Enid Blyton

branie

Anyone here read her books when they were younger?

Sabre0001

Yes - BIG fan...Loved those books - especially the one about the tree that kids could climb and go to different lands

Firetrap

Oh yeah. I once calculated that I'd read over 100 of her books as a kid. Famous 5, Secret 7, the St Clares and Mallory Towers books, the five find-outers, the doorstep Adventure ones. I had a soft spot for Mr Galliano's Circus where the boy in it trained his dog to walk the tightrope. I've sometimes wondered can dogs really walk tightropes?

Susannahmia

Her books were the first that I read all by myself and gave me a passion for reading. I read all of her adventure and mystery books between the ages of seven and ten and a few of the boarding school ones. The only thing that I didn't like about them was that sometimes the girls werent allowed to do some of the dangerous and cool stuff.

Umaro

I had a soft spot for Mr Galliano's Circus where the boy in it trained his dog to walk the tightrope. I've sometimes wondered can dogs really walk tightropes?

I loved that one, what a blast from the past. I was insanely addicted to these books growing up, my grandparents had a bookcase full of them from when my mother was a child and I could read them for hours.

Also, I have no shame in admitting I am a guy who owned all the Mallory Towers books. They were brilliant reads.

rainbowtrout

Firetrap wrote: »

Oh yeah. I once calculated that I'd read over 100 of her books as a kid. Famous 5, Secret 7, the St Clares and Mallory Towers books, the five find-outers, the doorstep Adventure ones. I had a soft spot for Mr Galliano's Circus where the boy in it trained his dog to walk the tightrope. I've sometimes wondered can dogs really walk tightropes?

yep, read all of those too, they're probably still in the attic at home. everyone always drank ginger beer in those books.

Firetrap

I'm a bit surprised that a boy would read the girls boarding school books. They were entertaining though - real school was never quite so much fun. When I was 7 I had to go to hospital. My teacher bought me The Naughtiest Girl in the School - was she trying to tell me something? I never liked her kiddies books so much - the ones that had goblins and their ilk in them. My mother also came to dread Noddy books as my brother used to want her to read them to him at night and they were longer than your average bedtime book.

Incidentally, I once went googling and found the website of Gary Russell who used to play Dick in the Famous Five TV show - the one with the flares and bad 70s music. He's a writer these days. The site's gone now but you can reach it through archive.org. He wrote an article about his time on the show which is entertaining enough -> Link
Just one thing - if you do click on the above link, the page will look blank. It isn't though - it's just that the page is set up with a white background and white text. Archive.org doesn't always cache images and obviously his wallpaper fell by the wayside.

kelle

I' loved enid Blyton's books as a child. My friend had a bookcase full of her books and I used to borrow them one at a time. I remember the Naughtiest Girl at School, Amelia Jane, Famous Five, Secret seven.
I actually bought a book for my 7-year-old son recently to try and recapture my memories. It's amazing the kind of imagination she had, but I've a feeling there could be some type of ban on her books soon as there's a lot of references to smacking by parents and other adults when the children misbehave in the stories. With the nanny state we live in nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised!

the dee

I loved those books too. Especially the Magic Far Away Tree and the mystery ones.

Mrs. MacGyver

I inherited the mallory towers obbks from my mother. I read St Clares (the Sullivan twins were the best and all those midnight feasts!), famous five and secret sven also. I still have them all.

Beanstalk

I thought her books were pure class. Does anyone remember those books about those rich kids that went on mad adventures that were written by her, i can't remember the series title but the books were called 'the secret of squiggley holes' and 'the secret of moon castle' and so on....

DublinWriter

branie wrote: »

Anyone here read her books when they were younger?

Yup I did, well most of the Famous Five books anyways.

I also remember the controversy in the late 80's when a number of libraries in the UK banned her books.

Her work was of its time and reflected the attitudes of that era. It has not aged well at all.

artanevilla

Famous Five, heroes.

daisy123

Sabre0001 wrote: »

Yes - BIG fan...Loved those books - especially the one about the tree that kids could climb and go to different lands

The Magic Faraway Tree!!! With Silkie and Moonface and Mr. Whatshisname and Dame Washalot!!! I LOVED those books!!!

Firetrap

Beanstalk wrote: »

I thought her books were pure class. Does anyone remember those books about those rich kids that went on mad adventures that were written by her, i can't remember the series title but the books were called 'the secret of squiggley holes' and 'the secret of moon castle' and so on....

Squiggley Holes LOL. They were the "Secret Series" starring the Arnold kids, their friend Jack and Prince Paul of Baronia. As a kid, I loved the idea of the kids moving to live on an island (as they did in the first book of the series) and living a self-sufficient life with their own cow and everything. And of course, they were smarter than the stupid adults who came looking for them.

