of this book.

Another odd conclusion drawn is that Blyon’s ‘most unpleasant’ characters often have names beginning with E. The examples given are Elsie Fanshaw, Eileen Paterson and Erica. I’m not sure three counts as often (though if you add Edgar Stick perhaps you have a slightly stronger case.) I would say PC Goon is very unpleasant, as are many other characters whose names do not begin with E.

Likewise, we are told that “all of Blyton’s slightly wild and sharp-tongued characters have older brothers who encourage them in their mischief.” This seems based  purely on Janet Robins and Alicia Johns. I’d say Jo from the Famous Five is sharp-tongued and slightly wild, as are Carlotta Brown from St Clare’s, Elizabeth Allen from The Naughtiest Girl and Lotta from Galliano’s Circus. None of these girls are known to have brothers older or otherwise.

The only omission I could identify in this section is the inclusion of Mr and Mrs Ray, the parents of pupil Felicity Ray who doesn’t get a section herself (perhaps worse is that a ‘Specialist from London’ who comes to see Felicity has his own section too.)

MALORY TOWERS

Malory Towers by Stanley Lloyd

Malory Towers by Stanley Lloyd

I’ve read the Malory Towers books several times so I know them much better than the St Clare’s stories.

The first problem I can see is in the introduction of this section. Rice states that Miss Grayling gets the best out of the girls that attend the school, and the girls flourish in the Cornish air etc. That’s all fine, and she says there are exceptions to this – you’d imagine she means Gwendoline Lacey, or Josephine Jones perhaps  – but no, she lists Prudence Arnold and Eileen Patterson… girls from St Clare’s. Well, of course those two don’t do well at a school they’ve never attended. Also, Eileen’s surname has gained an extra T here, it was Paterson in the St Clare’s section.

Like the St Clare’s section, this one shows Rice does know a lot about the series and its characters, and again we see good descriptions of characters and events.

However, there is one rather large omission. Belinda Morris doesn’t have her own section. In fact, she only gets mentioned in passing twice: as the girl who did sketches of the two Mam’zelles at war with each other, and the girl who picked up Georgina Thomas’ suitcase.  What’s worse is she’s named as Belinda Green both times – Belinda Green is a girl from Whyteleaf – the school of Elizabeth Allen, aka the Naughtiest Girl. Belinda Morris is a wonderful character – one of my favourites in the series. She’s as scatterbrained as her best friend Irene, and as talented at art as Irene is at music. She has a magnificent collection of scowls that she has drawn – most of which are provided by Gwendoline. I can’t understand why she’s not covered, she’s at Malory Towers from the second form right to the end.

There’s also a smaller mistake – Rice describes Darrell’s involvement in the invisible chalk trick but she says that Darrell chalks ‘OY’ on to Mr Young’s piano seat. That’s wrong, as it was Alicia who put the chalk on his seat (and it didn’t spell anything) while Darrell later chalked the OY onto Mam’zelle Dupont’s seat.

I feel that a distinction should have been made by Rice when discussing Jo’s theft of money from Matron. It’s said in Jo’s father’s section that Jo is caught stealing money from Matron. In the strictest sense, yes that is true. However, Jo was actually just trying to take back the three pound-notes Matron had confiscated from her, and accidentally took too many notes. Jo needed the money to fund her foolish plan to run away from the school with Deirdre from the first form. I don’t excuse Jo’s behaviour – she should have handed in her money to Matron in the first place, so Matron was quite right to confiscate it – but the situation isn’t quite as black-and-white or evil-sounding as it may sound from the description in this book.

I’m deliberating over whether there’s a grammatical error when Rice describes Jo Jones’ parents as “nouveaux riches,” which is the plural of “nouveau riche” (literally meaning ‘new rich’.) I’d use the singular “nouveau riche” as we’re talking about a single pair, a family unit, rather than a group of different newly rich people, but I will concede that some style guides might advocate Rice’s of the phrase.

THE NAUGHTIEST GIRL IN THE SCHOOL

The Naughtiest Girl by W. Lindsay Cable

The Naughtiest Girl by W. Lindsay Cable

The Naughtiest Girl is another series I’ve read several times, so I am fairly confident in my knowledge here.

This section starts off in a manner inconsistent to all the others so far – it doesn’t have a general paragraph of introduction, instead we jump straight into Allen, Elizabeth.

Rice states that the twelve monitors are present at the school’s weekly meeting and make decisions and answer requests in much the same way that teachers would in Blyton’s other school stories. I’m not sure that’s quite an accurate description of the monitors’ role. They do attend the meetings, and sit at the front, rather like a jury. However, it it William and Rita, the head boy and girl, who make the decisions and answer the requests. They do ask the opinions of the monitors often though, as they will often know the child/ren in question personally or have witnessed events relevant to the issue discussed.

Apart from those small issues, the Naughtiest Girl section of the book is generally good. It is similar to the two other school sections, in that it describes the characters and their behaviours, actions and friendships.

Overall the school section of the book is much better than the adventure one. It still has its inconsistencies, mistakes and omissions, but not as many as the previous section did. The style is also slightly different in this section, the characters are described with more context surrounding them which helps.

Who’s Who in Blyton’s School Stories could be a strong book on its own, if some of the silly assumptions were removed, two or three details were corrected and poor Belinda Morris added properly.

Next up: Who’s Who in Enid Blyton part 3: Toys and Enchantment

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April Flowers

Posted on April 19, 2013 by pippastef

I suspect that this year the flowers may be a little late in blooming, with the cold weather and so many snow flurries so late in the year.

So let’s see if you can spot any of these beautiful flowers as the weather gets steadily warmer.

Blyton didn’t precede her April Flowers, from the Nature Lover’s Book, with a little note for April so we’re just going to dive right into the flowers!

April Flowers

Marsh marigold: This big buttercup-shaped flower can be found in any damp or marshy place by the hundred. Its big golden blossoms are lovely to see. Notice how glossy the petals are, and what a big bunch of stamens there is. In the centre you will see the green seed-vessels. The stalks are thick and hollow. The leaves are heart-shaped, very smooth and glossy.

Marsh Marigold.

Marsh marigold.

Germander speedwell: The banks are blue with this brilliant-eyed speedwell in April. Look at the four-petalled flowers, very bright blue, and notice the tiny white centre that looks like an eye. The leaves are dark green and hairy. They are oval in shape, and toothed round the edge. They grow opposite one another and have no stalks.

Germander Speedwell.

Germander speedwell.

White dead-nettle: This is a very well-known flower, and should not be mistaken for the stinging-nettle. Look at the snowy-white circle of lipped flowers round the square stem. Notice how the top lip bends over like a little hood. Look for the four stamens in the hood. Notice how prettily the lower lip is fringed. The leaves are rather like those of the stinging nettle in shape, but paler green.

White Dead Nettle

White dead-nettle

Common arum, wake-robin, cuckoo-pint, or lords and ladies: This strange plant is very easy to known for it has a poker-like tongue rising in the centre of a green sheath. The tongue may be dark or light. The sheath is like a monk’s cowl. Below the “poker” or tongue are the stamens and seed-vessels, which can only be seen by tearing away the sheath. The leaves are large and glossy, arrow-shaped and marked with purple  blotches. Look for the spike of brilliant berries in the autumn, when the arum ripens its seeds.

Common Arum

Common arum

Greater stitchwort: This pretty white flower, with its five notched petals, grows along the hedges everywhere in spring. Its white head hangs from a thread-like stalk, and this stitch or thread like stem gives the flower its name. The stem of the plant is weak, and both it and the leaves are bristly. The leaves are rather like blades of grass.

Greater Stitchwort

Greater stitchwort

Lady’s smock, cuckoo flower, or milkmaid: The flowers of this pretty little plant are pale lilac, the colour of old-fashioned smocks. (Sometimes you may find them with white flowers.) Look at the four-petalled flowers growing in a cluster at the end of a stout stalk. Notice that the lady’s smock has two different kinds of leaves – the lower ones are cut open into leaflets, the upper ones are long and narrow.

