The Enid Blyton Society

pete9012S wrote:Despite the undying universal love of everyone towards Eileen Soper,I was surprised to read that:

It was not until 1941 that her career as a book illustrator took off when the publishers Macmillan suggested her name to Enid Blyton , firstly for a series of Nature Readers. But it was the commission to illustrate Five on a Treasure Island , presumably made at Blyton’s insistence, that made Soper’s name. She went on to illustrate 35 books for Blyton over 25 years. The two were never to meet and it was reported by Eileen’s friends that she considered the illustrations of Blyton’s books “hack work” and “a chore”. She also complained that the author was a menace, in that she demanded “footling changes in drawings that were already adequate”.

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Don't know how much truth there is in all that,and I also have no idea how Betty Maxey felt about illustrating The Famous Five for the Knight editions?

That was umm... interesting. Soper really did a great amount of drawings though. Still, I thought they had a good relationship. Now I'm curious about Maxey too.

They are all magical, but i think i prefer the Eileen Soper books...

Enid Blyton - Five Are Together Again

Eileen Soper & Betty Maxey Illustration Comparison

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I think these illustrations make it clear that neither were at their best in this book - but for me Eileen Soper definitely gets my vote, despite usually being quite a fan of Maxey. The only Soper illustration I feel is inferior is the picture of the monkey in the cage.

Maxey's cover is definitely the best of the two, in my opinion. I've always loved it - the shadows of the leaves on the tent are exquisite.

But Maxey's penchant for drawing 'ape men' instead of monkey's makes me smile - awful!

A very interesting comparison. I do agree that neither Betty Maxey or Eileen Soper were at their best whilst illustrating this book, but personally I think it is plain to see how much more skilled and effective Soper's illustrations are when they are side by side with Betty Maxey's interpretations. There is so much more detail and liveliness in Soper's illustrations, whereas Maxey's are very plain and unimaginative.

Of these illustrations, my favourite is Eileen Soper's interpretation of Jenny, the housemaid, looking out of the window. I think it represents the same haunting, yet thrilling atmosphere which the text supplies. An exciting scene.

Maxey's cover is certainly more atmospheric than Soper's. I grew up with the Maxey cover so it also strikes a chord there. But one need only look at the pictures of George rowing her boat towards Kirrin Island to see the immense difference in quality between the two. Soper's picture is full of atmosphere and suspense; Maxey's is just a flat line drawing of a person in a boat.

Lucky Star wrote:But one need only look at the pictures of George rowing her boat towards Kirrin Island to see the immense difference in quality between the two. Soper's picture is full of atmosphere and suspense; Maxey's is just a flat line drawing of a person in a boat.

Agreed. I was just thinking, the Soper picture is one of her most atmospheric, despite the relatively poor quality of her illustrations for this book in general.

I agree - at least it looks as if George is rowing across water in the Soper version. In Maxey's picture George might well have stranded her boat on a beach! It certainly doesn't look like water, mainly because not even the island has a reflection!

All good points - but who get the moon right in their pics?
(Unless a lot of time passed between Eileen Soper's illustrations? )

I too vote for Eileen Soper here (despite the moon mistake!) because of her more detailed, atmospheric backgrounds and her more carefully-drawn people.

Robert Houghton wrote:But Maxey's penchant for drawing 'ape men' instead of monkey's makes me smile - awful!

I feel exactly the opposite. In my opinion Betty Maxey's portrayals of the monkey and the chimpanzee are much more realistic than Eileen Soper's, though it's a pity they're sketchily-drawn and in some cases look unfinished. Unlike Soper, Maxey has got the general shape and look of a chimpanzee right and her cover picture shows how beautifully she can draw/paint them when she takes her time:



Her portrayal stands up well when we look at a real chimp (sorry but the photo is quite large so I can't include the actual image - only a link to it):

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Her monkey isn't bad either - I'd say it's identifiable as a squirrel monkey:

I agree her cover depiction is brilliant - in fact all Maxey's covers are great - proving what a good artist she was, but still think generally Soper's internal chimp illustrations are better. I still think the Maxey illustration of the chimp with the rolled up tent(?) is more like a picture of Big Foot!

I don't think it matters how many times you compare these two illustrators, the one you was brought up with is nearly always the winner. Maxey's drawings don't do anything for me although I agree that her monkey and chimp are quite lifelike.

It's not a universal rule, as I've said before. I was brought up mainly with Maxey (and the '70s TV series, which I was a bit too young to follow, but was aware of it), but now her illustrations really don't grab me at all in comparison to Soper's.

John Pickup wrote:I don't think it matters how many times you compare these two illustrators....Maxey's drawings don't do anything for me although I agree that her monkey and chimp are quite lifelike.

Have no fear, John, the pro-Maxey's will continue to peddle their preferences!

Good grief, we're not having another election are we?