The Enid Blyton Society

Before her Letters to Children which started on August 31st 1927, Enid had provided a weekly column, 'From My Window', which was aimed more at adults. These started on July 4th 1923 and ended on August 24th 1927, a total of 209 contributions. A number of the early ones are already in the Periodicals section of the Cave, but there are gaps and I have decided to fill these in so that eventually all will be available to read. I have started by completing 1923, most of which were already there, but for convenience I am listing them all below so that you can pick and choose what you might want to read and the four that I have added today are in bold.

Vol. XXIX No. 973 (July 4th) untitled (Genius and Childhood)
Vol. XXIX No. 975 (July 11th) On Advertisements
Vol. XXIX No. 976 (July 18th) Life
Vol. XXIX No. 977 (July 25th) On Being Surprised
Vol. XXIX No. 978 (August 1st) “A Wonderful Remedy”
Vol. XXIX No. 980 (August 8th) On Being Like Oneself
Vol. XXIX No. 981 (August 15th) A Fine Book
Vol. XXIX No. 982 (August 22nd) My Rock Pool
Vol. XXIX No. 983 (August 29th) Romance
Vol. XXIX No. 984 (September 5th) On Little Things
Vol. XXIX No. 986 (September 12th) “Eyes” and “No Eyes” Again
Vol. XXIX No. 987 (September 19th) A Notable Exhibition
Vol. XXIX No. 988 (September 26th) Before Breakfast
Vol. XXX No. 989 (October 3rd) A London Miracle
Vol. XXX No. 991 (October 10th) Pamela Solves a Mystery
Vol. XXX No. 992 (October 17th) Faces
Vol. XXX No. 993 (October 24th) An Exciting Morning
Vol. XXX No. 994 (October 31st) Autumn
Vol. XXX No. 996 (November 7th) Other People’s Shoes
Vol. XXX No. 997 (November 14th) Hassan
Vol. XXX No. 998 (November 21st) Lord Mayor’s Show
Vol. XXX No. 999 (November 28th) A Confession About Adventures
Vol. XXX No. 1000 (December 5th) “Riceyman Steps”
Vol. XXX No. 1002 (December 12th) Suspicious People
Vol. XXX No. 1003 (December 19th) A Dinner in Lilliput
Vol. XXX No. 1004 (December 26th) On Toys

Thanks very much indeed for that, Tony - you're a star! I love reading Enid Blyton's thoughts on all manner of subjects in her 'From My Window' columns. The four that have just been added are charming and thought-provoking, but the one that made me stop and think most of all was the one for July 25th 1923 - 'On Being Surprised'. Enid elaborates on Jock's statement that he loves the washerwoman "because she's always so s'prised at me", saying:

Surprise - real, not counterfeited... - springs from real interest in others, and an unselfish desire to enter into other people's lives. No wonder it is that children respond to those people, for it is in them that they find a close kinship with their own delightful child-characteristics of wonder, interest in others, and general surprise at the world and its contents...

...ever since Jock's emphatic remark, I have noted the reactions one makes to the Surprised-People. They make us feel worth something, and we want straightaway to go and do something even more worth doing in order to make them more surprised - i.e., more interested.

A great observation!

Thanks for the list, Tony.

A great observation indeed, Anita.

I like reading From My Window, too. It's also nice to see them in the Journal also.

I will be holding one or two back to use in the Journal, Julie! When it comes to 1924 I will just be doing three months at a time as most are missing at present.

I am not sure how much appeal this will have as it is about Enid Blyton rather than General Natter, which seems far more popular on this site!

Well, I intend to look at them and I'm sure that many more of us will, too.

This is wonderful, many thanks. I've enjoyed the From My Window columns both in the Journal and online. The Teachers World is my favourite part of the Cave.

I must admit I personally am not that all that fussed on the Teacher's World articles aimed at children, but these are a different kettle of fish. I really enjoyed reading the one Tony posted in the 'Kirrin Island' thread about the lighthouse at La Corbiere and some of the titles of these look equally intriguing.

I've read a few of the 1923 'From My Window' columns before but I've decided to go through them all in random order, one every few days, clicking on whatever title happens to catch my eye. I've just read 'On Being Like Oneself', August 8th 1923, and I love Enid's description of young John (which I seem to recall is quoted by Barbara Stoney in The Biography):

I have in my care a young, serious and most profound philosopher. His mind grinds slowly, but it grinds exceedingly small, and he reduces everything and everyone to their lowest common factors. Consequently he occasionally utters observations which, while on the surface appearing superficial, betray a perception and reasoning which are astonishing in an eight-year-old.

I assume the boy was Enid's pupil John Thompson at Southernhay, and it's interesting that he called Enid "Auntie" rather than "Miss Blyton". His observation that "it's funny that people are so 'zackly like themselves" leads Enid to comment:

He wanted to say that our outward bodies reflected our inner souls, and reflected them so astonishingly correctly that even he was able to recognise the fact that people "are 'zackly like themselves!"