Cardamine pratensis (Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock)

Cardamine pratensis (cuckoo flower or lady’s smock)

Jack-by-the-hedge, or garlic mustard: This flower may be easily found growing in the hedgerows. It has clusters of small, white, four-petalled flowers at the top of its tall stem. The large leaves are heart-shaped, and if you crush them, they smell of garlic.

Garlic Mustard

Garlic mustard

Wood sorrel: This is a dainty, delicate-looking plant, with large, white, pink-tinged flowers. The four petals show very fine veins. Look for the wood sorrel in damp woods. Notice the beautiful leaves, shaped rather like clover leaves. The three leaflets are pink-stalked. The upper-surface is pale green, and the under is pale pink. The wood sorrel has a pretty habit of placing its leaflet back to back in bad weather.

Wood-Sorrel

Wood sorrel

Dove’s foot crane’s bill: This little plant may be found on banks by the wayside, its small, pinkish-purple flowers looking up at us as we pass. The pink flowers have five petals which are notched. Notice what happens when the pink petals fall off. The leaves are soft and downy, rounded in shape, and covered with fine hairs. Notice that each leaf is divided into seven parts.

Dove's Foot Crane's- Bill

Dove’s foot crane’s bill

That concludes the April flowers. In between the April showers, why don’t you see if you can find any of the flowers?

Given the weather it might be worth checking for March’s flowers as well! Happy Hunting!

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Find-Outers in Retirement by Julie

Posted on April 17, 2013 by worldofblyton

After reading through the complete Mystery Series for the umpteenth time I suddenly started to wonder what they would all be doing now, at this moment in time.  That was in the year 2008.  I quickly did some calculations of their ages by the information Enid had given in her books.  Fatty was twelve in the first book, and the year of publication was 1943, so that would put him as being born in 1931.  So that’s when it all began for me in that year of 2008.  Fatty would have been seventy-seven, if he were a real person, and retired. So what if I brought them to life as they would be today, all retired, and still being the Find-Outers?

I set about writing the stories of Fatty and Co in retirement, which for me, kept them alive and I would lose myself in the stories I created for them all.

As any Find-Outer fan knows, Fatty always wanted to be the best detective in the world, and wanted to be as good as his hero – Sherlock Holmes.  So inevitably in my stories he’d joined the police force and on retiring had reached the position of Police Commander.  Bets having always admired Fatty as  a child became his wife and over the years they’d had not only two sons, who joined their father in the police force, but they’d also owned a few black Scottie dogs and named them all Buster.

In the first story I wrote – Returning to Peterswood – I had Fatty walking around the village of his childhood with his present dog, Buster, stopping outside the various houses which brought back his childhood memories.  The Red House where Pip and Bets used to live, Larry and Daisy’s house, and the police house where Mr. Goon had lived but was now a private residence. And of course his own house – the White House – which was being refurbished ready for he and his wife Bets to move into as they’d decided to move back to the village of their childhood.

After his nostalgic walk around the village, Fatty goes to meet Bets who is sitting in the garden of Daisy’s cottage having tea.  Daisy wasn’t married at that time, but she would be later in the series of stories. In fact, surrounding Daisy and her husband would be a rather complex series of events, all explained in a couple of the stories, one entitled – Peterswood Players – and the other one – Find-Outers Head Westward.  In the latter story not only do they discover the background of Daisy’s husband but they also run into Ern Goon, who they thought was deceased!  So here we have another intriguing plot surrounding Ern!

Back in Daisy’s garden, Pip and Larry join them shortly after Fatty’s arrival. Pip being a retired school teacher and living in Burnham Beeches and Larry being a retired solicitor in the city, but soon to return to Peterswood also.

At this stage of the first story, I hadn’t really thought about writing any further stories but once Keith had put that very first one on his website – Enidblyton.net – I then got quite a few responses back asking for me to write more, which of course I did.

I then set about trying to add a bit of mystery and intrigue into the stories and brought back some of the characters they’d known from childhood.  Here I had quite a bit of working out to do, as we were now in present times, and ages etc had to be worked out along with Enid’s information from the original books.

A few characters they once again met with were – Inspector Jenks and Hilary, his God-daughter, who had her own mystery surrounding her. Not only had she been married and divorced, having had a family with her husband, but years before meeting him she had a child out-of-wedlock,  Alison. Alison’s daughter, Lisa, is involved in a few of the stories helping to solve the mysteries with Fatty and Co.

Eunice makes an appearance as an author in Author of Mystery as she too holds a secret which Fatty uncovers.  We also meet Mr. Goon’s son, who turns out to be a threat to Fatty, and the reasons for this are told in the story of Just An Ordinary Sunday Afternoon.

In the very end story, which is in two parts, not only do the Find-Outers take a holiday away in Derbyshire, but another plot of intrigue unfolds. Fatty learns much to his annoyance that he has been used by Ern Goon’s ex employer, in the shape of M15, which puts Fatty and the lives of the other Find-Outers at risk.

Here I ended my group of stories which loosely follow on from number 1 right through to number 16.  I have contemplated writing just one more short story, as this year of 2013 will be The Find-Outers 70th Anniversary, but as yet I haven’t really decided as I always feel that it is best to end on a good story, rather than to keep writing, only to end up with a story that doesn’t quite reach the readers expectations.

Enid always tried to respond to her readers’ letters, of wanting more and more, and some of her later books at the end of certain series never quite lived up to the rest of the books.  I’m referring here to what I think is the weakest of the FFOs The Mystery of Banshee Towers, and for the Famous Five  Five Are Together Again.

Before I close, I would just like to add that in 2010/11, the first 13 of these stories were stolen by a ‘man of the cloth’ named, M.E. Rosson, who took them from Keith’s website and put them into a self-published book of his own entitled The Return of the Five Find-Outers.  He copied all my work, word for word, and only changed the titles, giving them chapter headings.  Here are a few brief words from the acknowledgements of his self-published book:

I have enjoyed the works of Enid Blyton as a child and later as an adult.  I was convinced that I could re-create the atmosphere of her works… I hope you enjoy my attempts…

Of course everyone hopefully now knows that those stories are all my own work and not his!  At the end of the final ‘stolen story’ he adds his own work of 11 lines, which are a big mistake.  He had Fatty die in his sleep!

The Return of the Five Find Outers, as not written by M. E. Rosson

The Return of the Five Find Outers, as not written by M. E. Rosson

Big mistake, as these characters are not his or mine to kill off.  They are Enid Blyton’s characters, and as Enid is no longer with us to make that decision, then these characters will live on and on, thankfully, as it should be. AMEN.

Copyright Julie Heginbotham

To read all of Julie’s wonderful stories just click here

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Musing of a Monday

Posted on April 15, 2013 by pippastef

We’re in the middle of April already, and the blog is approaching its six month birthday. And we’ll be approaching it with over 13,000 views to boot.

Last week we had Poppy’s blog on The Mystery of the Missing Necklace, My Fanfiction part six where George’s strop puts strain on the Five’s friendships, and Fiona treated to you her holiday pictures and how every part of her holiday reminded her of Blyton.

I suppose that you’ll want to know what’s going up this week on World of Blyton. We will have a very special contributor’s blog about the Five Find Outers – from our very own Julie. I don’t know what Fiona might give you, possibly the next instalment of her Eva Rice’s Who’s Who Review.

And from me April Flowers is ready and raring to go, with flowers that you’re supposed to be going out to find. With the weather being what it has been, I somehow doubt if you’ll be able to see them, but good luck in hunting for them.

On to other business, I mentioned last time the Enid Blyton Society are having a day out in Beckenham in June to look around Blyton’s old stomping grounds. You can check out all the details here. Why not email Tony Summerfield and add your name to the list?

