Thanks Pete! I knew you'd have some Maxey pics from Five Get Into A Fix!
Interesting to see that Maxey also illustrates Mrs Kirrin/Barnard sitting down while she's on the telephone, when Enid quite plainly tells us she is standing up!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
I'm afraid the kindest thing I can say is that it looks like something a not-very-talented eight-year-old might draw.
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
That illustration makes me wonder if Maxey illustrated colouring books I had in the 1980's - they were drawn in exactly the same style - with a few lines missing so you always had to add them in when colouring! I always thought they were a bit below par.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
I had the Maxey cover paperback as a kid. Though I suspect it may have been Soper internally as none of those illustrations seem familiar.
"It's the ash! It's falling!" yelled Julian, almost startling Dick out of his wits...
"Listen to its terrible groans and creaks!" yelled Julian, almost beside himself with impatience.
The horse picture doesn't look great to me either. The scene is quite nicely arranged but very sketchy. One of my favourite illustrations from Five Go Off in a Caravan is the one Pete recently posted in another thread, showing Nobby eating a sandwich while standing on his head. It's fun, and the children and animals are grouped attractively and drawn in some detail:
"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.
What amazed me most about that link to the paperback version was that a Soper illustration is used on the back cover, while the whole of the rest of the book is illustrated by Maxey! Was that the same with all of them?
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
I've seen that on some of the other books, though not all. It is curious!
Robert Houghton wrote:They didn't have much for their picnic though!
It's certainly not one of the Five's best picnics. Nothing but potted meat sandwiches are mentioned in the text, and when they run out Anne just makes some more!
"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.
Five On Kirrin Island Again is one of the only FF books that I don't have, containing Betty Maxey's illustrations, so it was interesting to see something new. Quite a lot of the time it seems as if Maxey either uses too much detail or too little and in this case, there was too much in my opinion. There are a couple which I think are quite reasonable - ones featuring just the characters and no background. But a lot of the scenery just looks too overdone to me.
"Beware of young men with long hair - that's what dad says, isn't it?"
Pat, Holiday House
I think most of Maxey's Five on Kirrin Island Again illustrations are very good, especially the first one of George and Timmy. She conveys the tension and drama well.
"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.
Courtenay wrote:
I'm afraid the kindest thing I can say is that it looks like something a not-very-talented eight-year-old might draw.
That's a bit harsh. While I agree it's not one of Maxey's best efforts, and the horse is a little ill proportioned, the scene is beautifully composed. I don't know many eight year olds who'd be able to execute a landscape as well as that, let alone an un-talented one. I do see what Robert means by it being reminiscent of a colouring book though.
I do like the illustrations from "Five On Kirrin Island Again" though. And at least Betty Maxey knew which end of a telescope you're supposed to look through.
"Stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence like poor Julian in the Famous Five!"
walter raleigh wrote:
And at least Betty Maxey knew which end of a telescope you're supposed to look through.
True.
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
Was that the same with all of them?
