The Enid Blyton Society

Courtenay wrote:

walter raleigh wrote: And at least Betty Maxey knew which end of a telescope you're supposed to look through.

True.

I've often wondered about that, and wondered if it indeed was drawn with George looking through the 'wrong end' or whether it was Eileen Soper's failed attempt at drawing a telescope in perspective? I've studied the original cover so many times, but can never make up my mind...

From the way it tapers, it really does look like the wrong end. Apart from that utterly silly mistake, though, it's as delightful and full of character as any of the best of Soper's drawings.

The telescope may be the right way around but the drawing is still flat! If you didn't know that was Kirrin Bay out there it could easily appear to be a grassy plane. It always bugs me that she doesn't finish the characters/objects either. Obviously there are times where a body part is going to be off the edge of the page but neither George or Anne have legs, Anne's only got one and half arms and the back of George's neck is missing!

From what I can see of Betty Maxey illustrations she concentrates on the person or animal she is illustrating and doesn't really go in for all the extra's such as scenery all around, but keeps it to a minimum.

I don't mind illustrations which "fade out" around the edge, but it is disconcerting when there are details missing from the middle of the picture, as is the case with Julian's torso in this otherwise attractive illustration from Five Go to Billycock Hill:

Julian looks rather ghostly to me. If that pic was from a ghost story, it would be very apt, as Julian would be the ghost.

None of those faces are the Five I know, though!

I've heard of the Headless Horseman, but honestly... the Bodiless Bloke??

I don't think we've got a record on this website of the four covers Betty Maxey did for Noel Streatfeild's "Gemma" books in 1968-9, so I thought I'd put them in this thread (she is credited for the covers and also for the internal drawings). I don't know what people think, but if we also take into consideration the cover Betty Maxey did for Catherine Cookson's The Mallen Girl in 1974 (the only image I can find is the one Pete spliced with Five Go to Billycock Hill) it does look as though Betty Maxey was responsible for the Famous Five covers of the late 1960s/early 1970s.

Doing a search for Betty Maxey, I see she illustrated a few 'raunchy' books also!






Was there some doubt she illustrated the Famous Five covers? I didn't realise that - I always presumed they were her cover paintings - and much better than the inner illustrations.

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I don't know what people think, but if we also take into consideration the cover Betty Maxey did for Catherine Cookson's The Mallen Girl in 1974 (the only image I can find is the one Pete spliced with Five Go to Billycock Hill) it does look as though Betty Maxey was responsible for the Famous Five covers of the late 1960s/early 1970s.

Robert Houghton wrote:Was there some doubt she illustrated the Famous Five covers? I didn't realise that - I always presumed they were her cover paintings - and much better than the inner illustrations.

Yes, Anita's comment struck me as a bit odd too — I always thought there was no doubt that it was Betty Maxey who did the first "modern" Famous Five covers as well as the internal illustrations.

Robert Houghton wrote:Doing a search for Betty Maxey, I see she illustrated a few 'raunchy' books also!

Now I'm wondering if Pete will treat us to another Betty Maxey Famous Five/romance cover illustration mash-up...

I'd love to see a selection of the internal illustrations of the book covers Anita posted.

I know Betty often used real life children as models for her books.
I wonder when the books Anita posted were published?

Robert Houghton wrote:Was there some doubt she illustrated the Famous Five covers? I didn't realise that - I always presumed they were her cover paintings - and much better than the inner illustrations.

It's just that the Famous Five books don't say who did the covers, whereas it's stated in the Gemma books that the covers and the internal illustrations were done by Betty Maxey.

The Gemma books date from 1968-9, Pete. The internal illustrations are quite similar to the Famous Five ones.

I looked through my Gemma books yesterday and picked out four illustrations to photograph and upload (we haven't got a scanner). Sadly, my camera has been playing up for a couple of months and I'd only taken one photo when it died on me (it keeps freezing or presenting me with a black screen, and now it won't even focus any more). Never mind - I managed to get the one picture onto the computer. It's from the first book, Gemma, published in 1968, and it shows Lydia ("Lydie") practising ballet steps in the kitchen while helping to dry the dishes.

Here is something to make your mouth water, Pete. Original Maxey (??) artwork, with the actual cover underneath. I was asked to make an offer for this but it was apparently less than he had paid for it. I did go back to him but I heard no more from him. Sorry about the picture but it was what I was sent.




It measures 50cms X 30cms, so it is quite large, but I feel that the top had some later alteration.

Superb Tony. Thanks for posting that. I love that series of covers. Not keen on her internal illustrations but those covers were wonderful.