They’re a nice bunch!

So I think that is all the news from me.  Enjoy!

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How every part of my holiday reminded me of Blyton

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Fiona

As I think I’ve mentioned a least a couple of times recently, I was on holiday last week. I didn’t go anywhere exotic, instead I stayed a couple of miles outside a small town (Grantown-on-Spey) in the Cairngorms National Park.

Where I was on holiday

Where I was on holiday

Being a Blyton (oh how to describe myself) geek? aficionado? obsessive? I can usually relate any given topic back to Blyton and whenever I’m out in rural areas I can identify a good camping spot for the Famous Five.

The week was full of little Blyton-y moments (some you have to squint at to make them out more than others.)

1. The water for our cottage was pumped directly from a spring just across the road. Unfortunately it was not “crystal clear,” instead sort of “peaty-brown” though it was icy-cold!

2. I went looking for secret passages in a ruined castle. Ok, I failed, but still, I looked. I think my shortcoming might have been picking Urquhart Castle, which is maintained by Historic Scotland, where all the interesting bits are fenced off… and there are several staff and about another hundred tourists all milling about. That sort of thing didn’t stop the Five in Five Have a Wonderful Time though, so I’m always hopeful.

Too many people around to find any secret passages

Too many people around to find any secret passages

I also looked for them at Ruthven Barracks – which was practically deserted and unstaffed, but again there were bars preventing access to some of it… and unless I’d spotted a potential hostage I didn’t really have a good enough excuse to go clambering about against the rules.

The barred-off section of the ruins

The barred-off section of the ruins

3. I also went looking for a cave – and found it. It was more of a gap in the rocks, though, so no real adventure was had. It is named after Lewis Gordon, 3rd Marquis of Huntly, who hid there for a time in the early 1640s, because he was a Royalist loyal to the king Charles I.  While there he was looked after by Mary, the daughter of Sir John Grant of Freuchie, who he later married. (History from ambaile.org.uk)

Huntly's Cave

Huntly’s Cave

4. I had several picnics when I was away, and I even used the famous line food always tastes much nicer when it’s eaten out of doors on a few occasions. My other half, needless to say, did not get the reference.

5. I explored around a couple of lochs and was terribly tempted to dip my toes into them as they looked lovely. I didn’t though, as the layers of ice in places hinted that the water may not have been as warm as it looked. I think even the Five would have given bathing a miss.

Loch Garten, still a bit frozen on day, but oh so tempting a few days later.

Loch Garten, still a bit frozen one day, but oh so tempting a few days later.

6. I found time to go book shopping, and found myself a nice Enid Blyton book Humpty Dumpty and Belinda to take home. There were a few other Blytons at Leakey’s Bookshop (the largest second hand bookshop in Scotland) but I had them all. Humpty Dumpty and Belinda is an unusual story featuring colour photographs, and blending well known nursery rhyme characters with a brand new story. I will hopefully review it for the blog soon.

Humpty Dumpty and Belinda, 1949

Humpty Dumpty and Belinda, 1949

7. Ewan (my boyfriend) drank lashings and lashings of ginger-beer while we were away (I’m not joking, he must have gone through nearly five litres of the stuff) though it was fiery Jamaican ginger-beer, a variety I’m not sure the Five would have been familiar with.

8. We did a spot of bird watching, much like the Five sometimes did, except without field-glasses (what Blyton often calls them, rather than binoculars) we were reduced to squinting at the sky and saying “It’s…big! Very big…and it’s black-ish-brown-y… it’s a…. buzzard?” We enjoyed it anyway! If we’d had field-glasses, of course, we might have spotted a kidnapped scientist at a window or some other nefarious situation. I did watch a ‘suspicious’ man in the woods through some field-glasses (ones chained to a window-ledge in a bird-hide) but it turned out he was an RSPB staff member getting something out of a shed.

What a buzzard in the distance looks like without field-glasses

What a buzzard in the distance looks like without field-glasses

9. There were gnomes in our garden. Real, live gnomes, I kid you not*.

*I’m totally kidding, they were statuettes or at least they were in the day-time…

The gnomes

The gnomes

10. Just as Blyton promises, the countryside is full of animals. We saw sheep and lambs, pheasants, robins, blue tits, goldfinches, deer, and rabbits.

Pheasant

Pheasant

Lambs

Lambs

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I think those are all of my Blyton-y holiday moments. Anything else would be really stretching it. Do you relate everything you see and do to Blyton?

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Julian’s News, chapter 5

Posted on April 12, 2013 by pippastef

Part five of my fan fiction seemed to slowly sink into the depths of the internet with a woeful glugging sound. For those of you who liked the piece, I present you with part six.

The other parts can be seen here:
Prequel – The way you make me feel
Part One –  Telling Dick
Part Two – Back at Kirrin
Part Three – The first day
Part Four – George

Enjoy.

GEORGE AGAIN

“Where’s George?” Dick asked as Julian took off his coat.

“Sitting on the beach, ignoring me,” Julian said, hanging his scarf up with his coat.

Dick folded his arms and watched Julian closely for a moment, while Anne looked on concerned. For a moment the three siblings looked at each other, each knowing that there was not a lot that would shift George from a sulk.

“Maybe you should have told us all together,” Dick said after a moment, voicing the shared thought of the three siblings.

Julian fixed his brother with an angry look but didn’t say anything as Anne cut in. She disliked that George had already lost her temper today, and she was determined that her brothers were not going to fall out.

Continue reading →

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Poppy’s Book of the Month: The Mystery of the Missing Necklace

Posted on April 10, 2013 by worldofblyton

By Poppy Hutchinson

Title: The Mystery of the Missing Necklace
Series: The Mystery Series
Main Characters: Fatty, Larry, Pip, Bets, Daisy & Buster
Published: 1945
First Published By: Methuen
Rating (Out of 5): 5

Possibly the best and positively my favourite of the mystery series, The Mystery of the Missing Necklace is a humorous mystery which the five are ready to solve. Peterswood is a lively place, this summer, as there are lots of shows going on including a hoopla game, a waxworks and a roundabout. The book begins by the children arriving home, Fatty full of compliments for himself – and a different voice! He announces to everyone that he can now disguise himself as an adult, because he has a grown-up voice. Poor little Bets is not too sure about the ‘new Fatty’ at first but when she hears there will be more disguising going on, she soon cheers up! Fatty’s first ‘grown-up disguise’ is as an old, frail, croaky balloon seller woman. He takes the Find-Outers in nicely, but crafty little Bets recognises Fatty because of his beautifully clean finger nails. She feels suspicious of the balloon seller at once, for she apparently has very dirty hands. She looks closely into his eyes and sees through the disguise at once!

Meanwhile, Mr Goon is on the trail of something, as the children find out as they see him rushing back and forth. The children think that perhaps he could be solving the ‘jewel burglaries’ which had been all over the newspapers recently, but nothing in Peterswood, however it is believed that perhaps the little busy village could be the meeting place. Later on in the book, thanks to another of Fatty’s disguises, the children get their hands on a message, which at first appears only to be an old grocery list. Of course after a few training sessions from Fatty in the third book the Find Outers know better and immediately examine the scrap of paper for invisible ink. From this they uncover the message: Tell Number three, Waxworks, 9pm, Tuesday. From Number 5. Preparations begin for Fatty to dress himself up as Napoleon so he will blend in with the other waxworks, and also for a very exciting night! Pick up this exciting book and see what happens next…

I gave this book a 5 because it is definitely my favourite Find-Outers book so far! I would recommend this book to boys and girls of 10 years and over, which is a perfect age for such a brilliant read! I hope you’ve all enjoyed my sixth review! I’ll be back next month with another book. So long, until then!