I wonder if Enid Blyton had that conversation in mind when she had Joan Townsend say, in The Naughtiest Girl Again, "I think people make their own faces, as they grow."

Tony Summerfield wrote: I am not sure how much appeal this will have as it is about Enid Blyton rather than General Natter, which seems far more popular on this site!

Do I get the impression that you disapprove of general natter?

I will certainly be looking at these articles, Tony. There is so much in the Cave that I have yet to discover.

Thanks for all your work, Tony. These look really interesting. I have thoroughly enjoyed the several From My Window articles which have been published in the Society Journals, and I look forward to discovering more in the Cave!

I've just read 'Before Breakfast', September 26th 1923, in which Enid captures the magical feeling that you get if you go out early in the morning when all is quiet and the world is just beginning to wake. Great remark that having a longer shadow makes you feel taller! And yes - there is a blue-toned, misty stillness about a garden at that time of day, with the dew and gossamer lending an air of enchantment. As Enid says, "The world seems very new" and "There are adventures about."

The spell is broken by the breakfast gong and Enid goes inside glowing, conscious of having experienced something special which others have missed. But I think there would have been stern words if Cookie had gone merrily wandering around the garden instead of preparing breakfast for the folk at Southernhay!

I've just read a couple more of the 1923 'From My Window' pieces - 'Hassan' and 'A London Miracle'. In 'Hassan' Enid Blyton tells us of her visit to His Majesty's Theatre to see the play Hassan by James Elroy Flecker. She describes the story as "one of love and death, wealth and power, torture and cruelty inconceivable, told in the language of a poet who understands the smallest feelings of his characters with a penetrating and passionate intensity, making the play at times almost too much to be borne, so dismayingly vital it becomes." It leaves her dreaming "of the mighty things of life, the eternal, insolvable problems." Enid's ardour is infectious and seems so fresh, yet her use of slightly quaint words like "mighty" and "insolvable" is a reminder that, from our perspective, this outing took place many decades ago!

'A London Miracle' shows Enid Blyton observing people as she does so beautifully, and reflecting on the transforming power of a Punch and Judy show.

I look forward to reading more!

Now that Tony has put up so many of the 'From My Window' articles written by Enid Blyton for Teachers World, I thought it might be fun to look at them week by week. 'From My Window' began on July 4th, 1923, so I'm posting links to the first five articles in one go. From then on, it will be possible to read one each week on the correct day and month.

In her first piece, Enid Blyton's comparison of the mind of a child and the mind of a genius provides food for thought. I'm particularly struck by the remark that both are "always delightedly finding things which resemble each other."

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The next article shows Enid spotting opportunities for education in everyday items, using attractive transport posters to motivate pupils and give them an appreciation of modern art:

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The third 'From My Window' is most philosophical, discussing evolution and progress. Any critics who believe that Enid Blyton was racist ought to read her statement that if people want to survive and become greater they must reach out to the future, search it for higher things and try to adapt to the coming criteria for survival - "There can be little doubt as to what those are. A higher spiritual life, stronger morals, love for beauty and for truth, absolute sincerity, and a real regard for all peoples of the world." Stirring stuff!

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Next comes 'On Being Surprised', which is delightful. I've read it before and it's one of my favourite 'From My Window' pieces - so very true. I can just picture "solemn Jock" and I agree that it's lovely when people react with surprise or obvious pleasure to what we say. As Enid remarks, surprise "springs from real interest in others, and an unselfish desire to enter into other people's lives."

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In her fifth 'From My Window', Enid describes going on a long bus trip to unwind after a hard day, enjoying the restful experience of being "just a looker-on, not a participator. A heavenly feeling for once!"

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What a varied column, full of interesting thoughts and observations. It's a real privilege to be able to read these articles almost a hundred years after they were first published in Teachers World. Thanks for making them available, Tony.

Enid's 'From My Window' for August 8th 1923 ('On Being Like Oneself') is one I've read before and it's wonderful. Barbara Stoney quotes from it in Enid Blyton - the Biography. Enid talks of one of her pupils being "a young, serious, and most profound philosopher" whose mind "grinds slowly, but... grinds exceeding small", so that he reduces things to "their lowest common factors". As a result, he makes some astonishingly perceptive observations.

Interestingly, the boy calls Enid "Auntie" rather than "Miss Blyton". I think the pupil in question was John Thompson (one of the Southernhay brothers). His observation that "it's funny that people are so 'zackly like themselves" leads Enid to comment:

He wanted to say that our outward bodies reflected our inner souls, and reflected them so astonishingly correctly that even he was able to recognise the fact that people "are 'zackly like themselves!"

I wonder whether Enid Blyton had that conversation in mind when she had Joan Townsend say, in The Naughtiest Girl Again, "I think people make their own faces, as they grow."

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... e&perid=72" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;