Enid Blyton Society Publications

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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Katharine wrote:I've just finished reading The Kite that Flew Away and really enjoyed it, especially the idea of the Puzzle Country. Interesting to see Enid Blyton used the names Peter and Mollie together, some 10 years or so before the first Wishing Chair book.
I think certain names were popular because they were the names of children Enid Blyton had taught at her little school at Southernhay. Enid had enjoyed teaching them and had used some of their names in many stories. She seems to have been particularly fond of Peter and Mollie (the names if not the children - but more likely both!) She taught a Peter Thompson and a Mollie Sayer as well as John Terry, Jack Green, Wilfrid Sayer, Ruth Terry and Jock Moon (who had a round face and is believed to have inspired the character of Moonface). Other pupils included Alan Wisdom, Arthur Kennedy and three more Thompsons - David, Brian and John. Some names obviously appealed to her more than others as I don't think there are many Arthurs or Brians in her stories.
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Katharine »

I've just been reading the first chapter of Sports and Games and see there is yet another John and Peter in that story - good solid names. :D

I also noticed that she kept referring to the boys 'kicking' a goal, not scoring. Does anyone know if that was the normal terminology 90 years ago when the book was written, or was it more a case that Enid Blyton wasn't very familiar with the game of football?
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Katharine »

I've just finished reading The Enchanted Wood Society publication No. 4. I really enjoyed it. I think if I'd read it as a child it would have been one of my favourite short stories.

Does anyone know if it was a story Enid Blyton made up, or was it the re-telling of a traditional story?
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I also wondered about that when I read the booklet of The Enchanted Wood, Katharine. It certainly has lots of traditional folk-tale/fairy-tale elements but is very Blytonian nevertheless. It would be interesting to know if Enid Blyton was re-telling an old story in her own inimitable way.
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Poppy »

So far, out of the booklets I received for my birthday I have read three: The Luck of the Lay tons, Wendy Wins Through and Tibby's Adventures.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Luck of the Laytons; I think my favourite story from that was The Uninvited Guest which I found quite comical as well as a good story. Blimey; I think my dad would be quite horrified to know I knew where he kept his gun (not that he has one!) A good story, anyway. It reminded me of a story where some children got evacuated and one couldn't make friends. He alerted the house that they had not shut their curtains or something anyway - could someone tell me the title of this short story?

Wendy Wins Through was also an enjoyable booklet. I was thrilled of the idea of a story about a lighthouse. A really enjoyable tale of courage and knowledge on Lynn's (? - I know it starts with an L!) part.

Tibby's Adventures was truly delightful. The beginning where the kittens were being looked after by their mother was just like the beginning of Shadow the Sheepdog. I thought the homes that poor Tibby ventured into sounded very unpleasant (except of course Cherry-Tree farm). The first sounded the worst. It was lovely, though how Tibby ended up so close to his mother and siblings at last in a pleasant home. A lovely story.
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Poppy wrote:I thoroughly enjoyed The Luck of the Laytons; I think my favourite story from that was The Uninvited Guest which I found quite comical as well as a good story. Blimey; I think my dad would be quite horrified to know I knew where he kept his gun (not that he has one!)
The Luck of the Laytons is a great read - I loved that story too!
Poppy wrote:...a story where some children got evacuated and one couldn't make friends. He alerted the house that they had not shut their curtains or something anyway - could someone tell me the title of this short story?
I think that was 'They Showed a Light', printed in Journal 47.
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Poppy »

Thanks for that, Anita! I will have a flick through Journal 47 sometime; I remember it being an enjoyable little story.
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by sixret »

Is it possible for all the previous EB Society publications and journals be printed on demand(POD)?

While I was browsing the ebay, I came across two unfamiliar booklets( all about Mr. Meddle and Amelia Jane, I think) published by EB Society!

I wonder how many more booklets that I am not aware of.

Maybe a complete list will help.

Then advertise the list in the online shop and forum so that all the potential buyers could see.

Then we can choose which past booklets and journals that we want. Give one year for all the potentials buyers to give their orders.