First edition dust jacket, by Jospeh Abbey

First edition dust jacket, by Jospeh Abbey

Image from the Cave of Books
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Monday Musings

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Fiona

Well, it’s Monday again. I hope everyone enjoyed the long Easter weekend, and that the weather was nice where you were (it was beautifully sunny but still a bit chilly for me.)

Not long after Stef posted last week’s Monday message we reached 12,000 views and right now we’re at 12,500.

Coming up this week on the blog will be Poppy’s book of the month (you’ll have to wait until Wednesday to find out what she’s chosen), some ramblings from me about the Blyton-y things I got up to on my holiday, and from Stef it will possibly be the next part of her fan fiction about Julian and Sally.

And I think that’s all I have to say for this week.

I will just leave you with a little taster of what will be in my post this week – a few photos from my holiday.

Huntly’s Cave
East Lodge of Castle Grant
Monkeys
Children’s books
Urquhart Castle
Ruthven Barracks
Carrbridge
Loch Morlich
Falls of Bruar
Loch Garten

Ooh, and I forgot to say that you can follow us via bloglovin now. I’m using it to keep up with my favourite blogs, and it saves me going to each of them daily to check for updates.

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Stef’s spring reads

Posted on April 7, 2013 by pippastef

I keep waking up in the morning wondering if today will be the day where the weather breaks from winter cold to the tentative glories of spring, so far, no luck. In fact at work I have recently completed a display of bright and cheerful books and poster for “Spring Reads” trying to bring some brightness into people’s lives.

This display prompted me to wonder about the books Blyton wrote that have a spring setting, in an attempt to try and bring some hope and colour into this extended winter (because let’s face it, by now we should have put away the snow boots and heavy duty coats and knitwear.)

Let’s get cracking shall we?

  1. My first book on this list has to be Five on Kirrin Island Again. Although the book in question doesn’t deal with beautiful bright colours, sunny days and blossoming flowers, the scene that is painted during this adventure, probably fits in best with the weather we have been experiencing recently (in the UK at least.)
    The book has a thrilling storyline to it to make up with for the gloomy weather as originally Blyton was going to finish the series with this book, but her fans called out for more.
    We do get weak shafts of sunlight, and the odd dry day, along with a few daffodils thrown in to make the idea of spring a lot stronger. If you feel like being more realistic with your spring reading, this is the book for you!

    Five on Kirrin Island Again original dustjacket. Illustrated by Eileen Soper.

    “Five on Kirrin Island Again” dustjacket. Illustrated by Eileen Soper.

  2. Book two on my list is another Famous Five title; Five Get into Trouble. It is perhaps the most obvious of the spring reads especially where the Five fall asleep and Julian is woken up by a little lamb trying to climb on him.
    I also consider it a spring read because there is no mention of boiling temperatures, such as the ones we get in Five Go Off in a Caravan. We have lovely scenery as well in this book with the primroses and the scenes by the pool and in the woods.
    Even though it is spring, it does seem warm enough to be sleeping under the stars and bathing in the pool –  though Julian and Dick do describe it as very cold!

    Five get into Trouble, first edition dustjacket. Illustrated by Eileen Soper.

    “Five Get  Into Trouble”, first edition dustjacket. Illustrated by Eileen Soper.

  3. Third Term at Malory Towers  is my third spring read. Although the terms in Malory Towers are rarely specified, I have a feeling that the this one is supposed to be a spring term because the girls are still playing Lacrosse (technically a ‘winter’ sport I believe.) Even if it isn’t supposed to be a spring term, this books is my favourite of the Malory Towers and has quite a dramatic curve to it, which is perfect for helping you forget the gloom at this time of year!

    1st Edition dustjacket by Stanley Lloyd.

    1st edition dustjacket by Stanley Lloyd.

  4. Mystery of the Burnt Cottage is set in the Easter holidays and from the start is enough to warm you up. The first Five Find-Outers and Dog book, starts with introductions to the gang, and their initial dismissal of Fatty, who eventually becomes their much cherished leader.
    We follow the five children and their dog through the mystery of who burnt down the cranky old Mr Hick’s cottage with all his valuable papers inside while he was down in London.
    The suspects are piling up and it is certainly an adventure that makes you want to rush out in the brisk Easter air and join in the fun!

    the-mystery-of-the-burnt-cottage

    Dustjacket by Joseph Abbey

  5. A Scottish adventure for Philip and Dinah Mannering, Jack and Lucy-Ann Trent in The Castle of Adventure now. It is the Easter holidays and Mrs Mannering has taken the children to a place called “Spring Cottage” which is set below a castle on a hill.
    The children befriend a local wild girl, Tassie who is sure-footed, country savvy and good with animals, which automatically makes her the perfect girl for the children to befriend.
    What makes the holiday even better is the discovery that Bill Smugs is working nearby and that can only really mean one thing… an adventure can’t be far away!
    Full of vivid scenery and a smashing adventure, try this Adventure Series read to chase away those dreary grey-blues the weather has cast over us recently!

    First edition dustjacket by Stuart Tresilian

    First edition dustjacket by Stuart Tresilian

  6. The third of the four Famous Five books in this list is Five have a Wonderful Time. This book is assumed to be in spring and the Easter holidays because at the beginning of the book, Aunt Fanny tells George off for bathing in April and getting a cold. The cold means that George can’t start off the holidays with her cousins in caravans at Faynights castle. This makes George a terrible patient until her mother agrees that she can go! Finally she joins her cousins in the caravan and they meet up with their friend Jo the gypsy girl just in time for the big adventure!
    This Famous Five is another one that features kidnapping and fairfolk. A proper good Five, even given its slightly un-Five-like title. A good one if you like a bit more social diversity in your reading.

    Five have a Wonderful Time 1st edition Dustjacket by Eileen Soper.

    Five have a Wonderful Time 1st edition Dustjacket by Eileen Soper.

  7. Round the Year with Enid Blyton – The Spring Book is the next book on our list. Written in 1934 and part of a series of four books that Blyton wrote about the changing of the seasons this volume has to make the list just simply because of the title. Rather like the Nature Lover’s Guide by Enid Blyton, the book itself appears to be rather encyclopaedic and explains which flowers and animals can be found in the spring time.

    Round the Year with Enid Blyton- Spring Book. 1934.

    Round the Year with Enid Blyton – Spring Book. 1934.

  8. The Secret Seven Win Through is another Easter book, a pleasing change from the previous Secret Seven Adventures that have taken place during term-time. This book centres around a new meeting place, which turns out to be a cave in a quarry on Peter’s Father’s farm. The Seven agree to use it as their meeting place while the shed is being cleared out.
    While in this new meeting place, Colin brings his Famous Five books ( there would have been fourteen published by this point) for people to share. Unfortunately they start to go missing. Everyone blames Susie, Jack’s sister, and they turn out to look rather foolish as Susie goes on to help the Secret Seven discover who the real thief is!

    Cover of the "Secret Seven Win Through" published 1955 possibly drawn by Bruno Kay.

    Cover of the “Secret Seven Win Through”  by Bruno Kay.

  9. Five go to Billycock Hill is set in the Whitsun half-term holidays at the end of May, making this a spring/summer book. It’s the sort of late spring that makes you really think that summer is on the way. In this adventure the Five head off for some more camping with a friend of Julian and Dick’s – Toby Thomas. Toby – the practical joker – is a hit with the girls even though he almost gets a thrashing from George. The Five meet Jeff Thomas, Toby’s elder cousin, who is an RAF tester pilot based nearby. The Five like him immediately so its a shock to all when Jeff is accused of stealing and crashing a very important aeroplane.
    With suspicious company atl at the Butterfly Farm nearby, in the form of Will Janes, and the butterfly men, the Five set out to clear Jeff’s name.
    A thrilling spring read if you’re in for some action and nature.

    Five go to Billycock Hill 1st Edition Dustjacket by Eileen Soper.