They are of their time of course. Even as a kid reading them, it used to bother me that a lot of the girls in the books were complete wimps but I always liked the boys in the stories better heh heh. Do kids even read these books anymore?

Beanstalk

Lol! Spiggy Holes! that was it! wow it's been like twenty years! prince paul of baronia!!! wtf! genius! I remember there was also one about a secret mountain, it was my favourite!

sweetie

Beanstalk wrote: »

Lol! Spiggy Holes! that was it! wow it's been like twenty years! prince paul of baronia!!! wtf! genius! I remember there was also one about a secret mountain, it was my favourite!

+1, still my first memory of Enid Blyton is the secret mountain. There was a really cool way of getting into through an underground river I think.

inspectorcheese

rainbowtrout wrote: »

yep, read all of those too, they're probably still in the attic at home. everyone always drank ginger beer in those books.

....and all the girls were called Fanny and the boys were called Dick. They were dirty books really...

deisemum

I loved her books and now my boys are reading them. They absolutely love them

whatsgoinon

After reading this thread, i went on ebay and bought 5 famous five books for £3.00, can't wait for them to arrive!!
These days, if the kids got up to as much divilmint as your ones from the 'secret stories' you can be sure search parties would be out from dawn til dusk, children hiding in a cave in a mountain, my god!!

chopperbyrne

I read a few of the Famous Five books, but always preferred Roald Dahls stuff.

Lord of the Flies was the best book I ever read as a child though.

Still read it every year or so.

Susannahmia

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Lord of the Flies was the best book I ever read as a child though.

That book traumatised me as a child.:eek: It was horrible.

chopperbyrne

I was about ten when I first read it.

I thought it was brilliant.

whatsgoinon

twas the film that scared the life outta me, think i was 9 when i watched it,

artanevilla

inspectorcheese wrote: »

....and all the girls were called Fanny and the boys were called Dick. They were dirty books really...

And that lezzer George.

Firetrap

That is true. One of the books opens with the line "Blow" said Dick. :eek:

As a kid, I never thought George was a lezzer but looking back, she had to have been. I bet she grew up to wear dungarees and chunky shoes

Corruptedmorals

I hated George, she wrecked my head. Anne as well, with all the 'Anne just loves playing house. "Sit down boys, you too George, I'll make the dinner and clean up, I just love it so much!" crap. Julian was a knob as well, not much fun at all. Dick was cool though. My favourite was Mallory Towers- better than St.Clares.

Crumble Froo

haha, we were doing some hillwalking yesterday, me, two mates and two dogs, and one of my mates commented that it felt like being part of hte famous five (it was raining, and there was just us in the hills).

but yeah, all the brer rabbits ones, mr galliano's circus, five findouters (loved them), famous 5, secret 7 (never a big fan of them), the faraway tree, st clares, mallory towers, the naughtiest girl, all the short stories and toy ones. oh, what were those secret ones called... the secret mountain? one of them was a prince... oh, i see it up there :cool:

....and all the girls were called Fanny and the boys were called Dick. They were dirty books really...

not to mention george being a (dammit, i know im gonna get this term wrong...) transsexual? a boy trapped in a girl's body?

i still giggle at the image of them dragging the cow across the lake tied to the boat!

Susannahmia

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

I hated George, she wrecked my head. Anne as well, with all the 'Anne just loves playing house. "Sit down boys, you too George, I'll make the dinner and clean up, I just love it so much!" crap. Julian was a knob as well, not much fun at all. Dick was cool though. My favourite was Mallory Towers- better than St.Clares.

Julian and Anne had to be the biggest knobs alright. George was a sulky little cow but I tolerated her more as she would stand up to Julian sometimes and at least wasnt as silly and girly as Anne.

tampopo

Yeah, read them all, Mallory Towers included, I'm a boy.

Didn't one of the books feature a Solar or lunar eclipse with someone throwing a knife off the top of a mountain while they were held by 'savages'?

Very good, very misogynistic alright, in retrospect. great for the imagination.

It makes my blood boil when urban children insist on keeping horses and expect the local authority to build stables for them."there's nothing to do" they whinge. ffs, give them a stack of Famous Fives, Secret Sevens etc and broaden their minds.

Taters

Famous Five and The Faraway Tree were brilliant. Good old Moonface!
If I'm not mistaken, you can actually watch the Famous Five television series on Youtube!

I've still got all those books. :cool:

claret

Oh I loved Enid Blyton. Remember the book with the flying chair that could take you anywhere?

Miss Fluff

OMG I so loved Malory Towers and St. Clares - read them at 9 or 10 and then went to real actual boarding school for my teenage years, loved those books so much

spurious

I found myself stuck in a house one weekend with very little reading material, apart from a load of 'St. Clare's' books, so I had a read.