Then we pay the booklets and journals( plus profit for EB Society) before they go into printing. So no loss will occur, of course.

Then we pay the postage after the printing.

I think, it's such a waste that all the information

I am sure, all the late comers to the forum will appeciate it.

Or they can go online! The best alternative so far.

I know it will burden Tony because it's a one man's job.....
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by sixret »

Tony has always said about the difficulty for EB publications to get break even. Let alone a profit.

I am always wondered, has Tony never heard of POD (print on demand) ? It solves the issue of not getting profit in a second! :D
I stand with justice and the truth. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.

Learn the history. Do research.

The hypocrisy, double standard, prejudice and bigotry own by some people is so obvious.Shame on them!
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Kate Mary »

Having finished reading the Journal, I turned my attention to the latest Sunny Stories for Little Folks booklets and an excellent bunch they are. There are some lovely illustrations from classic Blyton artists; Ernest Aris, Dorothy Wheeler and Sylvia Venus and stories like "The Banished Pixie" and "The Spell That Flew Away" have a flavour of the Wishing Chair and Faraway Tree books.

If you haven't bought your copies yet snap them up at once before they sell out and if you missed the earlier out of print titles in the series it doesn't matter as all the stories are complete in themselves. I hope more titles in this series will be published.

Kate.
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Katharine »

I'm currently reading A Week With Simple Simon, I've read a story a day and will read the final one today. I shall be sorry it's finished, but I still have Nos. 6, 7 and 8 to read. I also ordered the next 4 books yesterday, so I have a nice lot of reading to look forward to.
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Eddie Muir »

Katharine wrote: I also ordered the next 4 books yesterday
And excellent they are too, Katharine. :D
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I've read all four of the latest booklets and I agree with Eddie that they're excellent.

The Banished Pixie - An entrancing story, really touching, which held me in its spell from beginning to end. It's a bit like The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies meets 'Little Queenie', and the Dorothy Wheeler pictures are the icing on the cake.

The Spell that Flew Away - Another captivating tale, in which Enid Blyton gives us several smaller "stories" within one long story. I loved getting to know the different characters and learning about their situations. Attractive illustrations, though the "tall blue jar" mentioned in the text looks red/brown on the cover. Could the artist be Hilda McGavin, I wonder? The pictures seem like her style, though I think she usually signs her work.

The Castle that Ran Away - A long and involved folk-story. Is it a re-telling of a traditional tale, I wonder, or does it just borrow ingredients from traditional tales? I found Olivia Newton John's Xanadu running through my mind after finishing this - probably because Crispin's "trusty sword" is called Ranadu! I chuckled at the idea of Crispin flicking through an atlas in search of a place with "six sugar-loaf mountains, and a river nearby"! A disquieting story in some respects, but with some imaginative elements and delightful Sylvia Venus illustrations.

Clever Brer Fox - Enid Blyton treats us to three Brer Rabbit tales in this booklet, which is illustrated by Ernest Aris. Great fun, and I enjoyed the old familiar phrases such as "lippitty-clippitty", "blim-blam", "Heyo" and "Stars and moon!"

Thanks, Tony - and David Chambers. I look forward to the next batch of booklets!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I have just added Mary and Her Toys, which I featured in Journal 53, to the Cave.

http://enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book-det ... d+Her+Toys" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As the third batch of Sunny Stories for Little Folks booklets failed to sell enough copies to break even, I decided it would be best to take a break for a while before I published any more. However, I spent most of yesterday putting one more booklet together and I will be publishing this when the next Journal comes out - Mary and Her Toys. As it has ten colour plates it will be a little more expensive than usual, but as always I will try and sell it as cheaply as I can. I used four of these Phyllis Chase colour plates in the March Journal, but there are a further six that nobody has yet seen and of course the story itself.
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Re: Enid Blyton Society Publications

Post by Kate Mary »

It looks smashing I shall certainly buy a copy. What a pity the Sunny Stories for Little Folks booklets don't sell well, they are absolutely delightful. I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to own these rare books.
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