    “Five Go to Billycock Hill” 1st edition dustjacket by Eileen Soper.

  10. The Rilloby Fair Mystery is a nice Easter mystery for you from the Barney Mysteries. A plot that has hints of other Blyton plots, mostly based around the circus animals that the children, Roger, Dinah, Snubby and Barney, fall in with.
    The Rilloby Fair Mystery centres around the theft of stolen papers, prompting a more Five Find-Outers’ approach to crime solving than that of the Famous Five.
    Snubby stays with Roger and Dinah for Easter, when Roger and Dinah’s Great-uncle Robert loses some of his valuable papers. The children decide that the thief’s next target is Marloes Castle, near where the Barney and the fair are based at Rilloby.
    Needless to say it all kicks off after a couple of nights and there are enough twists and turns that keep you guessing ’till the end!

    First Edition Dustjacket from 1950, Illustrated by Gilbert Dunlop.

    First edition dustjacket from 1950, illustrated by Gilbert Dunlop.

And with that, I come to the end of my ten spring reads!

I hope that these have inspired you in what to read next, or inspired you to pick up a new book and get reading.

Happy reading all!

All pictures taken from The Cave of Books.
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The Valley of Adventure

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Fiona

First published in 1947 this is the third book in the series.

The cloth board cover

The cloth board cover

First edition dustjacket by Stuart Tresilian keep

First edition dustjacket by Stuart Tresilian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE LOCATION

The majority of the adventure plays out in Austria, and as the title suggests, in a valley. The valley is beautiful, tranquil and utterly deserted. There’s a slightly sad feeling to it as all of the buildings have been burnt and destroyed, and there’s no way in or out except by air. There are some marvellous caves including the lovely fern cave in which the children make their home. Fern cave is so called as the rather low entrance is covered by a large fern curtain which keeps out the sun and the spray of the nearby waterfall, and also keeps it hidden from prying eyes. It has a soft mossy floor and a natural rocky ledge which is perfect as a kitchen shelf. Excitingly, the girls discover the cave also has a tunnel leading out of it to more caves. Part of Philip’s adventure finds him in ‘Gairdon’ which is apparently on the “North-east coast of Scotland.” As far as I can tell, it’s a made-up place. There is a village called Gairloch on the North-west coast of Scotland, though.

Burnt homes in the valley

Burnt homes in the valley

Inside the fern cave

Inside the fern cave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE STORY

In this book the children are up against some South American men, the main two are named Juan and Pepi.

Bill accidentally tips the children head first into this adventure, and also appears in his seemingly traditional rescue-leader role at the end. The children stumble across two long-term and well-hidden residents of the valley (we only know him as “the old man” but his wife is called Elsa.) We also meet Otto Engler, a very thin man with a heart problem who is being kept prisoner for his knowledge of the valley.

Bill plans to take the children on a short holiday to his rural home, and intends to fly them there in his own plane. Unfortunately there’s a situation at the airfield, and the children inadvertently get on the wrong plane. They don’t realise this right away, and so end up hiding from their oblivious accidental pilots throughout the flight and once they land in the valley.

It's the wrong plane!

It’s the wrong plane!

The children make the best home they can in their fern cave, and are able to source enough food from the men’s hut. Quite by accident Jack spots that the men have a prisoner whom he is temporarily able to free. The prisoner, Otto, is sick and doesn’t speak English well but is able to tell Jack about a “great treesure” to be found in the valley – and where to find the pass to escape. The children set off for the pass, but are understandably upset when they realise it has been blocked. To cheer themselves up they decide to hunt for the treasure using Otto’s map. Being the seasoned adventurers they are, they have little trouble finding the treasure caves though they are awed by what they find there. The poor old couple who’ve been there since time immemorial (or so it would seem) generously share their food and few comforts with the children, though Lucy-Ann is slightly confused by the old woman who thinks she is a long lost grand-daughter.

The treasure is found
The pass is blocked

Things take a dramatic turn when the men spot the boys at the entrance to the treasure caves, and lock everyone in while they start hauling off the goods. Everything suddenly starts happening at once as Philip has a fabulous idea which he swiftly puts into action, and the old couple reveal a secret passage to Jack who has a brilliant idea of his own. One of the baddies has a run-in with Jack (and a suitcase) and loses, and before long Philip has managed to alert Bill to their whereabouts so he can mount his usual rescue.

PHILIP’S PET

We only see one pet for Philip in this book – in the valley he picks up a small lizard whom he calls Lizzie, and Kiki starts referring to as ‘Busy Dizzy Lizzie’. Jack says she looks like a “very very small dragon”.

Busy Dizzy Lizzie

Busy Dizzy Lizzie

MY REVIEW

I love the thought of living in the fern cave, and of the tunnel that comes out behind the waterfall. I really like how the girls get their own little adventure in this book, and are instrumental in preventing the boys leading the men right to the cave. By the time the men discover the treasure caves the story has become extremely fast-paced and very, very exciting. I really like both Jack and Philip’s respective adventures towards the end of the story.

The waterfall in the book reminds me of the waterfall in The Secret of Killimooin, and the one in The Secret Mountain. In all three stories the waterfalls pour out of a large hole in the side of a rocky mountain, and in Killimooin and Valley the waterfalls become swollen due to rain. The difference in Valley is that there is no secret passage or tunnel leading from the mouth of the waterfall along the underground flow of water.

This story was published just two years after the end of World War II, although the book makes the war sound much longer ago than that. The South American baddies are in touch with the old Nazis (interestingly Nazis are rarely mentioned by name in Blyton’s books, for example in The Adventurous Four the enemies have planes featuring  a crooked cross but the name Nazi is never used) who have told them about the hidden treasures across Europe. The children figure the treasures have been stolen from churches and galleries during troubled war-times,  though Jack says the war is over long ago, and the old couple seem to have been lived so long underground they have trouble taking in news from the world outside. This is perhaps a good example of Blyton weaving a story from real and imaginary events.

We only see Mrs Mannering briefly at the start of this book. Jack and Lucy-Ann speak directly to her, and both call her Aunt Allie, and the four children are described as like one family. Bill is described as a firm friend of the children, but is either not very close to Allie yet (or is trying to impress her) as he addresses her as Mrs Mannering when he comes to ask her permission to take the children away. She calls him Bill, however. 

Mrs Mannering waves to the children

Mrs Mannering waves to the children

Next review – The Sea of Adventure

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Confessions of a Blyton Fan

Posted on April 3, 2013 by worldofblyton

My name is Corinna, and I’m an Enid Blyton Fan.

Corinna at Blyton Close in Beaconsfield where Enid Blyton's house, Green Hedges, once stood.

Corinna at Blyton Close in Beaconsfield where Enid Blyton’s house, Green Hedges, once stood.

Sometimes the Enid Blyton Society feels a bit like a support group (in a good way!) for those of us who can’t quite shake the Blyton habit. I wasn’t too aware of the controversy surrounding Blyton’s writing style, characters and “old-fashionedness” when I was growing up – I was (am) an avid reader and I just loved a good story. I was at least in my mid-teens before I particularly noticed any controversy, or that people might possibly be offended by some of the characters or story-lines. It was around that time I went underground, sneakily re-reading my favourite childhood books when no-one was around, leaving them on my bookshelf “only because there is no where else to put them,” and furtively buying more books from second-hand shops and fairs and stowing them in my bag before anyone noticed.

Until my late 20s I honestly felt a bit ashamed of reading these books (although I couldn’t stop, a sure sign of an addiction!), for two reasons. The first is one that I should be ashamed of and that is sheer intellectual snobbery! I have a Bachelor of Arts degree, and for a while I truly felt I should only be reading very high-brow, intellectual, modern and/or difficult books. You will all be very pleased to hear I got over myself at some point in my early 20s, and embraced reading books for sheer pleasure again.  However, although I became happy to admit I love a good bodice ripper, I still somehow felt that I couldn’t admit I still enjoyed children’s books, and in particular, Blyton’s.