I never realised just how offensive they are to all sorts of people. I don't remember noticing when I was a kid.

Corruptedmorals

St.Clare's isn't very offensive! In fact, there's a slightly more modern tone to it than Mallory Towers.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Trojan911

tampopo wrote: »

Yeah, read them all, Mallory Towers included, I'm a boy.

Also guilty, but loved them... Anyone remember "The Hardy Boys" books?

Donegal Lass

LOVED her books.. the famous five and the secret seven were my faves!!

I still read them!

whatsgoinon

just read the first 3 famous five books again, even though i last read them about 20 years ago, I knew after the first paragraph what was going to happen, amazing what you think you have forgotten but is actually at the very back of your brain

mental07

spurious wrote: »

I found myself stuck in a house one weekend with very little reading material, apart from a load of 'St. Clare's' books, so I had a read.

I never realised just how offensive they are to all sorts of people. I don't remember noticing when I was a kid.

Are they really? How so? Like you, I don't remember noticing when I read them as a kid...

I get mixed up between which characters were which. The twins went to St Clare's, and Mallory Towers featured Darrell and her sensible friend Sally, yes? And everyone used to have midnight feasts!

gogo

mental07 wrote: »

Are they really? How so? Like you, I don't remember noticing when I read them as a kid...

QUOTE]

It was the amelia jane books that were originally banned from school libraries, her name for the golliwog was racist being one reason that i remember.
Saying that they are all now available to buy in easons again, bought some for my niece for christmas. priced 6.95 - 7.95.

My day used to hate her as she used to shorten her words, think she was one of the first to use boyf for boyfriend and hols for holidays. He thought that we never learn from them. All terrible english, was more but i can't remember any.

Dudess

I know this is an old thread but in fairness WindSock, the forum IS All Things Retro...

I watched Enid recently (starring Helena Bonham Carter who is excellent in it - really good show... or should I say "jolly" good show :pac:) - good god, Enid Blyton was not a nice woman at all! :eek:
Won't spoilt it but: arrogant, selfish, bossy, cold, scheming, manipulative, the lot...

I absolutely loved her books though - the boarding school ones were my favourites (The Naughtiest Girl... trilogy as well as the St Claire's/Mallory Towers ones) and the fantasy ones: The Faraway Tree, The Wishing Chair... they were pretty magical. I never read The Famous Five or Secret Seven though, they were for boys - ew! :pac:

So, so quaint of course, and not politically correct at all - pretty sexist and classist (although she does address class politics a little bit in one of the Mallory Towers books and one of the Naughtiest Girl books, attacking the snobbish, rich girls, but it's just a middle-class versus upper-crust thing) as well as the golliwog stuff.

Wonder if many kids read them today?

me_right_one

Trojan911 wrote: »

Also guilty, but loved them... Anyone remember "The Hardy Boys" books?

I loved the Hardy boys. Think I read them all. The famous 5 was class aswell. Julian was such a dikchead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3zjoN6-ddQ


What was the Enid Blyton one with the farm called?

stovelid

Read every Famous Five going, and a good smattering of Secret Seven and stuff like The Rat-a-Tat Mystery. Even dipped into the odd Malory Towers.

I know her stuff is hopelessly - even offensively anachronistic - nowadays but what I liked about them was that they were pretty universal then; you could enjoy them unselfcnciously, despite the class themes which never really occured to me until I was a little older. It's hilarious to think of all those kids on council estates devouring stories of the upper-class schools and "wizard" adventures.

Dunjohn

For some reason, I didn't like the Famous Five at all, but I did love the Secret Seven. Fatty was a politically-incorrect walking deus ex machina, he was brilliant (I don't remember his full name, but I remember his innitials were F.A.T.). Younger than that, my favourite character was Mr. Meddle, with the Faraway Tree stories close behind.

Dudess

stovelid wrote: »

"wizard" adventures.

Oh yeah, forgot about that: "That tea of cake and ices was quite simply wizard!"

Lol

In one book - possibly Amelia-Jane - the three golliwogs were called Golly, Woggy and N*gger... :eek::D:o

Thomas828

I came across a reprint of one of the Amelia Jane books from about 1990. The golly in those books has been replaced by a soldier called Tom, and inferior illustrations. And the golly in Noddy's town has been replaced by Mr Sparks.

The Express

I have the TV theme tune to 'The Famous' Five going around in my head as I read this thread.

Anyone else?

TheDriver

i am actually watching the first series at the moment, its great stuff! Roll on series 2!

littleoulme

LOVED the famous five!! Got my little one in them aswell.

I remember in one of the books, they all ate "hot buttered toast", I think that's all I ate for about a year after.:o

filmfan

Loved these as a kid, think all kids should give them a read even if the language and lifestyle seems a little strange to kids now, they're great stories