The second reason was guilt – pure and simple.  New Zealand is a fairly liberal country, and I feel very lucky to have grown up in a very multi-cultural country, where women got the right to vote decades before women in the UK and the US, and attitudes towards homosexual relationships are becoming more and more accepting.

So I began to feel guilty about enjoying stories where bad characters were often “foreign”, where the girls never got to do anything interesting because that was the boy’s job, and attitudes towards broken homes (see The Six Bad Boys)  totally belied my own observations.   I remember as a teenager my mum mentioning something that she had heard about controversy over Big Ears and Noddy sharing a bed.  When you think about this, anyone who wants to create a sexual relationship out of two children’s book characters is, frankly, sick!

However, these vague feelings of shame lasted until a couple of years ago, when I moved to England and discovered the Enid Blyton Society. I began to realise that there were many others who also enjoyed the books, and they were intelligent, kind, and caring people of all ages. I realised, in fact, that it wasn’t the people who enjoyed the books that held these attitudes – I can’t think of a single instance where I’ve read or heard someone spout nasty racist or sexist nonsense and use any work of Blyton as “evidence”. I began to openly read and buy the books again.  Now, of course, I’m on the internet talking about this!

Corinna (Back Row 4th from the right) with the other Members of the Enid Blyton Society in 2011 during their outing to Old Thatch in Buckinghamshire.

Corinna (Back Row 4th from the right) with the other Members of the Enid Blyton Society in 2011 during their outing to Old Thatch in Buckinghamshire.

As I discussed in a previous blog post, even as a child I understood that these books were set in a different time, and attitudes were different then. So while I enjoyed stories about Gollywogs (and owned a lovely hand-knitted one), I also understood that people could be offended by this word and the character. I fully intend to both read my children Blyton books, AND teach them to be caring, open, questioning, responsible world citizens. And I don’t believe these two things are in any way incompatible.

So – my name is Corinna, and I LOVE Enid Blyton books. I’m in my late 20s and I enjoy reading children’s books for pleasure. I enjoy discussing them with fellow fans, and writing blogs about them.  I am not ashamed!

Corinna at the Red Lion Pub with their Blyton stash.

Corinna at the Red Lion Pub with their Blyton stash.

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Bank Holiday Monday

Posted on April 1, 2013 by pippastef

Are we sure that we’ve had Easter this year? Where’s the sun and the flowers?

We did? Well that puts me right then.

I hope you all had a good Easter weekend and a lot of chocolate eggs to munch on!

I would love to be able to tell you that the overdue Spring Reads blog will be up and running this week, but I can’t promise! You may have to make do with the only other finished blog I have which is the sixth part of my fan fiction.

Wednesday’s contributing blog is from the gorgeous Corinna, and I’m sure I’m safe in saying that it’s a blog that will strike a chord with all of us die-hard Blyton fans.

I do believe that Fiona is working on her Valley of Adventure review, but she’s got several sat waiting so it could be anything she feels like really. Maybe as she’s on holiday she’ll have an adventure and tell us all about it?

I guess we will have to see!

Don’t forget to check out the Enid Blyton Society, and subscribe to their journal. If you love us, then you’ll love the special journal produced three times a year with amazing articles!

One more thing, an upcoming date for your diary, as we’re zipping through this year it seems. On Saturday 15th June 2013 there is a society based walk around Beckenham, Enid Blyton’s place of birth and where she spent her young life. Please check out the thread on the forum for details and add your name to the growing list if you would like to to attend.

We would love to see you there!

Happy Blytoning!

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Who’s Who in Enid Blyton by Eva Rice, a (very critical) review part one: Adventure Stories

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Fiona

I’ve had this book a while and have only read it once. I remember being a bit disappointed by it… and  I thought I’d give it a re-read to see if I could figure out why. My first thoughts are that I have quite a good knowledge of many Blyton books and characters already so maybe this book didn’t tell me much I didn’t already know. There are six questions on the inside flap and I could confidently answer four of them, guess at one and only the Noddy question stumped me (I’ve never read a Noddy book!)

THE QUESTIONS

  • Which Enid Blyton character was named after her second husband? Darrell Rivers (named after Kenneth Darrell Waters)
  • Where can you find the Snoogle, the Nice-Looking Witch and Sir Stamp-A lot? I’d guess in the lands found at the top of the Faraway Tree.
  • In which book does Zerelda Brass give a memorable Juliet? Third Year at Malory Towers.
  • Which series features a parrot with attitude? The Adventure Series
  • What is the first trick played on Mam’zelle? Alicia pretends to be deaf (and then actually becomes deaf after swimming.)
  • Why was Big-Ears worried about Noddy? No idea.

I guess I will find out the answers by reading the book.

In the introduction Rice tells us that a lady at The Enid Blyton Company suggested she stuck to the most well-known series, The Famous Five, Secret Seven etc. I think I might have gotten more from the book if she’d skipped those and featured several lesser known series or stand-alone books.

Ok, just a warning now – I absolutely pick this book to pieces so if you don’t want to read 2,000 words of me disagreeing with the chosen characters and their descriptions then you probably shouldn’t read this.

Continue reading →

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The eBay of Adventure

Posted on March 29, 2013 by pippastef

I am sure that at one time or another we have all been on eBay, bidding away on something we want so desperately. That in the last few hours of the auction running time we have checked in repeatedly to see where the bidding was at, and wondered when to place the perfect bid to secure the object we’re drooling over on screen.

Well, it has just happened to me. And before you all ask – no I was not bidding on Julian Kirrin!

In fact I was bidding on a set of five early editions of the Adventure Series.

The spines of five of the Adventure Series set. Picture taken from E-Bay listing.

The spines of five of the Adventure Series set. Picture taken from eBay listing.

I haven’t got a complete set of the Adventure Series, and the editions that I do have are quite rotten. I have the odd paperback that I’m quite fond of, but my main set of the Adventure Series – of which I’m missing about four – are really bad 90s hard backs that I rescued from my school library when we were sorting books out. This was a good seven years ago now.

The reason that I’ve finally got myself into gear about buying this series is largely because I want to read them more than I want to read the Five Find-Outers ( I have a serious LOATHING of Fatty, as some of you might remember from my Fatty vs Julian article). Also from what I have read of the Adventure Series, I have enjoyed them.

Another reason quite central to my reason for this massive eBay induced heart -attack I almost gave myself, was because a friend of mine suggested that it would be quite nice if I could write some fanfiction about Bill Cunningham and Mrs Mannering – the grown-ups of the series. Intrigued by this idea, and another idea of combining Julian Kirrin and Bill Cunningham together in an adventure story (which I am co-writing with Corinna) really means I need a decent, honest, near enough original set of Adventure Series books to add to my collection.

This is why I actually put myself out there in an online auction on eBay.

Set of five books from the Adventure series. Taken from the E-Bay listing.

Set of five books from the Adventure Series. Taken from the eBay listing.

The problem was that this particular auction was too good to pass up. As I have already mentioned, there were five smashing looking copies of The Adventure Series which included:

  • The Valley of Adventure
  • The Sea of Adventure
  • The Mountain of Adventure
  • The Circus of Adventure
  • The River of Adventure

How perfect to have a bundle of five books all there and ready for the picking. Unfortunately I wasn’t so lucky with the bidding. Keen and eager when I first saw these books, and especially when the starting price was 99p, I jumped in there with a bid of a grand £2.76. I was hoping and praying that these precious books would not attract too much attention.

How wrong I was.

The next day I received the email saying that I had been outbid. The price was over £5 now. Still, not to panic. £5 isn’t too bad a price for five decent copies (not forgetting the £4 postal charge!) however… I would not be paying a simple fiver for these books.

Oh no. By the afternoon, when I really needed to know how the bidding was going, the price of these had risen to £16! I had set myself a limit of £25 because I couldn’t afford to go crazy on these books and I knew that for approximately £5 a book, I was still getting a deal and a half.

Alas it was almost not meant to be. I held off to the last ten minutes, when I started to test the waters as to where other people’s limits were, aware that I may not be the only person watching these books. Slowly I crept the price up from £17 to £21.87.

As the time ran out, in the last two minutes I entered my last bid, a price I hadn’t given myself enough time to think about. £29.89. Finally I was the highest bidder, the last bid being £26.87.

The Castle of Adventure. Picture taken from EBay listing.

“The Castle of Adventure”. Picture taken from eBay listing.

For that last minute and a half I stared at the screen waiting to see if anyone else would bid, swooping in and sniping them from under my nose. I had done the same thing the day before when I bid on a copy of The Castle of Adventure but with no where near the trepidation that I did for these five books.

Finally the timer reached its end and the page refreshed. I must say that I didn’t breathe until I had seen the green banner on the top of the page telling me that I had still won!

Gosh I almost jumped for joy!

My heart felt like it could take no more strain, having anxiously watched two eBay auctions end two days in a row.

Unfortunately, for the copies I was after, this was my only option. I got a fantastic deal on these books, mostly because on their own they can go for £10 on the “Buy-it-Now” option.

As I already have a first edition Island of Adventure, I can now add these beauties to my set. Unfortunately I had one more auction to get through. One for The Ship of Adventure.

A few days later…

I bid on the Ship of Adventure book and was then outbid. However, instead of this being a straightforward auction where I sat in front of the computer and took hold of the reins as I tried to win this first edition, there was a dirty great big snag. At the time the auction ended, I would be at work. Oh bother.

The Ship of Adventure I bid on. Picture taken from eBay listing.

The copy of “The Ship of Adventure” I bid on. Picture taken from eBay listing.

Originally I assumed I’d have to put a bid in on my lunch break and then cross my fingers and pray!

But, blessings of blessings a wonderful friend of mine, who I know through the Enid Blyton forums, Zoe, offered to make the bids for me while I was at work. Naturally I was thrilled!

So, with much planning, setting up things so Zoe could (very naughtily) access my eBay account, and agreeing prices and such, I went to sleep the might before with a slightly easier mind.

I set my limit to £20 thinking that there was no way that that first edition without dustjacket would go much beyond £15. Its a good thing that my upper limit was somewhat flexible because on the morning of the auction’s end, the book was already at £7!

Sporadically over the day, when I had a quiet moment at work, I checked the auction, watching the price stay at £7. I hoped that even with a sudden surge it wouldn’t get beyond £20, in fact I still wasn’t convinced that it would get over £15. However, as the last hour of the auction approached, and with Zoe’s updates via text message (I know, very bad at work and I hate doing it. You’ll be happy to know that I have not done it since), I waited to find out what the bidding was like.

In the last hour the price had shot up significantly  to £15. As I had given Zoe permission to go up to £20 I knew I had a chance left. I must admit to not experiencing so much panic as I had previously during the eBay auctions for the five books. I think it was because I had other things to occupy my mind and that I wasn’t actually sat in front of the computer trying to judge when to put a bid in to stop the price being driven up too high.

My penultimate text from Zoe before the auction end was probably about five minutes before it ended, asking for permission to go a little over the agreed £20 limit to £21.51. I agreed and waited nervously for the outcome…

A moment later I got a text from Zoe saying “Tis Yours 🙂 🙂 :)”.

I know you’re not allowed to be loud in a library, but I almost jumped for joy!

In less than a week, my Adventure Series was complete!

I must admit that I paid a little more than I bargained for for the “Ship of Adventure” but I think it was worth it. As a work colleague of mine said: “You don’t drink much, you don’t smoke, you can afford to spend a little more on books.” I think I agree.

And that, all assembled, is my eBay of Adventure.

My brand new (to me) set of Adventure Series hardbacks.

My brand new (to me) set of Adventure Series hardbacks.

P.S. A week or two after my expensive copy of  Ship arrived, a gorgeous family friend presented me with another copy – a first – for my birthday. Needless to say I was so grateful that my eBay copy should soon be on its way to a new home!

But I love my set. They look so good together, and I’m sort of glad that I had no dustjacketed ones as that would have made the set look untidy. My room may leave much to be desired, but I like my books to be neat and tidy!

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Sunskriti’s Animal Character Exploration: Timmy from the Famous Five

Posted on March 27, 2013 by worldofblyton
Timmy as drawn by Eileen Soper in Five go to Mystery Moor.

Timmy as drawn by Eileen Soper in “Five go to Mystery Moor”.

This month’s blog post  is about Timmy, who is quite possibly Blyton’s most famous animal character. I found writing about Timmy harder than any of the other animals I’ve blogged about, so please excuse the length of this post.

Timmy is a very lovable and loved character, no doubt, he’s a very intelligent dog – man’s (or woman’s rather) real companion.

But, to me, Timmy seems artificial somehow. I know a lot of detective dogs etc are really intelligent, but somehow Timmy just seems to be obviously made-up. Other dogs in Enid’s books are very realistic and not at all fake. That isn’t the case with Timmy, making him one of my least-favourite dogs in Blyton’s books.

Timmy meeting Jo the Gypsy girl for the first time in Five Fall into Adventure. Drawn by Eileen Soper

Timmy meeting Jo the Gypsy girl for the first time in “Five Fall into Adventure”. Drawn by Eileen Soper

In Five Fall Into Adventure, where they first meet Jo the gypsy girl, Timmy gets drugged by her. He sleeps heavily through the night and is unable to prevent a burglary at Kirrin Cottage. The next morning he is said to look very sheepish – a look he has when he knows he’s done something he shouldn’t and is feeling ashamed. We get a similar look at his feelings when he has been hit on the head in Five Go to Mystery Moor, when he just wants to lie down and rest his aching head but he soldiers on knowing that his beloved George is in need of rescuing.

Timmy can be fierce at times, and bite all right, but I think only nips are mentioned, as George usually tells him not to hurt the enemy too badly unless they try to escape. Facing the terror that is Timmy, of course they give up! Such a ferocious dog would have come in handy, I’m sure, and the Five’s troubles would have lessened with a single bite.

Timmy being fierce and protecting Julian and George in Five on a Treasure Island. Drawn by Eileen Soper.

Timmy fiercely protecting Julian and George in “Five on a Treasure Island”. Drawn by Eileen Soper.

Well, to me, Timmy is a lovable dog, if not so real. He’s ideal in adventures, though a bit more biting would’ve worked. And though he is so exceptionally intelligent, doesn’t he have the sense NOT to squash his mistress into a pancake at night!! He seems quite dumb to me in some aspects like these.

So that’s about all I can say on Timmy, but let me tell you, I have a feeling  that he totally loves his life with George, his mistress!!

All images from the Cave of Books.

 

 

More of Sunskriti’s animal explorations can be found here, or posts about Blyton’s animals in general are here.

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A Last-minute Monday Message

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Fiona

I’d completely forgotten it was my turn to write the Monday post until after 11 on Sunday night, so I apologise for the rushed and panicked nature of this!

Coming up on the blog this week we have the next instalment of Sunskriti’s animal character explorations. I’ve actually no idea what I’ll be posting later this week as I’ve not got anything that’s finished. I’m at a stage where I’ve got a couple of posts half written and another couple of posts that are at this stage just a very rough list of ideas to cover. Likewise I don’t know what Stef will be posting, though it might be some recommendations for spring reading – as we’re hopeful spring will eventually appear, even though it’s nearly the end of March and it still feels like mid-winter. 

There’s not much news on the blog front this week, apart from the fact we hit 11,000 views a few hours after our last Monday post went up.

Next week I’m away on holiday, so hopefully in between working and packing (I’m taking more than a sleeping bag, spare socks and field glasses!) this week I will get a couple of blogs finished for this week and next week. Not to worry, though, I’ll be taking my laptop with me so I’ll still be keeping my eye on the blog. And who knows, I might stumble on an adventure or two while I’m away as I will be visiting the ruins of Urquhart Castle, and doing a little bit of hiking too.

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When people search for Enid Blyton, what are they looking for? (#1)

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Fiona

When people search for Blyton related media, what are they looking for?

A large proportion of our blog views* come from various search engines – and WordPress tells us exactly what the search terms were. It’s really interesting to see what people are looking for in terms of Blytonian material (and sometimes downright funny).

THE TOP TERMS

The top 5 topics searched for (roughly in order) the Famous Five, Malory Towers, the Five Find-Outers, Blyton’s poetry and illustrators.

THE FAMOUS FIVE

The Famous Five’s search terms were mostly people looking for information on a particular book – either a summary or information about the various editions. The books that featured most often were Five on a Treasure Island, Five go to Smuggler’s Top, and Five Run Away Together. There were also lots of searches about the various TV series – and searches for each of the actors in them. The most popular actors were Laura Petela and Jennifer Thanisch who played Anne in the 90s series and the 70s series respectively. Plenty of people also searched for characters of the Famous Five, Julian got the most searches while Anne, George and Dick were roughly tied. There were also quite a few searches for Edgar Stick (generally questioning the Five’s treatment of him.)

Laura Petela and Jennifer Thanisch as Anne Kirrin.

Laura Petela and Jennifer Thanisch as Anne Kirrin.

MALORY TOWERS

People searched for individual books mostly, again, wanting plot summaries or information about editions. They also searched a lot for details about Malory Tower’s crest or badge and its uniform. Unsurprisingly Darrell Rivers got the most searches of any character, followed by Sally Hope and the Mamzelles.

THE FIVE FIND-OUTERS

Again, searches for books were most common – The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage had the most. The most common character searches were for Fatty – though someone did want to know about movie versions of some of the books, and someone else asked if there were any photographs of the characters.

POETRY

There were lots of searches just looking for poems or poetry by Blyton, and some which specifically named the poem they were looking for – Little New Year and Dead Leaves most often.

ILLUSTRATORS

Lots of people searched generally for illustrations from various books, or for a particular illustrator. Eileen Soper appeared in the most searches, though there were several for Betty Maxey and Stuart Tresillian.

Other terms to have several searches were: The Adventure Series, the Adventurous Four, Amelia Jane, the Barney Mysteries, Dean & Son, the Enchanted Wood Series, Enid Blyton, Fanfiction, Green Hedges, the Secret Seven and St Clare’s.

Perhaps surprisingly we had very few searches for Noddy, and none for the Secret Series.

THE NOT QUITE RIGHT

We had a whole catalogue of people who clearly found themselves on our blog when they were in fact searching for something completely different.

For example we had people were looking for Sylvia Naughty, whoever she might be, Belinda Morris Athletics, World end tomorrow weather, Five find father, George Soper, Famous Five Santa, Sindy 1990s, Imogen Summerfield Blyton and Who is Top Smugglers.

You can see how these people came to the blog, though, as we’ve used most of those names/words – just not in that order! Except for Sindy… no idea why they ended up here.

I love Sindy but she's not appeared on our blog before.

I love Sindy but she’s not appeared on our blog before.

We also had a lot of very confused people, searching for Blyton-related material, who got their search terms rather muddled.

A few of my favourites would be Rene Cloke Wishing Tree, Summary of Kirrin Island by Eileen Soper, Mary Pollock The Treasure Hunters and The Six Find Outers.

How a 90s edition of "Kirrin Island" by Eileen Soper might look.

How a 90s edition of “Kirrin Island” by Eileen Soper might look.

THE COMPLETELY UNEXPLAINABLE

We also had some that are just impossible to suggest an explanation for.

Mannering Enid book people, eh?
Novel the Ship of Adventure Guid Blyton is character… I almost see where that one’s going, but it’s just so wrong.
And main event and incident and episode her ankle… just what were these people looking for, and how did they expect to find it with those terms?
What is the odor is Amelia Jane books… just weird.

SEARCH THEMES

There were definitely defined themes that became obvious when I read through the search terms.

A lot of people wanted plot summaries and character sketches for all the main series mentioned above – many book related searches contain the words summary, theme, message, values and synopsis. Also popular in book searches were edition, dustjacket, published and illustrator. There were multiple searches looking for ideas for costumes based on Blyton characters (the Secret Seven and Amelia Jane were popular choices) and ideas for Blyton-themed birthday cakes. We also had a lot of searches for audio books.

We also had a few searches about racism within Enid’s books. The most disturbing part was these searches were specifically asking about books where I can see no racism at all. Five on Finniston Farm was one, and Mr Pink-Whistle another.

A final, amusing theme, is the number of people looking for photographs of characters or information about movies/television series that don’t exist. I’ve mentioned the Five (or Six!) Find-Outers, and those were of The Mystery of the Strange Bundle (or more specifically Fatty in that movie), and The Mystery of the Missing Necklace, but we also has people asking about the actress who plays Mamzelle Dupont from Malory Towers and a Malory Towers movie.

Malory Towers The Movie. I'd watch this.

Malory Towers The Movie. I’d watch this.

FINALLY

Just to swell the heads of some of our contributors we had a bunch of people search directly for their work. The ones I noticed were Julie, Aaron and Poppy.

Oh, and several people actually searched for our blog directly, and actually found us!

*nearly two thirds of people who click a link to come to our blog do so through a search engine.

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Julian’s News, chapter 4

Posted on March 22, 2013 by pippastef

Well after the gushing reviews and pleas for more fan fiction I got for the last post, you can all breathe a sigh of relief because part five is here!

In case you missed any of them the previous fan fiction pieces can be found in order here:

Prequel: The way you make me feel

Part One: Telling Dick

Part Two: Back at Kirrin

Part Three: The first day

I hope you all feel that George’s reaction is authentic. I did the best I could with her, but it took me a really long time to write this part because I wanted so desperately to get her perfect and right. She’s such a hard character to mimic and I truly believe that only Blyton would be capable of writing George properly.

So I am sorry if you don’t like George here, and I have got her wrong, but please understand that I did my very very best trying to  write her for you all.

Please enjoy, review and share!

GEORGE

Dick was standing behind her looking apologetic as Julian’s eyes fixed on George. She looked lost and angry; angry that he was keeping something from her.

“Oh George, you haven’t given me chance to tell you! I did try earlier, but you were so keen to talk about the adventure,” Julian said, as Anne slipped past the two of them to stand with Dick. She was a little afraid at what might happen next.

“What haven’t I given you a chance to tell me?” George asked, in a funny choked up voice.

“I haven’t had chance to tell you about Sally, my girlfriend,” Julian said. He wasn’t going to beat about the bush, he wasn’t one to do so.

He hadn’t meant for George to be the last to know about Sally, it was just the way it had worked out.

“ You’ve got a girlfriend,” George said, as Dick winced at her tone of voice. “Why didn’t you just say so Ju? Why did you have to be so secretive?”

“I didn’t know how you would all feel about it.” Julian said quietly.

“So I was last on your list to tell?” George asked, her temper starting to get the better of her.

“No, George, you weren’t. I was going to try to tell you this morning, I just never found the words, and then Anne guessed…”

“I suppose Dick was told yesterday,” George added angrily.

“It was hard not to as he had pretty much guessed anyway, George,” Julian said trying to take her arm. She shook him off angrily.

“George,” he said reproachfully.

“Don’t touch me,” she said her anger not disguising her sadness. “I see how this goes; I get left out of things because we’re only cousins.”

Continue reading →

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